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{{short description|Perumal temple in Tiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox temple
| name = Veeraraghava Swamy Temple
| image = Tiruvallur7.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| map_type = India Tamil Nadu
| map_caption = Veeraraghava Swamy Temple, [[Tiruvallur]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
| coordinates = {{coord|13|08|35.8|N|79|54|24.2|E|type:landmark|display=inline}}[https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Veeraraghava_Swamy_Temple&params=13_08_35.8_N_79_54_24.2_E_type:landmark]
| country = {{flag|India}}
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| district = [[Tiruvallur district|Tiruvallur]]
| location = [[Tiruvallur]]
| elevation_m = 67.47
| deity = Sri Veeraraghava Swami ([[Vaidhya]] Veera Raghava Swami) ([[Vishnu]])<ref name="epic">{{cite book|title=Indian Epic Values: Rāmāyaṇa and Its Impact : Proceedings of the 8th International Rāmāyaạ Conference|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVnK3q48dL0C&q=veeraraghava+perumal+temple&pg=PA86|publisher=Peeters Publishers|year=1995|last1=K.V.|first1=Raman|last2=T.|first2=Padmaja|isbn=9789068317015|ref=K.V.|page=86}}</ref>
Kanakavalli Thayar (Vasumathi)
| facade_direction =
| temple_tank = Hritayathabhanasini Pushkarni
| tower = Vijayakoti Vimanam
| festivals = [[Vaikunta Ekadasi]],<br /> Ammavasai
| architecture = [[Dravidian architecture]]
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity =
| inscriptions =
| year_completed =
| creator = [[Pallavas]], [[Cholas]], [[Thanjavur Nayaks]]
| website = http://svdtiruvallur.org
| footnotes =
}}

{{Hinduism}}
{{Cleanup lang|article|date=November 2021}}

'''Veeraraghava Swamy Temple''' (or '''Veeraraghavaswamy Temple''') is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god [[Vishnu]], located in [[Tiruvallur]], [[Chennai]] Metropolitan City, an area and headquarters in [[Tiruvallur district]] in the South Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]]. Constructed in the [[Dravidian architecture|Tamil style of architecture]], the temple is glorified in the ''[[Divya Prabandha|Divya Prabandham]]'', the early medieval [[Tamil literature|Tamil]] canon of the [[Alvars|Alvar]] saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is counted as one among the 108 [[Divya Desams]] dedicated to Vishnu. Vishnu is worshipped as Veeraraghava Perumal, and his consort [[Lakshmi]] as Kanakavalli Thayar.

The temple is believed to be of significant antiquity and is believed to be initiated by the [[Pallavas]] of the late 8th century CE, with later contributions at different times from [[Thanjavur Nayak kingdom|Thanjavur Nayaks]]. The temple has three inscriptions dating from the Chola period. The temple has a seven-tiered ''rajagopuram'' (gateway tower) and enshrined within a granite wall. The complex contains all the shrines and Hritayathabhanasini, the temple tank, is located to the west of the temple. A Goshala (cow shed) is maintained by the temple administration.

Veeraraghava Perumal is believed to have appeared to marry his consort [[Lakshmi]] in the place. The temple observes six daily rituals and three yearly festivals. The chariot festival and float festival, celebrated during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil]] month of ''Chittirai'' (March–April), is the most prominent festival of the temple. The jeeyars of Sri Ahobila Matha are the hereditary trustees. The temple is maintained and administered by the Ahobila Matha.

==Legend==
{{Multiple image
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|image1=Tiruvallur9.jpg
|image2=Tiruvallur10.jpg
|footer=[[Pushkarni|Temple tank]]
}}
''[[Markandeya Purana]]'' details the history of the temple. A sage named Salihotra had his hermitage in this place. He used to grind rice for a living and offered half of the flour to the seekers and used to consume the rest himself. He was an ardent devotee of Vishnu. To test his devotion, Vishnu appeared as a guest to him one day. He requested Salihotra to offer him food, which the sage did. The guest felt hungry and requested the sage to offer more food. The sage offered the other half portion of the flour which he used to consume himself. The guest asked a place to rest and the sage readily offered his hermitage. On arriving at the hermitage, the guest revealed his true form and blessed the sage.<ref name=Meena>{{cite book|title=Temples in South India|last=V.|first=Meena|publisher=Harikumar Arts|location=Kanniyakumari|year=1974|edition=1st|page=47}}</ref>

