| Madhava Perumal temple | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Chennai |
| Deity | Madhava Perumal (Vishnu)Amirtavalli (Lakshmi) |
| Location | |
| Location | Mylapore |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
  Location in Tamil Nadu | |
| Coordinates | 13°2′16″N80°16′17″E / 13.03778°N 80.27139°E /13.03778; 80.27139 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Dravidian architecture |
TheMadhava Perumal Temple is dedicated toHindu deityVishnu, located inMylapore,Chennai, in the South Indian state ofTamil Nadu. Constructed in theDravidian style of architecture, dedicated toVishnu, who is worshipped as Madhava Perumal and his consortLakshmi as Amirtavalli. The temple is believed to be the birthplace ofPeyalvar, one of the first three of the twelveAlvar saints of the 6th-9th century CE.
The temple is open from 7 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.
InHindu mythology, during thechurning of the ocean of milk, Vishnu is believed to have instructed his consort Lakshmi to reach the hermitage of SageBhrigu. The sage was engaged in a penance to gain a daughter, and accepted the girl Lakshmi. The presiding deity, Madhava Perumal, is believed to have married goddess Amritavalli, the daughter of sage Bhrigu, and thus gained the epithet 'Kalyana Perumal' (The great wedding deity).[1]
The temple is believed to be the birthplace ofPeyalvar, one of the first three of the twelveAlvar saints of the 6th-9th century CE. The renowned Alvar was believed to have come to earth from the 60 ft (18 m) well called Manikairavam inside the temple premises.[2] In the contemporary period, the temple is maintained and administered by theHindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of theGovernment of Tamil Nadu.[3]
The temple is built inDravidian architecture and has two precincts. It is located inMylapore, a suburb inChennai, the capital of theSouth Indian state ofTamil Nadu. The temple has a rectangular plan surrounded by 10 ft (3.0 m) high walls, pierced by 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 seated posture with images ofSridevi andBhumidevi on either side. There is a small shrine forVaraha, an avatar of Vishnu, located behind the central shrine.[1] The shrine ofGaruda facing Madhava Perumal, the divine-eagle mount (vahana) of Vishnu, is located axial to the central shrine. The central shrine is approached through a worship hall and a narrow ardhamandapam. Theflagpost is located behind the shrine of Garuda, axial to the central shrine and the gateway tower. There are images of Alvars in the worship hall on both sides and the shrine of Amritavalli is located on the western side of the temple in the second precinct.
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 theSri Vaishnava 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),neivethanam (food offering) anddeepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Kudamadukoothan and his consort Amirtavalli. 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.
During the Magam day of the Tamil monthMaasi, thefestival deity of Madhava Perumal is taken in a float in temple tank.[4] During the subsequent days, the festival deities ofPeyalvar is taken in the float. The festival is one of the major festivals of the temple, which was not celebrated for a decade before 2011. It is believed that all the rivers converge in the tank during the auspicious day.[2] The annual festival, Brahmostavam, of the temple is celebrated during the Tamil month ofChittirai (March - April).[5]
