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Sep 26, 2010

Parikkal Lakshmi Narasimhar Temple








5 quick facts

1) 1800 year old Lakshmi Narasimhar temple.
     Moolar is east facing lakshmi narasimhar. 
     Lord narasimhar is found with His left hand around the Goddess.
     Also Separate sanidhi for Kanagavalli thayar.


2) Utsavar is Narasimhar in standing position, with Sridevi and Bhoodevi.


3) Navagraha Dhosam Parighara Stalam & Prarthana Sthalam- Debts, Enemies and Diseases are said to go away if one offers prayers at this temple


4) There is a well inside the temple known as "Naga Koopam" and bathing in its water cures one of many ills. Garuda and Gomukhi Theerthams are the other water sources. The holy tree is "Magizham"


5) two Anjaneya in the same sanidhi. Anjaneya gets the 2nd right of Thirumanjanam after Lord Narasimha (in other temples, Thaayar is the one who gets the Thirumanjanam after the Lord).




Urchavar with Sridevi and Bhoodevi


This is one of the 8 temples in Tamil Nadu, where Lord Narasimha provided darshan after the killing of Hiranya. 
1) Singarakudi near Pondicherry/Cuddalore, 
2) Anthili near Thiru Kovilur, 
3) Parikkal near Kedilam, 
4) Sholingur
5) Nammakkal
6) Singaraperumal Koil near Chengalpet 
7) Sinthalavadi.
8) Poovarasan kuppam


Also, there is the Sayana Narasimha in Thiru Vathigai in Panruti. 



Parrikal, is an ancient temple built by Vasantharaja of Vriddachalam is one of the four Narasimha temples in the Villupuram region

Prarthana Sthalam- Debts, Enemies and Diseases are said to go away if one offers prayers at this temple

Vasantharaja ruled this place with his capital at Vriddachalam and wanted to build a temple for Lord Narasimha. Constantly troubled by Parakalasura (said to be a relative of Hiranyakashipu), Vasantharaja undertook a penance here as directed by his Guru. Answering his prayers, Lord Narasimha is said to have appeared here and killed the Asura.

Having only seen the destructive mood of an angry Narasimha, Vasantharaja invoked the blessings of Goddess Lakshmi to provide darshan with the Lord displaying his softer form.

Kanakavalli Thaayar is said to have sat on his lap, cooled him down and provided darshan to Vasantharaja, the Devas and the Rishis at this place.

Delighted at the darshan of Lord Narasimha in this form, Vasantharaja requested that this place be named after the asura who provided the king with the opportunity to have a darshan of the Lord.

Hence, this place was referred to as ‘
Parikala’puram, which in course of time became ‘Parikkal’.

While the original temple was built by Vasantharaja using red bricks, lime and wood, it is believed to have been destroyed during the Mughal invasion. The temple that one sees today is said to have been built by Veera Narasimha of Karnataka using granites. Parikkal Lord Narasimha is said to be the Kula Deivam for the Madhwas of Karnataka.



Presence of two Anjaneya idols
An interesting feature at this temple is the presence of two Anjaneya idols in the same Sannidhi. Unlike other temples, Anjaneya gets the 2nd right of Thirumanjanam after Lord Narasimha (in other temples, Thaayar is the one who gets the Thirumanjanam after the Lord).

Prarthana Sthalam
This is a Prarthana Sthalam – Three kinds of worries for human beings- Debts, Enemies and Diseases - are said to go away if one offers prayers at the Parikkal Narasimha temple.

Inscriptions on the temple walls
Confirming the rich history behind this temples are the several inscriptions found on the outside walls of the temple dating back several hundred years, prominent among them include the fish shaped inscriptions. This leads one to two inferences: One, the Pandya kings, whose symbol was a ‘Fish’, may have contributed to this temple in a big way. The other is the story relating to Vasantharaja, who one night saw in his dreams fishes near this place…an indication of impending victory in his battle against the asura. 



13th Century AD inscription indicating contribution by Pallava king Koperichingan

14th Century AD inscription that describes the contribution of Thiru Bhuvanam Chakravarthy Konerinmai Kondaan

Another inscription shares light on the tax exemption in nearby villages -Thiruvennai Nallur, Aanathur and Sithanthur and using these funds for the improvement and maintenance of this temple

Raja Raja Chozhan I is said to have constructed the temple tank

Renovation of the temple by Pallava and Nayak kings

Festivals
There are festivals round the year at this temple.

On the 5th day of Thai, Lord Narasimha goes on a procession to Pennai River and stays there the night.

On Maasi Magam - full moon day- the Lord goes on a 10km procession to the Kedila River.

On Panguni Uthiram, the Lord is taken on a procession to Orathur Village.

Every month on Swathi Nakshatram, there is a special Thirumanjanam in the evening and a Sannidhi procession inside the temple.

It is believed to be good to visit the temple on Puratasi Saturday .