As per another legend, Vishnu appeared in the place to marry [[Lakshmi]], who was born as the daughter of Dilipa, the king of Dharmasenapura. He appeared in the place and married her.<ref name=Vijaya/> The place is also called Thiruevvul and Veeksharanyam.<ref>{{cite book|title=South Indian Shrines: Illustrated|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NLSGFW1uZboC&q=tiruvallur+temple&pg=PA539|page=539|last=Ayyar|first=P. V. Jagadisa|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1982|orig-year=1942|isbn=9788120601512}}</ref>

As per yet another legend, [[Shiva]] was not invited by [[Daksha]], the father of Dakshyani and wife of Siva for a big [[yagna]] (sacrifice). Siva, in his anger, opened his third eye out of which Virabhadra was created. He was directed by Siva to kill Daksha and he followed his orders. Siva incurred ''Brahmahatti Dosham'' on account of the execution. He was directed to the sacred tank of the temple to propitiate himself off the sins. The shrine of Siva in the form of Theertheswarar on the northern banks of the temple is believed to be place where Siva cleansed himself.<ref name=A/>

==History==
[[File:Tiruvallur3.jpg|250px|thumb|The Vellikizhamai Mandapam, made of blackstone]]
The temple is originally believed to have been built by the [[Pallavas]] during the 8th century. There are inscriptions dating back to the later half of the 9th century [[Pallava dynasty]] reign here. Local folklore claims that the temple is around 5000 years old. According to historian K.V. Soundararajan, the Rangantha temples in South India built during the 9th and 10th centuries have a systematic arrangement of subsidiary deities as seen in this temple along with the [[Appakkudathaan Perumal Temple]] at Koviladi, [[Sowmya Narayana Perumal temple]] at Thirukoshtiyur, [[Rajagopalaswamy Temple, Mannargudi|Rajagopalaswamy temple]] at [[Mannargudi]] and [[Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna|Rangantha temple]] at [[Srirangapatna]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Typology of the Anantaśayī Icon|page=80|jstor=3250291|last=K. V. |first=Soundara Rajan|journal=Artibus Asiae|volume=29|issue=1|year=1967|doi=10.2307/3250291 }}</ref> There are inscriptions in the temple from the period of [[Kulothunga Chola I]] (1070-1122 CE) indicating gift of 1000 ''kulis'' of land by Tiruvenkatadeva to the temple. The inscriptions from the eastern wall of the Vahanamandap indicates gift of 130 pons of gold by Veera Raghava Sadagoppa Jiyar, the thirteenth seer of Ahobila Matha to the temple during 1630-75. There are inscriptions indicating gift of lands to the temple by [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagara]] kings were Ramadeva Maharaya (1620–30), Narasimha Deva, Vira Venkatapathi Rayadeva Maharayar and Sri Venkatarayadeva Mahakavi, Kulothunga Deva and Rajendra I. There are also inscriptions referring to the gift of lands for conducting various festivals by other kings in the region like Maduranthaka Deva, Sadasiva Maharaya (1542–1570), [[Rama Deva Raya]] (1617–1632) and [[Venkata III]] (1632-42).<ref name=Ramesh/>

Most scholars believe that the major structures of the temple were built by Vijayanagar kings during 14th century. There is an inscription on the Eastern wall in 1542 CE indicating grants to the temple by Thanjai nayak kings.<ref>{{cite book|title=Lists of the Antiquarian Remains in the Presidency of Madras, Volume 1|last=Sewell|first=Robert|page=[https://archive.org/details/listsantiquaria00sewegoog/page/n189 174]|publisher=E. Keys, at the Government Press|year=1882|url=https://archive.org/details/listsantiquaria00sewegoog|quote=tiruvallur temple.}}</ref>

==Architecture==
[[File:Tiruvallur5.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Festival deity]]
The temple is under the administration of [[Ahobila Mutt|Ahobila Matha]]. It has five tiered Raja[[gopuram]] (main gate). There are separate shrines for Kanakavalli, [[Ganesha]], Alvars, and [[Gajalakshmi]] Thayar. Here, the Lord married Vasumathi the daughter of a king Dharmasena. There are also shrines to Ganesha, Gopalan, [[Nammazhwar|Nammalvar]], [[Sudarshan Chakra|Chakratalvar]], [[Andal]], [[Vedanta Desika]], [[Ramanuja]]charyar, and Lakshmi Narasimhar.

