Sri Perundevi Thayar Samedha Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple, Arcot, will soon have a new wooden temple car and a Dwajasthambam (or Kodimaram), besides new shrines for deities such as Rukmani Venkatakrishnan and Andal Nachiyar.
While the temple car has been completed at a cost of Rs. 35 lakhs, the Dwajasthambam (made of Burma teak) is getting ready at a cost of Rs. seven lakhs.
The separate niche for Andal Nachiyar will be installed in the new 16-pillared Thiruppavai mandapam, which is ready, and the construction of the shrine for Sri Rukmani Venkatakrishnan is under way.
1500-year-old temple
According to A.K. Natarajan, president, and A.C. Seshadri, secretary of the temple renovation committee, the 1500-year-old temple, which was built during the Chola period, was sabotaged during the British rule and was lying in a state of disrepair. In 1936, the Kodimaram was installed and Brahmotsavam conducted by Sri Vaishnavas. The sanctum sanctorum of the presiding deity, Sri Varadaraja Perumal, was renovated and a compound wall with lime mortar was built around it. The Nammazhwar shrine was renovated and consecrated in 1942. The shrines of the presiding deities, Sri Varadaraja Perumal and Sri Perundevi Thayar, were renovated by a committee formed by the public in 1984 and was consecrated the same year. The construction of a Rajagopuram and Thiruvaimozhi mandapam commenced in 1985, the samprokshanam of which took place in 1991. The committee constructed separate niches for deities such as Ramar, Lakshminarasimhar and Shatkonam Chakkarathazhwar. The separate sannidhi for Sri Ramar was consecrated in 1993, while those for Lakshminarasimhar and Chakkarathazhwar were consecrated in 2006.
The Dwajasthambam, being erected with the help of a donor, is to be consecrated on June 16. The permission of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department has been sought for the ‘vellottam' (trial procession) of the new car, for which only the painting work is pending. While the committee is planning to perform the maha kumbabhishekam of the newly built shrines in the first week of the Tamil month of Aavani (the latter part of August 2012), the renovation work is progressing at a slow pace due to paucity of funds.
Donations are solicited to finish the work and perform the consecration on the stipulated date. Those interested may send the contributions, in the form of cheque/draft drawn in favour of A.K. Natarajan, payable at Arcot, to A.K. Natarajan, president, Thiruther Thiruppani Committee, Arcot-632503.For details call 98423 62000/ 99522 25385.
