| Adi Kesava temple | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Chennai |
| Deity | Adi Kesava Perumal (Vishnu) Mayuravalli Thayar (Lakshmi) |
| Location | |
| Location | Mylapore |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
  Location in Tamil Nadu | |
| Coordinates | 13°1′50″N80°16′14″E / 13.03056°N 80.27056°E /13.03056; 80.27056 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Tamil architecture |
Adi Kesava Temple is dedicated to Hindu godVishnu located inMylapore,Chennai, in the South Indian state ofTamil Nadu. Constructed in theTamil style of architecture, dedicated toVishnu, who is worshipped as Adi Kesava Perumal and his consortLakshmi as Mayuravalli Thayar. The temple is believed to be the birthplace ofPeyalvar, anAlvar saint. It is considered one among the 108Abhimana Kshethram ofVaishnavate tradition.
Chithra Kulam, the temple tank is believed to be of historic origin and one of the major rainwater storage facility in the region. The float festival celebrated during the Tamil month ofThai is a very prominent festival of the temple. The temple is open from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m and has six daily rituals at various times of the day. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of theGovernment of Tamil Nadu.
As per Hindu legend, during thechurning of the Ocean of milk, Vishnu instructed his consort Lakshmi to reach the hermitage of SageBhrigu. The sage was doing a penance to attain a girl child, and accepted Lakshmi as his daughter. The presiding deity, Adi Kesava, is believed to have married goddess Bhargavi, the daughter of sage Bhrigu.[1]
The temple is believed to be the birthplace ofPeyalvar, one of the twelveAlvar saints of the 6th-9th century CE. The Alvar was found from the 60 ft (18 m) well called Manikairavam inside the temple premises.[2]
The temple is built inTamil architecture occupies around 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) and has two precincts. It is located inMylapore, inChennai, the capital of theSouth Indian state ofTamil Nadu. The temple has a rectangular plan surrounded by 10 ft (3.0 m) high walls, with a 5-tiergopuram, the gateway tower. The presiding deity is housed in the sanctum and is an image made of granite. The deity is seen in standing posture. The shrine ofGaruda faces Adi Kesava, the eagle mount (Vahana) of Vishnu. The central shrine is approached through a worship hall and a narrow ArdhaMandapam. The flagpost ("Dhwaja sthambam") is located behind the shrine of Garuda. There are images of Alvars in the worship hall on both sides and the shrine of Mayuravalli is located on the western side of the temple in the second precinct.[3] In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by theHindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of theGovernment of Tamil Nadu.[4]
In modern times, the temple tank as a store house for rain water harvesting for the nearby areas.[5] The temple tank is believed to be 4,000 years old and was desilted for the first time in 2016. The float festival in the temple was celebrated from 2005 and 2016 and was not celebrated later due to dry tank due to clogging of the canals leading to the tank.[6]
The temple is open from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. 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 theVaishnavaite community. The temple rituals are performed four times a day:Ushathkalam at 8 a.m.,Kalasanthi at 10:00 a.m.,Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m. andArdha Jamam at 7:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps:alangaram (decoration),neivethyam (food offering) anddeepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Adi Kesava Perumal and his consort Mayuravalli Thayar. During the worship, 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 temple procession takes place during theekadasi day, Tiruvonam, the occasions of thefull moon and thenew moon, when the festival images (utsavar) of Adi Kesava, Sridevi, andBhudevi are taken in a procession. There are different processions taken by Mayuravalli Thaayaar on Fridays and Uthiram star, Andal on the Pooram star, Rama on Punarpoosam, and the Alvars, on their birthdays. Brahmotsavam, the main festival of the temple is performed during the Tamil month of Panguni. During the ten-day festival, the twelve Alvars and the twenty-one Vaishnava Acharyas are taken in procession along with Adi Kesava perumaaL. During the Tamil month of Aadi, float festival (theppothsavam) is conducted for five days.[1][7]
The goddess Mayuravalli is worshipped withBilva leaves, which are otherwise used only inShiva temples. Shiva, Parvati, and Lakshmi in the form of Mayuravalli are believed to have worshipped Adi Kesava Perumal and got relieved off their curses. It is believed thatPey Alvar was taught by Mayuravalli. Following the legend of the temple, the temple is frequented by devotees praying for their education and also for getting a good married life.[8] The temple andKapaleeshwarar Temple are the oldest extant monuments inMylapore.[9]