The presiding deity Veeraraghava swamy is in a recumbent position (called ''Bhujanga sayanm'') facing east. His right hand blesses the sage Salihotra and left hand in gnana [[mudra]] preaches to [[Brahma]]. The [[vimana (tower)|Vimanam]] (pyramidal roof over the sanctum) is called Vijayakoti Vimanam as it is a symbol of victory against Madhukaidapas asuras who were killed by Vishnu. The Thayar is called Kanakavalli (also known by the name Vasumati) and her shrine is located parallel to the sanctum. There are shrines of [[Azhwars|Alvars]], [[Ranganatha]] and [[Hanuman]] located around the sanctum in the first precinct. The sacred tank is called Hrutatapanasini.

The presiding deity Veeraraghava Perumal is believed to cure diseases of his devotees and hence he is called "Vaithiya Veeraraghavan". There is another legend that Lord [[Shiva]] got rid of his Brahmahathi Dosha after worshipping Vishnu in the place. There is a small shrine for [[Shiva]] in this temple premises.<ref>{{cite book|title=Spiritual India Handbook|last=Knapp|first=Stephen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djI5mL2qeocC&q=tiruvallur+temple&pg=PT300|isbn=9788184950243|page=300|year=2000|publisher=Jaico Publishing House}}</ref> The temple tank, Hritayathabhanasini, is located to the West of the temple and is believed to have medicinal effects.<ref name=Ramesh>{{cite book|title=108 Vaishnavite Divya Desams volume one Divyadesams in Tondai Nadu|first=M.S.|last=Ramesh|location=Tirpuati|year=1993|publisher=Tirupati Tirumala Devastanams|pages=131–5}}</ref> There is an ornate four pillared black stone hall called ''Vellikilamai mandapam'' where the festival image of the presiding deities are displayed every Friday.<ref name=A>{{cite book|title=Temples of South India|first=Ambujam |last=Anantharaman|pages=17–9|publisher=East West Books (Madras)|year=2006|isbn=978-81-88661-42-8}}</ref>

This temple has the largest [[temple tank]] out of any Divya Desam, the 2nd largest [[temple tank]] of any Vishnu temple (1st being Manargudi Rajagopalaswamy), and the 4th biggest [[temple tank]] of any temple in the world.

==Religious importance==
Vishnu as Veera Raghavar is the presiding deity of the Veera Raghavar temple. He is also called Vaidya Veera Raghavar, in view of his ailment curing abilities. In this temple people submit small metal sheets with a specific human organ engraved on them as a request to god to cure the illness or problems with those organs. It is believed that those suffering from incurable diseases are cured if they worship the presiding deity. Devotees come here for marriage, progeny, and for relief from hardships. The water in the tank is considered more sacred than that of river Ganga. A dip in the tank is believed to relieve the devotee from sins he committed in thought as well as action. Abishekam, the sacred ablution to the presiding deity is done only with sandalwood oil. The temple is considered the Vaishnavite temple equivalent of healing abilities of the presiding deity to that of the Vaitheeswaran, the presiding deity of the [[Saivite]] [[Vaitheeswaran Kovil]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Teaching Religion and Healing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XBDiBwAAQBAJ&q=tiruvallur+temple&pg=PT82|editor1-last=Barnes|editor1-first=Linda L.|editor2-first=Talamantez|editor2-last=M.|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2006|isbn=9780190291983|page=82}}</ref> Thousands of devotees take a holy dip during new moon days and also pour molasses into the temple tank.<ref>{{cite book|title=Gazetteer of South India, Volumes 1-2|last=W.|first=Francis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_RG2x2xDQ5UC&q=tiruvallur+temple&pg=PA561|page=561|publisher=Mittal Publications|year=2002}}</ref> [[Ramalinga Swamigal]] is believed to have been cured off his stomach pain after worshiping in the temple. He glorified the presiding temple in his works in ''Potri Panchangam''.<ref name=A/>

