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Shri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple in Thiruparkadal – A Must Visit Temple for Thiruvonam Starers !!
Next in the list is Thiruvonam Star. The temple that is dedicated to Thiruvonam Nakshathira is Shri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple located in a place called Thiruparkadal in Vellore Dist.
The people who are born on Thiruvonam Nakshathira are helpful in nature. They would be well educated and talented. They tend to have a greater interest in devotion and respect elders. The Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple in Thiruparkadal is considered as the auspicious temple for their Nakshathira. Unlike the other Nakshathira Temples, this temple has a unique and interesting history behind it. What is so special about this temple? Why is it called unique? Here comes the answer. We all know the famous saying in Tamil, “Hariyum Sivanum Onnu Ariyadavar Vaayil Mannu”. This is the temple where we can visually observe it. In this temple, the Lord Venkateshwara stands on the Shivalinga.
As per the Sthala Purana, once the sage Pundareeka, an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu was on his way back from Kanchi after visiting Brahmma’s Aswamedha Yagna. It was Vaikunda Ekadesi day. So the sage Pundareeka wanted to have the darshan of Lord Vishnu. He saw this temple and he assumed that this would be a Vishnu temple. So he took bath in the temple pond and hurried inside to have the darshan of Lord Vishnu. But after going inside, he was shocked since it was a Shiva Temple. (Originally Lord Shiva was in the form of Shiva Linga and was known as Doosheshswarar). He was greatly disappointed and was worried that he might not have the darshan of Lord Vishnu on the day of Vaikunda Ekadesi. He was then about to leave the temple and an old person came to him and he clarified that it was indeed a Vishnu Temple. When the sage was not ready to believe his words, he forced the sage to come inside the temple and cross check it again. When the sage came again to the Sanctum Sanctorum, he was pleasantly surprised to see Lord Venkateshwara standing on the top of the Avudaiyar (the round platform on which the Shiva Linga will be installed). This was considered as one of the best ways to illustrate “All Gods are one and the same”. From that day, the Lord is called Pundareeka Varadan and the Pushkarni (Temple Pond) is called Pundareeka Pushkarni. This incident happened on Vaikunda Ekadasi and Thiruvonam Star day. So this temple is considered to be more auspicious for the people who are born on Thiruvonam Nakshathira.
Apart from this uniqueness, this temple has lots of other significances in it. First is the idol of Garudalwar. We have a separate shrine for Garudalwar (the eagle vehicle of Lord Vishnu). Here in this temple, the Garudalwar wears 9 serpents as ornaments. Hence he is named as “Nagabaranabhooshana Garudalwar”. It is believed that He grants Child Boon for His devotees when they worship Him on the ‘Aadi Swathi’ Day.
The next significance is all about the Vimana (Main Gopuram) of the temple. This Gopuram is known by the name Pundareeka Vimana or Ananda Nilaya Vimana. It is brightly painted in Golden Colour and has Gajendra Varadhar (Lord Vishnu sitting on the top of an elephant) facing towards the east. Then Sri Dakshinamoorthy facing towards the South, Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar towards the West and Lord Brahmma towards the North.
Sri Ranganatha Perumal temple is found next to this temple. In this Ranganatha Perumal temple, the Lord is a Suyambu Moorthy and is seen in Anantha Sayana posture sleeping on the 9ft long and 3 ft height Adiseshan (Snake). The interesting feature of Sri Ranganatha Perumal is that he is resting His head on a measuring bowl named Marakkal (in Tamil) in the Southern direction. Goddess Boodevi is found sitting at the Lord’s feet. Apart from this, the most special feature of this temple is that the entire idol (Moolavar) of Sri Ranganathar is made up of Athi Maram (Fig Tree). So the Lord is referred to as Athi Ranganathar.
As per the Sthala Purana of this temple, once Chitragupta was stuck with a disease. So he came to this temple and offered his prayers to Lord Ranganathar by doing Yagna. Being pleased by his prayers, Lord relieved him from the disease. Then Chitragupta asked the Lord if he could offer him anything in return. At that time, the Lord asked him to liberate His devotees from the Curse Notes if they offered sincere prayers in this temple.
Above all, the most special feature of this temple is that if we visit this twin temple (Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal and Sri Ranganathar), we will get the divine darshan of Tri-Moorthies -Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahmma. (In Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple, Lord Vishnu is seen standing on the Avudaiyar of Lord Shiva. In Ranganathar Temple, we could see Lord Brahmma seated on the lotus flower rising from the Lord’s navel).
These Twin temples are considered as 107th Divya Desam (Thiruparkadal, which normally cannot be seen in the material world). So this place is known as ‘Abhimana Kshethram’. Apart from Vaikunda Ekadesi, Pradosham is also celebrated in this temple in a special manner. Special Thirumanjanam(Abhishekam) will be performed to the feet of the Lord who stands on the Avudaiyar on this day.
It is strongly believed that by lighting the lamps with the mix of Ghee and oil and performing Tulasi Archanai, one would get relieved from all their sufferings. It is also believed that by offering garland made of 108 turmeric pieces to the Goddess Alarmel Mangai, they would get the boon of early and happy marriage. So these temples are considered as the Parihara temples for Marriage Boon !!
