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Abodes of Vishnu

48. Arulmigu Rukmini Sathyabama sameda Pandava Thoodha Perumal Temple, Thiru Paadagam

Birth Star - Rohini

Mulavar   Pandava Thoodhar
Utsavar    
Thayar   Rukmani, Sathyabama
Kshethram    
Pose & Direction   Sitting pose facing East
Theertham   Matsya Theertham
Vimanam   Pathra Vimanam, Devakoti Vimanam
Sthala Vruksham    
Paadiyavar   Thirumangaialwar, Pei Alwar, Boothath Alwar, Thirumezhisai alwar
Travel Base   Kanchipuram
Nearest Railway Station   Kanchipuram

Location

This temple is located in Periya Kanchipuram near Gangaikondan Mandapam. The temple is opposite that of Lord Ekambareswarar in Kancheepuram.  

History

The Sthala Puranam of this temple is associated with an interesting episode found in the Mahabharata. When Krishna went as an emissary (Dhoodha) of the Pandavas to the court of the Karuvaras at Hastinapuram to request Dhuryodhana to follow the path of peace and avert war, Dhuryodhana hatched a plot to capture and imprison Krishna. Dhuryodhana digs a pit and tops it with bamboo sticks. On this bamboo topped pit, he puts up a grand stage, thus setting up Krishna for a mega fall. However, the Lord at that time assumed his Viswaroopa form and the crowd at Duryodana’s court began to worship him. With Krishna’s grace, the blind Dhritarashra was able to have the vision of the Lord’s Viswaroopa. Years after this episode, Arjuna’s Grandson Janamejaya, who listened to the Mahabharata story from Vaisampaayana wanted to revive the moment (that of Lord Krishna displaying his Viswaroopam) and undertook penance at this place. Krishna is believed to have provided Darshan to Janamejaya, as ‘Pandava Dhoodha’, in the same way he had in the Mahabharata episode. The awe-inspiring, gigantic image of Lord Krishna at Paadagam is believed to be this Viswaroopa form, which he revealed to Janamejaya, acceding to the wish of this king who performed severe penance. Another legend has it that Rohini Nakshatra, daughter of Daksha, worshipped Sri Krishna here to get Chandra, or moon god, as husband. Arulalap Perumal Emperumaanar known earlier as Yagna Murthi, he was a great scholar who defeated many people with his ‘tarkha vatham’ i.e., Tarkham (logic). It is a great study involving analytics and more. Those who were defeated in the defeat had to embrace the Advaitha philosophy. Yagya Murthy was travelling far and wide, defeating many noted scholars and the wins were getting on to his head making him haughty. He had to be defeated and be convinced of the greatness of Lord Sriman Narayana and Vishishtadvaita principles. It reportedly was a very grand debate between Yagna Murthi and Sri Ramanujar – the battle of words raged for days together and appeared as if it would never end. On a particular day, when Sri Ramanujacharya could not conclusively respond on a particular point and had to retire for the day, Swami prayed to his "Aaradhana Perumal – Sri Perarulalar [Kachi Varadarajan aka Devathirajar] with the divine blessings of the Lord Himself, Udayavar referred to the excerpts from Swami Alavandar's Sidhithrayam. Yagna Murthi was defeated and he bowed before Udayavar who was shining in resplendent splendour wearing 12 urdhva pundrams. He was to become an ardent disciple of Ramanujar from then on. The disciple of Udayavar was now known as Arulala Perumal Emperumaanar – as Swami Udayavar conjoined his name with that of Sri Per Arulalar. During the time of Sri Ramanujar a separate mutt for Arulala Perumal Emberumanar was also established.

Architecture

Pandava Thoothar Perumal Temple, also known as Thirupadagam, is a unique shrine dedicated to Bhagavan Sri Krishna in Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu. The temple is located in Big Kanchipuram near the Ekambareswarar Temple. The primary entrance of the temple faces east and the temple has a rectangular plan. The temple has a four-tiered Rajagopuram and a single precinct enclosed in the walls. The Maha mandapa is believed to have been built by the Cholas, while the adjacent hall during the period of Vijayanagara Empire. The majestic and unusually large images of Lord Vishnu at Paadagam, Ooragam and Tiruvekka seen in the sitting, standing and reclining postures respectively are of stucco (sudhai) and not of stone as usually seen in most temples. According to scholars, these images were probably set up for worship even in the pre-Pallava times, i.e., in the sangam age. The central shrine of the temple has a large image of the presiding deity Pandava Thoothar, which has a height of 25 ft. (7.6 m). The 25 feet murti of Bhagavan Sri Krishna faces east and it is in this form that he appeared before Janamejaya. No temple in India has so tall a Perumal in a sitting form. The tower above Lord Krishna – Pandava Dhoodha Perumal – is called Badra Vimana. The deity is seen seated in Arda Padmasana posture with his right leg bent to the basement. Since Krishna appeared as human form, there are only two hands to the deity, unlike other temples, where the presiding deities have four or more hands. The right palm depicts the Abhaya Mudra for protection and the left arm depicts Varada Mudra for giving boon. The preceding hall to the main sanctum, Mukha Mandapa, has bronze images of the festival deities of the temple and Azhwars. The most prominent of them is of Arulala Perumal Emberumaanar, the disciple of Ramanuja, whose image is rarely found in other Vishnu temples. The Shrine of Rukmini is located to the south of the main shrine and has the image of Rukmini. There are modern additions like Chakrathaazhwar with an image of Narasimha on it reverse located behind the main shrine. Matsya Theertham, the temple tank, is located on the north eastern side of the temple. Consort worshiped here is Satyabama and Rukmini. The tirtha associated with the temple is Matsya Tirtha. The present structure, which is in Dravidian style of architecture, is believed to be more than 1000 years old. The processional deity (Utsava-murti), in this shrine, is a four-armed Vishnu flanked by Sridevi and Bhudevi.

Timings: 7.00 am to 11.00 am, 4.00 pm to 7.30 pm