SRI
SANJEEVIRAYAN TEMPLE, IYENKULAM, KANCHIPURAM, T NADU
gk kaushik
Nettoor koti kanyadhana lakshmi kumara Thathacharyar.
During 1585-1614 AD, the kingdom of Vijayanagara was under the reign of Sri
Venkatapathi Maharaj. Nettoor Sri Thathacharyar was one of his ministers, and
he was well versed in state administration, and had established many temples
in provinces where he was administrator in-charge. He is popularly known as "Nettoor
koti kanyadhana lakshmi kumara Thathacharyar". There is a saying in Tamil
that even the king will become a destitute person after getting his five
daughters married. But Sri Thathacharyar was instrumental for one crore i.e.,
one hundred laksha [one laksha is one hundred thousand] marriages performed.
It was possible for him to conduct that many marriages, since he had the
blessings of Lakshmi Devi ,the Goddess for wealth. Hence he was considered as
son of Goddess Lakshmi Devi and was called Lakshmi Kumara. He is also known
as "Ubaya vedanthaachar", for he had established many temples.
Forefathers of Sri Thathacharyar.
Sri Thathacharyar hails from an illustrious family, and is a descendent of
Thirumalai Periyanambi. It is said that one of his forefathers left his
native place Nettoor to Aanaikunthi (Anakot) the then capital of Vijayanagara
samrajya, to receive presents from Sri Veerupaksha the king of
Vijayanagara. On reaching Aanaikunthi the person visited the palace and
expressed his wish of offering discourses on Maha Bharata. With the King's
permission he gave discourses on Maha Bharata for eighteen days. On the
concluding day he was given gold coins and other presents. The next day he
was astonished to see that there was no palace and others in Aanaikunthi. He
was unaware of the fact that Sri Veerupaksha had shifted his capital from
Aanaikunthi to nearby Hampi. On hearing the Mahabharata discourses the
spirits, of those who lost their lives in the war that was fought at
Aanaikunthi before shifting the capital to Hampi, had attained moksha.
Temple for Lord Anjaneya.
 Sri
Thathacharyar, who was a descendant of such mahapurush, had built a
beautiful temple for Lord Anjaneya near Kanchipuram. Normally a temple for
Lord Anjaneya will be having a small Gharbhagraham and a large hall in
front of it. But the temple that Sri Thathacharyar built for the Lord
Anjaneya is unique in many ways. If you take the route from Kanchipuram to
Kalavai just after crossing the river Palar the first village to be sited is
Iyankulam. The temple is situated in Iyankulam and one could see the temple
from a distance itself.
Unique temple in many ways.
Instead of constructing a small tank for the temple as normally found he had
constructed a big lake measuring 136 Acres. The temple had been constructed
in such a beautiful way that if seen from the lake, the temple will look as
if it is floating in the lake. The water from this lake was used for
irrigation also. There are steps made of granite around this lake. It is said
that while the lake was under construction, Lord Anjaneya Swami himself had
come and helped by digging in order to complete the job in time.
 Biggest
Anjaneya Temple of the Bharat.
On the south bank of the lake he had constructed the temple for Hanuman. The
Rajagopuram is facing the tank. Unlike the other temples, to enter this
temple one has to pass through a large mantap which has twenty four
pillars with beautifully engraved forms of Lords and Acharyas. This mantap
besides being built with unique architectural details also served as a
comfortable place for pilgrims to stay. There is an entrance to the temple
from the southern side as well where also a large mantap has been
built for the pilgrims to take rest.
Lord Sanjeevi Rayar.
As normally found in Vijayanagar architecture here also one could see four
small mantaps, with the beautiful cupola over the four tall pillars
made of a single stone on all the four sides of the temple which adds to the
majesty of the temple building. As one enters through the Rajagopuram he gets
into a very big hall with the roof painted artistically, and at the end of
the hall is the main sanctum sanctorum of Lord Sanjeevi Rayar, the Anjaneya.
Lord Sanjeevi Rayar is seen with anjali-hasta. There is conch and
chakra in the backdrop of the deity. With the glowing eyes Lord Sanjeevi
Rayar is blessing one and all who approach Him with piety.
Mahalakshmi at the sanctum.
Just before the entrance to the sanctum of Lord Sanjeevi Rayar, one could see
Sri Mahalakshmi on the right side. Sri Thathacharyar was an ardent devotee of
Sri Mahalakshmi and had installed the deity of Sri Mahalakshmi at the north
end of the lake in the 'natabavi' also. There are inscriptions in the
walls of the temple giving evidences, that many traders from far-off places
like Subatra, Siam had contributed their might for the up keep of this
temple.
Temple Festivals.
There are two mantaps, one at South-east corner and the other at the
North-east corner. During Sri RamaNavami the 'uthsava moorthi' of Lord
Rama and Sita devi are placed here and the marriage function of Lord Rama and
Sri Sita Devi is celebrated with gay and gaiety, which is witnessed by Lord
Sanjeevi Rayan also. Kanchipurm Sri Varadharaja Perumal visits this temple on
the full moon day of the Chitra month of solar calander.
Lord Sanjeevi Rayar the Sita Lakshmi suthan is ever
ready to bless one and all with His Lakshmi Kataksham in this
kshethra.
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