| Adi Jagannatha Perumal Temple | |
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Ramanathapuram |
| Deity | |
| Features |
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| Location | |
| Location | Tamil Nadu,India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
  Location inTamil Nadu | |
| Coordinates | 9°16′58″N78°49′28″E / 9.282745°N 78.824445°E /9.282745; 78.824445 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Dravidian architecture |
| Elevation | 35 m (115 ft) |
TheAdi Jagannatha Temple is aSouth Indian Hindu temple inThiruppullani, a village in the outskirts ofRamanathapuram in the South Indian state ofTamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu godVishnu. It is believed that Rama used grass ('pul' in Tamil as a pillow (thalai annai in Tamil) to sleep and hence the village attained the name Thiruppullani. Constructed in theCholan style of architecture, the temple is glorified in theNaalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medievalTamil canon of theAlvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108Divya Desam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Adi Jagannatha and his consortLakshmi as Padmasini.
The temple is believed to have been built during the late 8th century CE, with later contributions fromMedieval Cholas,later Pandyas, Madurai Nayak kings, Sethupathi Palayam of Ramnad. As per Hindu legend,Rama is believed to have done penance to worship the god of ocean to seek way toLanka in grass, giving the name Dharbasayanam to the place. The temple is maintained and administered by the Ramanathapuram Samasthan Devasthanam a Trust under the control of the Ramnad Palayam Sethupathi successor and at present Her Highness the Raja Rajeswari Natchiyar as Hereditary Trustee and the accounts were audited byHindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of theGovernment of Tamil Nadu.
As per Hindu legend,Rama in the epicRamayana prayed to the Samudraraja (God of Ocean) to seek way to reachLanka. He did a penance lying in Kusa grass (Dharba grass), the act of which is described inSanskrit asDharbasayanam.[1][2]
As per another legend,Dasharatha, the father ofRama, performed different sacrifices and did a lot of penance to obtain the sacredpayasam (sweet pudding). He offered it equally to his three wives, resulting in the birth ofRama,Lakshmana,Bharatha andShatrughna. Following the legend, childless couple perform a worship callednagapradishta (installing a statue of snake god) in the temple. Sweet pudding is offered to childless couple praying for a child. It is believed that Adi Jaganatha bestows a child like Rama when such a worship is performed.[3][4][5]
The temple is believed to have been initiated during the Medieval Chola period along with many temples dedicated to Rama. TheChola kingParantaka I named himself "Sangrama Raghava" after his conquest ofSri Lanka, while his sonAditya I was called Kothandarama. Some laterPandya kings also made contributions to the temple.[1] A mutilated inscription in the temple made during the 37th year ofMaravarman Sundara Pandyan in 1305 records order of a minister by name Arya Chakravarthi. Historians believe some portions of the temple tower might also have been built byJaffna kings, who were friends ofPandya Empire and also rulers ofRameswaram.[6] There is one damaged record from 1518 from the period of Mahabali Vanadaraya Naykkar and one another made in 1528 during the reign of Sundarattoludaiyar Mahabali Vanadarayar.[7] There are inscriptions in the temple indicating Arab traders visiting the Pandyan Empire. The traders traded pearl and pepper and in return were allowed to build mosques in the region for their worship. The mosques followedIndian architecture with stone pillars and were called Kallupalli.[8] The temple received lot of contributions from theVijayanagara period, along with other Vishnu temples in the region.[1] Madhwa sampradaya saint ShreeVadiraja Tirtha have mentioned about Darbashayana Temple in his workTirtha Prabandha.
The temple is located in Thirupullani, a village located 10 km (6.2 mi) fromRamanathapuram and 64 km (40 mi) fromRameswaram.[9] The temple has a five-tiered rajagopuram (gateway tower) facing east. The shrine of Adi Jagannatha houses the image of Adi Jagannatha,Bhudevi and Sri Devi in sitting posture. The consort of Adi Jagannathar is Padmasini, housed in a separate shrine. There is a shrine for Dharbasayana Ramar in a reclining posture.[4] There is a metal image ofKrishna from the 13th-century Pandya period Vijayanagara Kings and Madurai Nayak kings. The image depicts Krishna dancing in a snake, a rare historical depiction of Krishna in a metal image.[10]
The temple priests perform thepooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to theVaishnavaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. 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 6:00 p.m.,Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. andArdha Jamam at 10:00 p.m. The Vaikhanasa Agama Shastrams and Thengalai Vaishnava traditions are followed in all the temple rituals. Each ritual has three steps:alangaram (decoration),neivethanam (food offering) anddeepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Adi Jagannatha and Padmasini. During the last step of worship,nagaswaram (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 two major festivals celebrated in the temple are the Panguni Brahmotsavam for Adi Jagannathar and Rama Navami Utsavam during theTamil month ofChittirai. Other major festivals celebrated in Vishnu temples in South India likeVaikuntha Ekadashi,Krishna Jayanthi,Pongal andDeepavali, are also celebrated.[4]
The temple is revered inNaalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, byThirumangai Alvar in one hymn. The temple is classified as aDivya Desam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book. The temple is revered in 20 verses of Thirumangai Alvar in hisPeriya Tirumoli inNaalayira Divya Prabandham.[11] The epic is also described byKambar in his workKamba Ramayanam.[1]
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