| Thiru Aadanoor Temple | |
|---|---|
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Thanjavur |
| Deity | Andalakkum Aiyan Perumal (Vishnu) Ranganayaki (Lakshmi) |
| Features |
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| Location | |
| Location | Aadanoor,Kumbakonam |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
  Location in Tamil Nadu | |
| Coordinates | 10°58′35″N79°18′48″E / 10.97639°N 79.31333°E /10.97639; 79.31333 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Dravidian architecture |
TheThiru Aadanoor or theAndalakkum Aiyan Perumal Temple is aHindu temple dedicated toVishnu located in Aadanoor,Thanjavur district inTamil Nadu,India. Constructed inDravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in theNalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medievalTamil canon of theAlvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is counted as one among the 108Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu.[1][2] Vishnu is worshipped as Andalakkum Aiyan and his consort is worshipped asRanganayaki, a form ofLakshmi.
The temple has a small shrine withVimanam and 3-tier rajagopuram. The temple was built byAditya Chola. The temple is located inOlaipadi, a small village, 7 km away fromKumbakonam and 2 km fromSwamimalai. The temple tank is located north of the temple. The deities are similar to theSri Ranganathaswamy temple of Srirangam with the chief deityVishnu in a reclining, half-sleeping posture.
Andalakkum Aiyarn is believed to have appeared for an affluent devotee trying to save Rangantha. The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and four yearly festivals on its calendar. The major festival of the temple, theBrahmotsavam is celebrated during theTamil month ofVaikasi (May - June).
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According to the temple'sregional legend, there was an affluent devotee who also wished to partake in religious endeavour of servingRanganatha. Some of those who worked under him exploited hisbhakti to their advantage and swindled all his money, making him penniless. Pleased with his devotion, Vishnu appeared in his dream and promised to help him out of the situation. He instructed the devotee to bring along amarakkal and his workers, who cheated him, to the bank of theKollidam, where he promised to pay the workers their dues. The deity, in the guise of an old man, gave each of them a measure of sand from the bank ofKollidam according to the work done by them. Much to their surprise, it turned into precious stones for those who toiled and it stayed the same for those who shirked work. The workers who did not get anything were enraged and started chasing the old man. At this juncture,the deity appeared in his original form and made the workers realize their mistakes.[3] It is also believed that the presiding deity appeared forKamadhenu, the holy cow and also forThirumangai Alvar, the saint poet of 8th century.[4]
As per another legend, the celestial deitiesIndra andAgni worshiped Vishnu at this place. Indra once insulted the sageBhrigu when he placed the divine garland offered to him on his elephantAiravata. Bhrigu cursed him to lose all the powers. Indra did severe penance in the place to regain the powers.Agni, the fire god, was affected with Brahmahatha Dosha, a curse inflicted on account of burning the head ofBrahma handed over byShiva. He was propitiated off his curse by offering worship at this temple.[5]
Aadanoor temple is located in Adanoor located 8 km (5.0 mi) away fromKumbakonam inThanjavur district in theSouth Indian state ofTamil Nadu. It is located close toSwamimalai. The temple has a three-tiered rajagopuram, the temple tower and all the shrines are enclosed by rectangular enclosure. The sanctum is located axial to the gopuram and is approached through sacrificial altar and temple mast. There are sculptures ofKamadhenu, the divine cow and her daughter Nandini. The temple is believed to be similar to theSrirangam Ranganathaswamy temple in all its form having seven enclosures, but were destroyed with time. The vimana, the shrine over the sanctum is called Pranava Vimana, where image of Vishnu is visible up to knee. As per the legend in Srirangam temple, it is believed that the world will get destroyed when the feet of the image emerges.Hanuman, thevanara deity, is said to have visited the temple on his way toLanka.Rama is believed to have visited the place hearing about Hanuman's visit and the foot marks are sculpted to indicate the legend. The image of Hanuman in the place is known as Virasudarshana Anjaneya.[5]
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The temple follows Pancharatra Agama and the worship practices are carried out by hereditary priests. This temple is under full control ofAhobila mutt and follows theVadakalai tradition. The temple priests perform thepuja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to theVaishnava community, from theBrahmin class. The temple rituals are performed six times a day:Ushathkalam at 7 a.m.,Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m.,Uchikalam at 12:00 p.m.,Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m.,Irandamkalam at 6:00 p.m. andArdha Jamam at 7:30 p.m. Each ritual has three steps:alangaram (decoration),neivethanam (food offering) anddeepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Andalakkum Aiyarn and Bhargavi Thayar. During the last step of worship,nadasvaram (pipe instrument) andtavil (percussion instrument) are played, religious instructions in theVedas (sacred text) are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of thetemple mast. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple. The major festival of the temple, theBrahmotsavam is celebrated during theTamil month ofVaikasi (May - June).Vaikuntha Ekadashi celebrated during the Tamil month ofMargali (December–January) is the other major festival celebrated in the temple.[6]
The temple is revered inNalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th–9th centurySri Vaishnava canon, byKulasekhara Alvar in one hymn. The temple is classified as aDivya Desam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book.Thirumangai Alvar has sung in praise of the deity in this temple with one pasuram, numbered at 3815. It is believed that once the temple was buried under earth. At the same time, a Kashmiri Princess was afflicted on account of a spell from a magician. Vishnu appeared in the dreams of the king and asked him to renovate the submerged temple. The king is believed to have followed the orders, resulting in the princess getting propitiated. The worship in the temple is thus believed to offer solace to people afflicted by witchcraft.[5]
