Pundarikakshan Perumal Temple

Pundarikakshan Perumal temple is believed to have been built by the Pallavas, as seen from the three inscriptions in its two rock-cut caves. Two of the inscriptions are dated from the period of Nandivarman II (732–796 CE) and the other from the period of Dantivarman (796–847 CE). The temple construction completed presumably during the time of Dantivarman. A Chola inscription indicates an endowment to the shrines of Krishna (an avatar of Vishnu) and his chief consort, Rukmini, inside the temple by King Parakesarivarman (907–955 CE). The temple had later additions from the subsequent Chola, later Pandyas, Hoysala and the Vijayanagara kings. The temple suffered extensive damage during a flood and was repaired by a merchant around 1262–63. ==Architecture==

Pundarikakshan Perumal temple is located in Thiruvellarai, a village from Tiruchirappalli, on the Thuraiyur road. The shrine of Pundarikakshan is built on a tall artificial hill. There are two stepped entrances to the sanctum, Utharayana Vaasal and Dhakshanayana Vaasal, each open for a six-month period. From 15 January to 15 June, Utharayanya Vaasal is opened, Dhakshanaya Vaasal is for the other six-month period. Pundarikakshan, the presiding deity of the temple is named "Maayavan" during Dakshinayanam and "Thai Maatha Naayagan" during Uttarayanam. The two gates in the temple are believed to represent the continuous cycle of entering into life and getting out of it. An image of the presiding deity, Pundarikakshan, is seen in a standing posture facing east. He is believed to have appeared to Garuda, Sibi Chakravarthy, Bhoomadevi, sage Markandeya, Brahma and Shiva, all of whose images are housed inside the sanctum. The consort of Pundarikakshan, Shenbagavalli, (also called "Peri Pirattiyaar Lakshmi Devi") has a separate shrine. The Utsavar (festival image) of Pankajavalli is called Shenbagavalli and is housed inside the same shrine. The temple has Pallava sculptural depictions of Narasimha and Varaha, two of the ten avatars of Vishnu. Narasimha is depicted holding a demon in one panel, the other shows him tearing the demon. The rectangular walls around the temple enclose all the eight shrines and six of the seven water bodies associated with the temple. Besides the main shrine for Pundarikakshan and Pangayavalli, the temple has shrines for Alvars, Garuda, Ramanujar and Uyyakondar. The seven water bodies are Divya Tirtham, Kanda Kshree Tirtham, Tirtham, Chakkara Tirtham, Pushkala Tirtham, Padma Tirtham and Varaaha Manikarnika Tirtham. The vimanam (structure over the sanctum) is called Vimalaakkruthi Vimaanam. Paintings with some of the popular themes from the epic Ramayana were also commissioned by the Nayak kings in the temple. The rajagopuram, the main gateway tower, is an unfinished structure. An initiative to complete the estimated has been mooted by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board in 2017. A swastika-shaped temple tank built during 800 CE is present in the south-western corner of the street around the temple. It has four stepped gateways, each having 51 steps. The tank is believed to have been built by Kamban Araiyan during the reign of Dantivarman. In modern times, it is maintained by the Department of Archaeology of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The temple complex covers an area of , while the tank covers an area of and many mandapas are dedicated to the Lord which cover a total . An archaeological study in 2010 revealed that the layout of the rock-cut caves in the temple is similar to that of other rock-cut temples such as the Rockfort and Pechipalai cave temple. The unfinished caves in the temple, along with the lower cave temples in Tiruchirappalli and Tiruparankunram, each have a shrine for Shiva in the east and Vishnu in the west, separated by a central bay between them. ==Legend==

The word Vellarai means white rock. Owing to the presence of white rocks in the region, the place is historically referred to as Thiru Vellara. As per Hindu legend, when Sibi Chakravarthi stayed there with his warriors, a white boar crossed his path. He chased it and the boar hid inside a hole. Markandeya, a sage, was doing penance there and the king narrated the incident to him. The sage asked the king to fill the hole with milk. While doing so, Hindu god Vishnu appeared before them. The sage asked the king to bring 3700 Vaishnavas from the north and build a temple on the site for Vishnu. As requested, the king took 3700 Vaishnavas and started building the temple. While doing so, one of the Vaishnavas was killed in transit and the king was concerned by the accident. Vishnu appeared incognito as Pundarikakshan, a Vaishnava, and requested to be counted among the 3700. According to another legend Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, performed penance at the temple, and Vishnu appeared before her as Sengamalakannan. The presiding deity has since been called "Thamarai Kannan", meaning the one who has eyes resembling lotus; his consort is called "Pankajha-Valli". The Hindu god Shiva in form of Neelivaneswarar is believed to have worshipped Pundarikakshan to absolve himself from the sin of holding Brahma's severed head. Vishnu appeared to both Shiva and Brahma, adhering to their prayers. ==Religious significance==

The temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Periyalvar in eleven hymns and by Thirumangai Alvar in thirteen hymns. The temple is classified as a Divya Desam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples mentioned in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham. Some of the ancient Sanskrit books consider the temple an uthamakshetram, meaning a place that gives the best to its devotees. Vedanta Desika (1269–1370) revered the temple in his work Hamsa Sandesam. It is also considered one of the most hallowed and pious Vaishnava Divyadesams, as being older than the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam, one visit to this temple is considered equal to visiting all 108 Vaishnava Divyadesams. As per Hindu legend, the eighteen steps in the temple represent the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita and the last four steps represent the four vedas, the sacred Hindu religious texts. Sounds produced near some of the big pillars of the temple echoes around the temple. Some of the sacred verses are recited more than once in front of these pillars during worship. Thiruvellarai is the birthplace of Uyyakondar, a disciple of Nathamunigal. Thiruvellarai is also the birthplace of Engalazhwan (Vishnuchitthar), who is believed to have taught Sri Bhasyam to Nadadhoor Ammal at the temple. According to Hindu tradition, Ramanuja (1017–1137), the leading expounder of Vishishtadvaita philosophy, visited the temple. One of his disciples placed Ramanuja's sandals along with the image of Varadarajan. Ramanuja became furious at this, for which the disciple explained that for Ramanuja Varadarajar is god, but for him, Ramanuja is supreme. Thiruvellarai is the birthplace of Uyyakondar, a disciple of Nathamuni. Swami Engalazhwan is believed to have taught Sri Bhasyam to Nadadhoor Ammal at the temple. ==Festivals and religious practices==

The temple priests perform the puja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Vaishnavaite community, a Brahmin varna. The temple rituals are performed six times a day: Ushathkalam at 7 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 p.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 10:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Pundarikakshan and Pankajavalli. During the last step of worship, nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument) are played, religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred text) are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of the temple mast. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple. ==Notes==