| Tirupavalavannam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Kanchipuram |
| Location | |
| Location | Kanchipuram |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
  Location inTamil Nadu | |
| Geographic coordinates | 12°50′40″N79°42′16″E / 12.84444°N 79.70444°E /12.84444; 79.70444 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Dravidian architecture |
Tirupavalavannam orPavalavanam temple located inKanchipuram in the South Indian state ofTamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu godVishnu. Constructed in theDravidian 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 one of the 108Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Pavalavannar Perumal and his consortLakshmi as Pavalavalli.
The temple is believed to have been built by theCholas, with later contributions fromMedieval Cholas andVijayanagara kings. The temple has three inscriptions on its walls, two dating from the period ofKulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE) and one to that ofRajadhiraja Chola (1018-54 CE). A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all the shrines and two bodies of water. There is a seven-tieredrajagopuram, the temple's gateway tower, in the temple.
Pavalavannar is believed to have appeared to sage Naimisaranya. Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Brahmotsavam festival, celebrated during theTamil month ofVaikasi (May - June), being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of theGovernment of Tamil Nadu.
Theregional legend of this temple states that Vishnu assumed various colours during various eras according to the nature of the living beings and their behaviour. DuringSatya Yuga, people were well-behaved (satvaguna) and Vishnu was white (calledsvetavarna) in colour. DuringTreta Yuga, he assumed the colour of pavalam (emerald) and hence came to be known as Pavalavannar or Pralavannar (inSanskrit). In theDvapara Yuga, he assumed green colour (pachai inTamil). In the currentKali Yuga, he assumed blue tint calledsyamalavarna and it is believed that people will not be influenced by the form Vishnu appears. Vishnu is believed to have appeared for twinAshvini twins as Pavalavannar and hence retains the name in modern times.[1][2]
As per another legend,Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge in Hinduism, wanted to stop the penance of her husbandBrahma. She sent an army of demons to attack him. Vishnu stood up to save his devotee Brahma and was smeared with blood red colour. He was called Pravalesa and Pavalvannan, the colour of emerald inTamil. There is another temple named Pachaivannan, which is located axially across the road and these two twin temples are mentioned together.[3]
The temple has various inscriptions from theChola (10th -12th centuries) andVijayanagara period (15-16th centuries). The temple is originally believed to be built during the period ofMedieval Cholas. In modern times, the temple was maintained and administered by hereditary trustees, but a litigation during the 2014 from theChennai High Court split the control between the trustee and the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of theGovernment of Tamil Nadu.[4] Among the 12Alvars (the poet-saints of theSri Vaishnava tradition) three of them namelyPeyalvar,Thirumalisai Alvar andThirumangai Alvar have sung on the different forms of God in this temple. Manyacharyas have also written songs on the various forms of God in this Temple. The temple faces the west.[1][5] As per another legend, sageBhrigu was doing his penance and wanted to find out whom among the trio ofBrahma,Vishnu andShiva would be the most accommodating when their patience was tested. Out of the three, he found Vishnu to be the most accommodating who in spite of the sage kicking him, went on to massage his legs for pain relief. The sage felt ashamed of his act, but Vishnu asked him to go to Kanchipuram to complete his penance. Vishnu appeared as Pavalavannar to the sage. The image of the sage is seen in the sanctum in worshiping posture inside the sanctum.[6]
The central shrine of the temple has the image of presiding deity, Pavalavannar in standing posture. The festive image of the presiding deity and that of Santhanagopala Krishnan are located inside the sanctum. The West facing sanctum is approached through the flagstaff, pillared halls, namely Mahamandapam and the Ardhamandapam. The roof of the sanctum is called Vedasara Vimana and it has fivekalasams and stucco images of various legend. The temple has separate shrines for Alvars located to the North of the flagstaff. The pillars in the hall are sculpted with images ofNammalvar,Ramanujar,Manavala Mamunigal and variousavatars and legends of Vishnu. There are other shrines ofRama along withSita andHanuman andGaruda. Thevimana of the central shrine is called Vedasara Vimana. The shrine of Pavalavalli, the consort of Pavalavannar, is located facing the central shrine in the Eastern side of the temple. The temple has two precincts with the second precinct enclosed by granite walls pierced by a five tieredrajagopuram (gateway tower). The gopuram is studded with stucco images of various legends, with the notable among them being the representation ofNarasimha, an avatar of Vishnu slaying the demon Hiranya. A shrine ofManavala Mamunigal is located to the left of the gopuram from the entrance. The temple tank, Chakra Theertham, is located to the North east direction from the entrance.[1]
The temple follows the traditions of theTenkalai sect of Vaishnavite tradition and followsvaikanasa aagama. The temple priests perform thepooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to theVaishnava community, from the Brahmin class. The temple rituals are performed six times a day:Ushathkalam at 7:00 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. Each ritual has three steps:alangaram (decoration),neivethanam (food offering) anddeepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Pavalavannar Perumal and Pavalavalli. 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.[7] Brahmotsavam celebrated during theTamil month ofVaikasi (May - June) is the major festival of the temple.[1][8] Pavitrotsavam celebrated during the Tamil month ofPanguni (March - April) andVaikuntha Ekadashi duringMargali (December - January) are the other festivals celebrated in the temple.[7]
