SATHYAMURTHIPERUMAL TEMPLE, THIRUMAYAM , PUDUKKOTTAI DISTRICT-TAMILNADU Introduction
Sathyamurthi Perumal Temple in Thirumayam, a panchayat townin the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu.Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified inthe Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvarsaints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu,who is worshipped as SathyamurthiPerumal and his consort Lakshmi as Ujeevana Thayar. The temple is believed to have been built during the 9th century by the Pallavas.A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines. The temple hasa five-tiered Rajagopuram,the gateway tower and is behind a fort built during the 15th century. Thetemple tank is located inside the premises. The temple is maintainedand administered by the Archaeological Survey of India as a protected monument. The temple follows the Tenkalai tradition of worship. Fourdaily rituals and many yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the car festival during the Tamilmonth of Vaikasi (April - May), Krishna Jayanti during Avani (August - September) and Adi Puram during July -August being the most prominent. Legend The Brahmanda Puranamentions the legend about this temple. Once, Adishesha, the serpent-mount of Vishnu, wanted toconvert his guna (quality) from tamas (darkness) to satvik (purity). He performed a penance at thisplace via the netherworld in a path, which went on to become the river Pamapar. Vishnu appeared tohim in the form of Hayagriva and granted him a boon. Chandra alsoperformed penance at this place. Vishnu was pleased by his devotion andappeared to him in the form of Vamana. Another legend about thetemple is that a sage named Satya performed penance at this place. Pleased by his devotion, Vishnu granted him a boon that hewould appear to the sage whenever he wished. The sage had no wish tomove away from river where he was performing the penance. Vishnu converted the river to aPushkarani, the rock to Meyyam hill and banyan tree to Asvatta tree.The sage performed penance again and wished salvation. Vishnu told him that he would attainsalvation at the same time as king Pururava. Vishnu appeared in the form of a boar and created havoc inthe kingdom of Pururava. The king chased the boar to the forest where the sagewas performing penance. The sage was disturbed and opened the eyes, while theking saw the boar disappeared. Vishnu appeared to grant a vision to both of them. He grantedsalvation to the sage and directedthe king to build a temple at this place, which went on to become theSatyamurthi Perumal temple. History Historians believe that the temple was built during the 9th century CE by thePallavas. Another view is that the temple to have been built by a vassal of Pallavas following theRock-cut architecture of Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram builtby Mahendravarman I (590-630CE) and his son Narasimhavarman I. An inscription in thetemple indicates contributions to the temple by Perumbidugu Perumdevi, motherof Sattan Maran, a contemporary and vassal of Pallava king Nandivarman II(731-796 CE). The fort, the Shiva andVishnu temples are the tourist attractions. The fort played an important role in the history ofThondaiman rulers of Pudukottai and the British. The 40-acre fort was built byVijaya Ragunatha Sethupathi of Ramanathapuram in 1687 CE. On the hill, there is arock-cut Shiva temple with inscriptions on music. There are relics of another fort. At the foot of thehill are the Shiva and Vishnu temples. It was in this fort that the brother of Kattabomman, Oomathurai was ensnared and imprisoned. An oldarmour used by him is exhibited here. Architecture The temple is located in Thirumayam, a village in the Madurai- Pudukottai road, 15 km from Pudukkotai. The temple is adjacent to the Sathyagiriswara Sivan temple,located in the same complex. The temple is believed to have beenbuilt during the 9th century by the Pandyas. A granite wall surrounds thetemple, enclosing all its shrines. The temple has a five-tiered rajagopuram,the gateway tower and is behind a fort built during the 15th century. Thetemple tank is located inside the premises. There are lot of stone sculpturesin the temples as in Mahabalipuram.The idol of Thirumeyyar is probably thelargest one in sleeping posture in India Just next to the temple is that of Sathyagirishwarar- LordShiva and the girivalam is possible only if the twotemples are combined. The hall preceding the sanctum, the Ardha mandapa isrectangular in shape, similar to the sanctum. The wall behind the presidingdeity has images of Garuda, Chitragupta, Markandeya, Brahma, the Devas, Vasus,and the Kinnaras. We can see the well stretched and huge Raja Gopuram, which isfound at the entrance of the temple. This sthalam is also called as “Aadhi Ragam” and theperumal is older and bigger than that of the perumal found in SriRangam. Afterentering through the Raja Gopuram, we can find a big Mandapam where lots ofstone carved pillars are found with beautiful paintings. Separate sannadhi forSri Kannan, Sri Aandal, Chakrathalwar and Narasimhar are found. After crossing this Mandapam another big mandapam named “MahaMandapam '' is found in which the Garudan facing along the Moolavar Sannadhi isfound. Moolavar Sathya giri nathan in Nindra thirukkolam and next tothis sannadhis, separate sannadhi for Uyya Vandha Naachiyaar is found. On the western side inside the mountain, as Bogha SayanaMoorthy in Anantha Sayanam, the perumal in another thirukkolam is giving hisseva and this perumal is big in structure