Mel Kudanthai –
a temple dedicated to Lord Aravamudhan West of Thiru Kudanthai
The processional Utsava deity of Lord
Aravamudhan was presented to the Kethandapatti temple by the Lord of Thiru
Kudanthai
Located
6kms North of Jolarpet, off the Jolarpet-Vaniyampadi Railway route is the
Aravamudhan Temple in Kethandapatti, a serene village dating back to the 16th
Century AD and to the Nayak rule.
The Story
The village
was donated by the Nayak rulers of Thanjavur to Nallaan Raghunatha Chakravarthy
of Srimushnam. Following this, a saint from Srimushnam came here to Kethandapatti
and performed daily aradhana on the banks of the river Kallaar. In course of
time, invoking the blessings of the Lord of 5 Perumal temples, he carved out of
the rock sacred foot prints dedicating it to the five Lords- Srirangam,
Kanchipuram, Kumbakonam, Srisailam and Ahobilam.
To this day,
one finds the rock cut sacred foot prints dedicated to the five Lords on the
banks of Kallaar, one km west of the temple just off the Jolarpet-Vaniyampadi
railway line.
It was
during this period that a temple for one of these five Lords was built dedicated to Varadaraja Perumal and Perundevi Thaayar.
Aravamudhan Idol from Thiru
Kudanthai
A couple
of centuries later, the now famous Kethandapatti Swami of Lakshmipuram (a
village near Kuppam- Chittoor in AP) went with his disciples to the Sarangapani
Divya Desam in Thiru Kudanthai and brought a utsava idol of Lord Aravamudhan
from there and installed it here at Kethandapatti and introduced year long
festivals at this temple.
With
this, the temple came to be referred to as the Aravamudhan temple of
Kethandapatti. Similar to the divya desam at Thiru Kudanthai, the idol of
Komalavalli Thayaar was installed here. Being
West of Thiru Kudanthai, this Aravamudhan temple is also referred to as ‘Mel-Kudanthai’.
Grand Avathara Utsavam in Aippasi
Even
today, the avathara utsavam of Kethandapatti Swami is celebrated in a grand
manner in Aippasi (Moolam) in Srirangam, Kanchipuram, Kumbakonam,
Thiruvahindrapuram and at his birth place in Lakshmipuram.
There is
a handsome looking Garuda Vahana at this temple.
Festivals
Pavitrotsavam
Margazhi
Utsavam – Temple opens at 5am this month
Aadi
Pooram
Panguni
Uthiram
Ugadi-
Moolavar Thirumanjanam
Quick Facts
Moolavar:
Varadarajan East Facing Standing Posture
Thaayar : Perundevi Thaayar
Utsavar : Aravamudhan
Utsavar
Thaayar: Komalavalli Thaayar
Time : 6am-9am
and 5pm-8pm
Contact : Narasimhan Bhattar/ Sowmya Narayanan
Bhattar @ 86082 40944/ 98411 77333
How to reach
Auto
from Jolarpet Railway Station will cost Rs. 120/-. Town bus from Jolarpet will
take about 30minutes.
2 comments:
Thanks for the information prabhu. It is very useful to me. I am from krishnagiri and I used to travel through kethandapatti regular to reach my college. but I never knew about this temple. Last year I came to know about this temple (very less information and lakshmipuram temple in kuppam. I am happy to see detailed information. It will be helpful to visit the temple.
Fantastic. Thanks for the write-up
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