Veerarghavaswamy Temple or Thiruevvul is a temple dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu, It is counted as one among the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu. Vishnu is worshipped as Veeraraghava Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Kamalavalli Thayar.
Shrine’s History
The temple is originally believed to have been built by the Pallavas during the 8th century. There are inscriptions dating back to the later half of the 9th century Pallava dynasty reign here. Local folklore claims that the temple is around 5000 years old. According to historian K.V. Soundararajan, the Rangantha temples in South India built during the 9th and 10th centuries have a systematic arrangement of subsidiary deities as seen in this temple along with the Appakkudathaan Perumal Temple at Koviladi, Sowmya Narayana Perumal temple at Thirukoshtiyur, Rajagopalaswamy temple at Mannargudi and Rangantha temple at Srirangapatna. Most scholars believe that the major structures of the temple were built during 1409. There is an inscription on the Eastern wall in 1542 AD indicating grants to the temple by a private party.
Legends Associated with This Shrine
Markandeya Purana details the history of the temple. A sage named Salihotra had his hermitage in this place. He used to grind rice for a living and offered half of the flour to the seekers and used to consume the rest himself. He was an ardent devotee of Vishnu. To test his devotion, Vishnu appeared as a guest to him one day. He requested Salihotra to offer him food, which the sage did. The guest felt hungry and requested the sage to offer more food. The sage offered the other half portion of the flour which he used to consume himself.
The guest asked a place to rest and the sage readily offered his hermitage. On arriving at the hermitage, the guest revealed his true form and blessed the sage. As per another legend, Vishnu appeared in the place to marry Lakshmi, who was born as the daughter of Dilipa, the king of Dharmasenapura. He appeared in the place and married her.The place is also called Thiruevvul and Veshranniem.
Architectural Relevance of This Shrine
The temple is under the administration of Ahobila Mutt. It has five tiered Rajagopuram . There are separate shrines for Kanakavalli, Ganesha, Alwars, Gajalakshmi Thayaar. Here, the Lord married Vasumathi the daughter of a king Dharmasena. There are also shrines to Ganesha, Gopalan, Nammazhwar, Chakrattazhwar, Andal, Vedanta Desika, Ramanujacharyar, and Lakshmi Narasimhar. The presiding deity Veeraraghava Swamy is in a recumbent position facing east. His right hand blesses the sage Salihotra and left hand in gnana mudra preaches to Brahma. The Vimanam is called Vijayakoti Vimanam as it is a symbol of victory against Madhukaidapas asuras who were killed by Vishnu.
The Thayar is called Kanakavalli and her shrine is located parallel to the sanctum. There are shrines of Azhwars, Ranganatha and Hanuman located around the sanctum in the first precinct. The sacred tank is called Hrutatapanasini. The presiding deity Veeraraghava Perumal is believed to cure diseases of his devotees and hence he is called “Vaithiya Veeraraghavan”. There is another legend that Lord Shiva got rid of his Brahmahathi Dosha after worshipping Vishnu in the place. There is a small shrine for Shiva in this temple premises.
Shrine’s Map Location and How to Go There
By Road
From Koyambedu CMBT the buses plying to Tirupati and Thiruttani pass through this town and bus services are also available from Chennai, Chengalpet, Arakkonam, Poonamallee, Avadi, Tambaram, Periyapalayam, Uthukottai, Redhills, Tirupati, Thiruttani, Kanchipuram and Tiruvannamalai.
By Rail
The nearest railway station to reach Sri Veeraraghava Perumal temple is Tiruvallur railway station which is 5 km from the temple.
By Air
The nearest airport to reach Sri Veeraraghava Perumal temple is the Chennai International Airport which lies just 42 km from Tiruvallur.
Shrine Timings
6:30 A.M to 9 P.M
Events Celebrated at This Shrine
Annual Brahmmotsavam April/May
Thai month Festival January/February
Vaikunda Ekadasi December/January
Diwali Festival October/November Pongal January
Extra Information About this Shrine
Nearby Temple
Sri Viswaroopa Panchamukha Hanuman Temple
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Sri Maha Ruthra Kali Amman Temple
Sri Mangaleeswarar Temple
Sri Subramaniaswamy Temple
Sri Bhakthavatsala Perumal Temple
Thripurandhakeshwarar Shiva temple