then SriRangam Ranganathar. HavingAdhiseshan as the bed, the perumal gives his Kidantha Kola seva with twoThirukkaram (hands) as same as the Ranganathar found in SriRangam. Around this perumal, Chitraguptan, Markandeya Maharishi,Brahma devan and Garudan are found. Chitraguptan who assist along with Yamen,the king of Naragham (the hell) and the Maarkandeya maharishi who has got the“Sirangeevi” throne are found around the perumal to show the courts of peoplealong with their good and evil actions performed by them. On the thiruvadi(feet) of the perumal, Bhoomi piratti and Madhu Kaidapars are found. This temple is almost thesame as that of the temple in Mahabalipuram. We can find lots of stone carved Sculptures and paintingsand the Perumal is found inside the mountain and it serves as the umbrella forhim. Another temple named “Keeyai Kovil” is found where a temple for Lord Shivais found. The name of him is “Sathya gireeswarar”. It is saidthat Mahendra pallavan had constructed this temple for both Lord Vishnu andLord Shiva without having any racism between Saivism and Vaishnavism. About the temple This beautiful rock cut temple is among the 108 divyadesamsof Sri Vaishnavas and comes under Pandiya naatu divyadesams. The temple is inside a huge fortand adjoining is theSathyagiriswarar temple of Lord Shiva. The presiding deity isSathyagiri nathan/Sathyamoorthy perumal with prayoga chakra and shanku in hishands and is swayambu moorthy. Adjoining it is the sannadhi for Meyyapparperumal who is lying on Adiseshan and gives darshan in sayana kolam. Meyyappar perumal is similar toLord Ranganatha at Srirangam but is really huge in comparison. Also inthe sannadhi are chitragupta, Dharmaraj, Brahma, several devas, rishis andasuras. Bhoomi Devi thayar appears close to his feet. There is a separatesannadhi for Ujjeevana thayar. Deities The presiding deity is called Sathyamurthi Perumal. The temple is old andlarge, and striking in appearance. The main statue of Sathyamurthi Perumalapproximately seven feet inheight is standing on a rock, along with his wives in the firstsanctum. In the next sanctum,Mahavishnu's sculpture is in sleeping position, sleeping with a sense of knowing what isgoing on at present. Sculptures of Mahavishnu in this position can be viewed inmany temples, although this is one of the largest examples. There are many other sanctums in the temple. All the statuesare sculptured beautifully. It is this, the reclining form of Vishnu christenedAzhagiya Neyyar (the Deity who enchants all his devotees with his beauty), thatis also the largestsculpture of Anantasayi (Vishnu in reclining pose) in India. It is anatural cavern which has been rock cut to have various images. The wall behind the presidingdeity has images of Garuda, Chitragupta, Markandeya, Brahma, the devas, thevasus, and the kinnaras. The temple is maintained and administered by theArchaeological Survey of India as a ticketed monument. Sannadhis Sathyamoorthy perumal .Meyyappar perumal Ujjeevana thayar,Chakratazhwar Lakshmi Narasimhar,Ramar, Sita, Lakshmana Andal,Krishna,Anjaneya,Garuda,Vishwaksenar Idols Alwars, Acharyas, Lot of nagars Religioussignificance, Religious practices and festival Sathyamurthi Perumal temple is revered in Nalayira DivyaPrabhandam, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Thirumangai Alvar. Thetemple is classified as a Divya Desam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that arementioned in the book. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the temple findsmention in several works like 108 Tirupathi Anthathi by Divya Kavi PillaiPerumal Aiyangar. The image of the reclining deity is bigger than the Ranganatha image inSrirangam temple. The Adishesha in the temple is believed to as aprotecting force. Once it emanated fumes on the attacking asuras who wanted todestroy it. Following the legend, the image is sculpted in such a wayshowing flames emanating from it. The temple follows the traditions of the Tenkalai sect of theVaishnava tradition and follows vaikhānasāgama. In modern times, the templepriests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Asat other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Vaishnavaitecommunity, from the Brahmin class. Four daily rituals are performed at various times of the day and manyyearly festivals are held at the temple, of Festivals Many yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which thecar festival during the Tamil month of Vaikasi (April - May), Krishna Jayantiduring Aaavani (August - September) and Aadi Pooram during July - August beingthe most prominent. Krishna Jayanti is celebrated in large scale. There areweekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple How to reach Thirumayam is around 20 KMs from Tirupattur and 15 KMs fromPudukottai. The temple is about a KM from the main Tirupattur - Pudukottaistate highway. One can get down at Thirumayam bus stand and either walk downfrom there or take an auto. The nearest station is Thirumayam on theKaraikudi-Pudukottai route. Nearest airport is Madurai around 90 KMs away. Specialty of thetemple Adiseshan is said to have let off poisonous gas against theasuras and hence appears here in the same form. Temple timings The temple is open from 8 am to 12.30 noon and from 4.30 pmto 8 pm in the evenings. Administration The temple is maintained and administered by theArchaeological Survey of India as a protected monument. Sthala Vruksham:(Tree) and Vimanam Jackfruit tree-Vimanam:Sathya giri Vimaanam. Compiled and posted by R. 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