Pray at Thiruvidanthai, if your
marriage is getting delayed
By Hemamalini Raghunathan
Lord
Nithya Kalyana Perumal, who blessed the 360 daughters of sage Kalava
with marriage, bestows marital bliss and life-long prosperity to all the
ardent devotees worshipping at Thiruvidanthai.
Garlands of the deities are distributed to the aspirant, asking him/her
to safeguard them in the pooja room, till the marriage, materializes.
After the marriage, dried garlands are to be returned to the temple by
the happy newly-wed couple. There stands a huge tree as testimony,
holding thousands of dried garlands, after fulfilling the wishes of
speedy wedlock to many a devotee. |
"
Life
without marriage is load and time stands still." Everyone yearns
for a soulmate. The all-compassionate Almighty is ever ready to help you
find a suitable match and start "
living" on earth…
Beseech Lord Adi Varaha at Thiruvidanthai to bless you with marital bliss!
You will definitely find your love within no time.
Amidst tall trees and lush groves, 40kms from Chennai (
Tamil Nadu),
lies the small, scenic village of Thiruvidanthai, which is one of the 108
Divya Desams (
holy pilgrim centres) of Vaishnavites. This punya
kshetra is in the Kanchipuram district, about 2 km from Kovalam, en route
Mahabalipuram.
Varaha Avatar
Among the ten incarnations of Lord Mahavishnu, the third incarnation was in
the form of Varaha, the Boar. The temple at Thiruvidanthai is dedicated to
Lord Vishnu in the aspect of this incarnation. The Lord with the wild boar
face is hailed as the embodiment of all wisdom and knowledge.
Presiding deity Lord Adi Varaha
The 9-foot high Lord's idol (
immovable) has His consort Akhilavalli
Ammal seated on His left thigh, His left hand encircling Her waist, Her feet
resting on the Lord's lower palm. ("
Ida" in the name "Thiruvidanathai"
refers to the Lord holding His consort on His left side. "Ida"
means "left side"). Lord is holding a conch in His upraised
right hand and discus in His left. His right foot, raised knee-high, is
resting on the many-hooded serpent Adi Sesha.
The Utsavamurthy (
procession deity) is Nithya Kalyana Perumal,
invariably dressed as a bridegroom, with a black spot (
to ward off evil
eye for the groom) on His left cheek. Marriage ceremony is conducted
everyday and so the Lord is fondly called as "
Nithya Kalyana
Perumal" (
"Nithya" means daily and "Kalyana"
the marriage).
Mythology associated with Thiruvidanthai
The temple is rich is puranic lore. Once upon a time, there lived a sage,
Kalava by name, who had 360 daughters. In those days, this temple town was
so huge that it had 360 agraharams (
main streets). Out of respect
for the sage, residents in each street took up the task of bringing up each
of the 360 daughters of the sage. When they grew up, the sage thought that
it would be a Herculean task to get them all married suitably; praying
fervently, he took refuge at the feet of Lord Adi Varaha. The most
compassionate Lord Maha Vishnu assumed the form of a Brahmachari (
bachelor),
appeared in the first agraharam, proposed marriage with the first daughter
and then married her. When the newly-weds visited the temple of Lord Adi
Varaha, they vanished mysteriously in the sanctum sanctorum. This was
repeated to the rest of sage Kalava's daughters, day after day. The
bewildered Maharshi wanted to know from God Himself the whereabouts of his
daughters and sons-in-law. When he entered the sanctum sanctorum, Lord
Varaha appeared before him, holding all the 360 daughters on His lap. The
Lord merged all the 360 souls into the single soul of Goddess Lakshmi,
making Her sit on His raised left thigh. The sage was greatly elated to be
the father of Goddess Lakshmi Herself. As the marriage ceremony continued
day after day for 360 days, the place came to be known as "
Nithya
Kalyana Puri" and the lord as "
Nirthya Kalyana Perumal".
Vaishnavite philosophy speaks of the whole mankind as female and Lord Maha
Vishnu as the only male "
Purushothama". Eternal union of
the souls with the God brings salvation (
Jeevatma merging with Paramatma).
A great truth is driven home symbolically as the merger of the brides and
the bridegroom. On the earthly level, it is believed that worship of this
Lord confers bliss of marriage faster.
Mythology says that Lord Sri Adi Varaha helped Lord Srinivasa in Tirupathi,
by giving the land. As to explain this, we can find a big white bindhi(
big
dot) in the chin of Lord Nithya Kalyana Perumal and the Goddess, as seen
in the deities of Tirupathi.
Noted Vaishnavite saint of yore, Thirumangai Azhwar, has sung in praise of
the Lord at Thiruvidanthai. The Lord here is said to have appeared before
Markandeyar, the immortal sage.
History
Epigraphical evidences found in the temple speak of Kings belonging to
different dynasties like Chola, Udaiyar, Pandya, and others. Patronizing the
temple from the 10
th to the 16
th centuries A.D. On
festive occasions, the deity is decorated with a garland of 108 Saligrams,
which was presented to the Lord by a staunch devotee Hariseka Maharaj, the
ruling chief of Mahabalipuram.
Temple Premises
The sacred shrine faces the sea on the East. Surrounding the sanctum
sanctorum, there are small separate shrines for Komalavalli Thayar (
the
first daughter of sage Kalava), Sri Andal, Lord Ranganatha, Goddess
Ranganayaki and others. The holy water-front are Kalyana Theertham and
Varaha Theertham. Holy dips in these sacred tanks during the solar months of
Aries (
April-May) and Aquarius (
February-March) respectively
would ensure wish-fulfilment and salvation. There is also another sacred
water-front called "
Ranganathar Theertham".
Special days of worship
Large crowds throng the temple for worship on the days of Vaikunta Ekadasi.
The annual festival is celebrated with much pomp and splendour on the day of
star Pushya in the solar month of Capricorn (
January-February). The
deity is taken on a procession in a palanquin, exquisitely carved with ivory
images, depicting the ten incarnations of Lord Maha Vishnu.
During the solar month of Pisces (
March-April), a 9-day festival "Panguni
Uththiram" is celebrated. The day of the star "
Uttara Phalguni"
assumes significance.
Special worship for speedy wedlock
At the temple, special poojas are conducted for those aspiring marriage.
The aspirant is to perform archana and offer two garlands to the Lord Adi
Varaha and the Goddess. The aspirant is asked to wear a garland then and
circumambulate the temple precincts nine times, devoutly praying to the Lord
for happy, speedy wedlock. Garlands of the deities are then distributed to
the aspirant, asking him / her to safeguard them in the pooja room, till the
marriage materializes. After the marriage, dried garlands are to be returned
to the temple by the happy newly-wed couple. There stands a huge tree as
testimony, holding thousands of dried garlands, after fulfilling the wishes
of speedy wedlock to many a devotee. For Rahu-Ketu afflictions in the
horoscope, special worship is offered here to the many-hooded serpent Adi
Sesh Nag, which holds the divine feet of the Lord of Thiruvidanthai.
