Bhakta Vatsala Perumal Temple - Where A Celestial Marriage Took Place!



In this blog, we will read about a Divya Desham of Maha Vishnu - Bhakta Vatsala Perumal temple which is located at Thirukannamangai village in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu. As the name suggests, the presiding deity Maha Vishnu is worshipped as Bhakta Vatsala Perumal and His consort Maha Lakshmi is Kannamangai Naayaki. 

This temple finds mention in Padma Puraana, one of our revered spiritual texts. Many prominent sages and devotees have song praises in favour of Bhakta Vatsala Perumal. 

During the Samudra - manthan, many objects emerged from the ocean. At the end, Maha Lakshmi Herself came out of the ocean. Looking at Maha Vishnu, She knew that He was the one She wanted to marry. The Devi came to the village Thirukannamangai where She undertook a lot of penance until finally Maha Vishnu came there to marry Her. The place where Devi meditated upon the Lord is named Lakshmi Vanam. All the Devas in the cosmos came there to witness the wedding. It is said that the gods did not want to leave the place and transformed themselves into bees so that they could stay there. It is said that there is a big beehive near the temple and no one knows how old the hive is. Lord Shiva is believed to be protecting the temple from all four corners. Also, the holy pond inside the temple is said to have been formed by the water that fell down from the kamandalu of Lord Brahma when He was worshipping the holy feet of Maha Vishnu during His Vaaman Avatar. The pond is called   Darshana Pushkarini and is considered as one of the largest temple-ponds in the state. 

The temple is also referred to as Sapthamrita Kshethram. It has all the seven elements that are required for a temple - Vimaanam, Mandapam, Aranyam, theertham, Kshethram, river and town. It is also considered as one of the five Krishnaranya Kshethram, called as Pancha Kannan Kshethram. The four other temples in this category are - Lokanatha Perumal temple in Thirukannangudi, Gajendra Varada temple at Kabisthalam, Neelamegha Perumal temple at Thirukannapuram and Ulagalantha Perumal temple at Thirukovilur. In all these temples, Krishna is not the presiding deity. Since He is the Utsava Murthy in all these temples, being carried out during processions, the temples are referred by His name. 

The temple has an impressive 90-feet tall, 5-tiered Rajagopuram. Even the deity of Bhakta Vatsala Perumal and the Garuda are imposing. This temple has a rare image of Lord Buddha in it. 

Since Bhakta Vatsala Perumal comes to the help of the devotees at the speed of Aavi (steam), He is also called as Bhaktaraavi. Also, the Lord is said to have performed Abhishekam for the Devi here, which is why She is also called as Abhishekavalli Thaayar.

Om Namo Narayana! Om Devyai Namaha!

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