Renovation will begin next month at the 17th century Thiru Venkatamudayan temple in Ariyakudi.
Being undertaken after a gap of 17 years at an estimated cost of Rs. 3 crores, this will be just the second renovation in over 100 years. The seven-tier, 120 ft rajagopuram that has link with the three Divya Desams, is the tallest for a Vishnu temple in the Chettinad region.
Sadly, some of the beautifully crafted idols atop the rishi gopuram and the one behind the raja gopuram, have been damaged by monkeys. In some, the heads are missing, while the hand in Brahma’s idol has come off.
As part of the renovation work, the paintings that have peeled off or have faded with time will be restored. So will be the herbal paintings, which depict Vishnu in various avatars and postures. These paintings are on the walls of the Ekadasi Mandapa in the temple. The mandapa, a unique feature of the temple is open to devotees only once a year during Vaikunta Ekadasi. A shed will be built to prevent water from entering the mandapa during the rains. The damaged portions of the gopurams are also being fixed.
Repair work will be carried out on the golden garuda vahana on which the Lord is taken out in a procession on the opening day of the Chithirai every year.
The chariot festival and theppotsavam take place in Vaikasi as part of the 15-day Brahmotsavam. While thousands of devotees visit the temple during the annual Vaikasi festival, as well as on Saturdays during Purattasi, the temple complex lacks basic amenities such as toilet facilities. It is hoped that HR & CE will look into this at the earliest.
The Divya Desam connect
It is said that Sevugan Chettiar used to walk to Tirupati with a group of devotees on Thiruvonam in Puratasi. Once due to ill-health he could not undertake the journey. He heard a voice that said the Lord himself was coming to give darshan to him. He was directed to Srirangam to collect the abisheka murthy of Ramanuja. He returned to this dense forest area of Ariyakudi and installed the utsava idol of Lord Srinivasa and built the first prakaram. Subsequently, the seven-tiered rajagopuram was built along with a separate sannidhi for Alarmel Mangai Thayar.
The speciality of this temple is that the utsava idol is from Srirangam, the shatari from Tirupati and agni (sacred fire) from Thiru Maiyam. For centuries, devotees have been seeking the blessings of the lords of these three Divya Desams.
The temple is open between 7.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. and 4.30 p.m.- 8 p.m. Those interested in contributing for the renovation work may call 89397 91779 / 94866 34228
How to reach
Ariyakudi is 4 km from Karaikudi. Daily express trains from Chennai stop at Karaikudi. Auto fare from Karaikudi station is Rs. 75.
Water bodies
There are eight ponds, four open wells and seven irrigation tanks in Ariyakudi. The wells have gone dry while constructions near the ponds have led to severe pollution of the water. The supply channel to Kudikathan Kanmai, one of the important tanks, is covered with silt and mud. Thus affecting the water flow. Run over by weed, the storage capacity of the tank has also been reduced.
Lister Foundation, a Chennai-based ‘Not for Profit’ organisation, led by Srinivasa Gopalan, who hails from Ariyakudi, has now taken up the task of rejuvenating the ponds, wells and irrigation tanks. In association with a Madurai based NGO, DHAN Vayalagam Foundation, a study has been done on the current condition of the water bodies, causes for their degeneration and steps to restore and maintain them. This is expected to directly benefit families dependent totally on agriculture. The work is expected to be completed by the end of July.
Lister is also simultaneously working on Udayar Oorani tank and Pichappan Oorani temple tank.
