Purushothaman Perumal Temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Trimurti Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma.It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Purshottamar and his consort Lakshmi as Poornavalli.
Shrine’s History
The temple is believed to have been constructed by Janakar,the king of Janakapuri and the father of Sita from the epic Ramayana. Thirumangai Azhwar is believed to have resided in the temple to build the surrounding walls of the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple. The temple is believed to have been built by the Medieval Cholas of the late 8th century AD, with later contributions from Vijayanagar kings and Madurai Nayaks. During the war between British and French in 1751, the temple acted as an infantry for both the troops
Legends Associated with This Shrine
As per Hindu legend, once Vishnu wanted to test the devotion of Brahma. He raised as a Kadhamba tree in the place and Brahma, knowing this, started his worship practice with Thirumanjanam . The water from the ablution filled a tank nearby, which came to be known as “Kathamba Theertham”. Vishnu was satisfied with the devotion of Brahma and gave a boon to Brahma to have a shrine in this place. Shiva wanted to get rid of the sin holding the cut head of Brahma and went on a sacred trip. While coming to this place, Vishnu requested his consort Lakshmi to give alms to Shiva. Shiva’s grail was filled by the alms and Lakshmi came to be known as Poornavalli Thayar .
As per another legend, Brahma and Shiva both had originally five heads. Parvathi, the wife of Shiva once got confused and performed patha pooja to Brahma instead of Shiva. Shiva got enraged and cut off one of the heads of Brahma. The cut head got stuck in his hand of Shiva on account of a curse of Brahma. To get rid of the sin, Shiva worshipped Vishnu at this place as Bhikshadana, where a part of his sin was relieved. He got his curse fully relieved after visiting Vishnu at Thirukandiyur and taking a holy dip in the temple tank, Kamala Pushkarani at Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal Temple. After the incident, the tank came to be known as Kapala Theertham (kapala indicates skull). Shiva was pleased and he built the Hara Sabha Vimochana temple and also built a temple for himself near it.
Shrine’s Map Location and How to Go There
By Road
Trichy has well maintained National High ways connected with all major cities like Chennai, Nagaerkovil etc.
By Rail
Trichy Railway station is well connected with all railway stations in Tamilnadu and has plenty of express and passenger trains from Chennai, Madurai, and Tirunelveli etc.
By Air
Trichy City has Airport with domestic and international flights from Chennai, Bangalore, Colombo, Sharjah etc.
Shrine Timings
5:30 A.M to 8:30 P.M
Events Celebrated at This Shrine
Brahmotsavam November or December Rama Navami Utsavam April or May Vaikunta Ekadashi December or January Pongal January Diwali October or November
Extra Information About this Shrine
Specialty
In this temple, Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Lord Purushothaman, the presiding deity, in the reclining posture and Goddess Lakshmi as Goddess Pooranavalli .
There is a separate holy shrine found for Lord Shiva who is worshipped as Bhikshadanar in the form of Lingam, situated near the shrine of Lord Vishnu.
The Vimanam of Sri Purushothaman Perumal Temple is known as Udhyoga Vimanam. And there is also a separate shrine for Lord Brahma and Goddess Saraswati.
The other deities found in this temple are Lord Ganesha, Lord Murugan,Lord Nandheeswarar and the image of Navagrahas . As per the Tamil literature, Sri Purushothaman Perumal Temple is said to be glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham.
This is one of the temples where six separate holy shrines of Gods with their consort Goddesses are worshipped in a single temple complex. The seven forms of Guru can be observed in this temple.
The Seven forms are:
Lord Bhikshadanar, represents Sadasiva Guru Lord Brahma, represents Brahma Guru Goddess Soundarya Parvati represents Shakti Guru Brahaspathy represents Deva Guru Lord Varadaraja Perumal, represents Vishnu Guru Lord Subramanya, represents Gnana Guru Sukrachariar represents Asura Guru.
Nearby Temple
Rockfort Ucchi Pillayar Temple Jambukeswarar Temple Sri Ranganathar Temple Samayapuram Mariamman Temple Kallukuzhi Anjaneyar Temple Vazhivudu Murugan Temple Vekkaliamman Temple Sri Rajarajeswari Temple Manarpuram Mahalakshmi Thayar Temple