The temple is revered in ''[[Nalayira Divya Prabandham|Naalayira Divya Prabandham]]'', the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by [[Thirumangai alvar|Thirumangai Alvar]] and [[Thirumalisai Alvar]].<ref name=Vijaya>{{cite book|title=An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.jZY9lup2kZl6TuXGlZQdjZY2lZpy.TVA_BOK_0006115|last=R.|first=Dr. Vijayalakshmy|publisher=International Institute of Tamil Studies| location=Chennai|year=2001|edition=1st|ref=R|pages=452–3}}</ref> The Alvar has sung praise, imagining himself as a lady and Veeraraghava as his lover. The temple is classified as a ''[[Divyadesam]]'', one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book.<ref name="dinamalar">{{cite news|title=Sri Veeraraghava Perumal Temple|url=https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=127|newspaper=Dinamalar|access-date=18 May 2016|year=2011}}</ref> Many [[Acharyas]] have also written songs on the various forms of Bhaktavatsala in this Temple.<ref name=Vijaya/>

==Worship and festivals==
[[File:Thiruvallurutsavar.jpg|250x250px|thumb|Festival deity]]
[[Purnima]] is auspicious for this ''kshetram''. During Fridays Thayaar will be taken to a separate mandapam for puja. Two annual festival are celebrated. Chitra Festival is also important here. Puliyodharai (Tamarind Rice), Dhadhyannam (Curd Rice), Pongal, Chakkarai Pongal, [[vada (food)|Vada]], [[Adhirasam]], Murukku are offered to the deity as [[prasadam]].

The temple follows the traditions of the [[Vadakalai]] sect of Vaishnavite tradition and follows ''pancharatram agama''. This temple is under control of [[Ahobila mutt]], and follows the prayer accordingly. The temple priests perform the ''[[puja (Hinduism)|puja]]'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavaite]] community, a Brahmin varna. The temple rituals are performed four times a day: ''Kalasanthi'' at 8:00 a.m., ''Uchikalam'' at 12:00 p.m., ''Sayarakshai'' at 6:00 p.m., and ''Ardha Jamam'' at 8:30 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''neivethanam'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for Veeraraghava Perumal and Kanakavalli Thayar. During the last step of worship, ''[[nagaswaram]]'' (pipe instrument) and ''[[tavil]]'' (percussion instrument) are played, religious instructions in the ''[[Vedas]]'' (sacred text) and ''Naalayira Divya Prabandam'' are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of the [[Iconography of Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu#Dvajasthamba and Pali Peedam|temple mast]]. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple.<ref name="dinamalar"/>

During the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil]] month of ''Chittirai'', Brahmotsavam, a 10-day festival is celebrated, the festival deity is taken in procession around the streets of the temple in different mounts each day and the float festival is celebrated on the last day. The other festivals associated with Vishnu temples like Krishna Jayanthi, Saturdays of Tamil month Puratassi, [[Navratri]], [[Vaikunta Ekadasi]] and [[Vijayadashami|Vijayadasami]] are celebrated during the respective days.<ref name=Vijaya/>

==See also==
* [[Divya Desam]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Veeraraghava_Swamy_Temple&params=13_08_35.8_N_79_54_24.2_E_type:landmark GeoHack - Veeraraghava Swamy Temple]

* [http://www.indiantemples.com/Tamilnadu/df059.html About Thiruvallur Temple]

* [http://www.divyadesamonline.com/hindu/temples/tiruvallur-temple.asp DivyaDesam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405042805/http://divyadesamonline.com/hindu/temples/tiruvallur-temple.asp |date=5 April 2007 }}

* [http://svdtiruvallur.org Official web site of the temple]

{{commons category|Veeraraghava Swamy Temple}}

{{Famous Vishnu temples}}

[[Category:Divya Desams| ]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Tiruvallur district]]
[[Category:Tiruvallur]]

Veeraraghava Swamy Temple - Revision history

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