Temple Time : 6am-1pm and 4pm- 8pm
Priest Contact: Krishnamurthy Bhattar @ 96004 55395



How to reach the temple: 
Take the Madras- Villupuram-Ulundurpet- Trichy GST National Highway
21kms after Villupuram, Get down at Kedilam Junction

There are 30 share autos plying between Parikkal and Kedilam Junction- Rs.5 per head.
Auto will charge Rs.30-40/- from Kedilam Junction.

If travelling by car from Madras/ Villupuram, take a right(towards West) just before Kedilam Cross Road, cross the railway line to reach the temple (about 2kms from the railway line).

By Train
Passenger train from Villupuram and Vriddachalam stop at Parikkal railway station.




15 comments:

  1. Dear MurPriya
    I was really amazed to read about Parikkal Lakshmi Narasimha swamy Temple. This ancient temple with inscriptions dating back to Chozha and Pandia Kings should be treasured as a monument. Having born and brought up in this small village I remember the days when the Temple was less crowded, dark inside with bats flying around. A group of volunteers headed by the then Trustee Balasubramaniam Nainar, Ashokan Nainar, Sivanandam Udayar, Ramani Iyer, Durai Iyer, Vijayan Iyer and many others from the Village helped rebuild this temple with some Natural light coming through the ceiling. This natural light has given a new dimension to the temple and kept the bats away.
    The current Trustee Mr Dhandapani along with many dedicated volunteers and generous donors has built a new Temple Chariot (Ther)which went around the village during the recently concluded Bramhotsavam.
    Long may this dedication and service continue for the benefit of the Lakshmi Narasimha devotees.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Mr Vijayan,

    Very happy to read your comments. Those people are really blessed to do this service to God.

    Few days back (July 7th), eight of us were blessed to have Parikkal swamys wonderful dharshan. We had 2 days trip to Vilupuram temples.

    We reside out of India and we make sure we do a annual visit to this temple and nearby vilupuram temple to get his blessings.

    Please visit nearby Anthili Lakshmi Narasimha swamy temple(near Arakandanallur railway station) too if you haven't.

    Regards
    Murali Priya

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear MurPriya,

    I am very happy and excited to read through the details you've given about this ancient temple. Our family was blessed to have shared wonderful memories growing up in this puniya sthala. My cousins and friends used to play in the temple grounds and childishly enjoy the various darshans Lord Narasimga bestowed on us during various celebrations. All those golden memories were brought back while reading your text. Thank you again for sharing the same.

    -Bhuvana Jagan

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear Bhuvana Jagan,

    You must be really blessed to have your childhood spent in such a divine place, near our sweet Lakshmi Narasimhar.

    I stay outside India now and you wont know how much I miss Narasimhar temples.
    Yearly once or twice we visit India MAINLY for temples. Hoping to see him soon.

    Regards
    Priya

    ReplyDelete
  5. thanks for info
    how to reach frm panruti ?

    surya

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Abishegapakkam Temple is approx 2km from thavalakuppam (Pondichery).
      It is like Panruti -> towards pondichery -> thavalakuppam and then from there on local villagers will help.

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  6. Thanks for giving such a good and useful information. Iam a devotee of sri lakshmi nrusimha swamy. Iam from nellore , andhrapradesh. I want tp see all narasimha swamy temples in AP, TN, KAR,KRLA,TELGNAin my life. When iam searching for self manifested narasimha temples fortunately i come to know about this great temple. I am in curious to see my great nnrusimha swamy here.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi

    We are Iyengars and Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy at Parikkal is our Kula Deivam...however, the last 20 years or so we have not visited the temple. We want to perform the first Mundan (Mottai) ceremony for our son at the temple. Please guide us how to do it? Does it have facilities for Mundan/Mottai like Tirumala/Tirupati? Any Lakshmi Narasimha Bhaktas please reply when you read this.

    Regards
    Sreedevi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Try to reach Parikkal Priest Contact: Krishnamurthy Bhattar @ 96004 55395

      http://prtraveller.blogspot.sg/2009/07/parikkal-lakshmi-narasimha.html

      Parikkal Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar thiruvadigale saranam

      Delete
    2. Thanks to you MurPriya, I will reach out to Mr. Krishnamurthy Bhattar.

      Delete
    3. When's right day to visit this temple... Some Ppl saying saturday.. Some one said wednesday... Little confusion in this.. Plz help us to goo

      Delete
  8. AJAY KRISHNA SINGER ANNANAGAR CHENNAISeptember 1, 2016 at 7:30 AM

    Instant remedy for all problems by pragalatha bakthi folow on NARASIMHA DHARMA

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dear MurPriya

    I would like to ask some questions over email. Kindly send me an email to sreedevi.iyengar@yahoo.com

    Regards
    Sreedevi

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dear MurPriya

    I would like to ask certain questions over email. Kindly send me an email to sreedevi.iyengar@yahoo.com

    Regards
    Sreedevi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. padmavathy.tr@gmail.com is my email id. Jai Sri Lakshmi Nrusimhaya namaha

      Delete