Srivilliputhur Andal Temple: Timing, History, Significance, Structure

India is known for Temples. In India, one can find temples at the shortest distance.

Today we are going to talk about one such beautiful Temple of India, Srivilliputhur Andal Temple which is situated in Srivilliputhur town of Virudhunagar District of Tamil Nadu.

It is a Hindu Temple where Bhagwan Vishnu is worshipped for years.

Srivilliputhur is not only one of the famous temples of Tamilnadu but is also believed to be one of the 108 Divya desams of Lord Vishnu.  It is known to be the birthplace of two of the Alvars, namely Periyalvar and his foster daughter Andal.

 

History of Srivilliputhur Andal Temple

Bhagwan Narayan is Worshipped in the temple of Srivilliputhur, and the history of the same is defined by the story of Villi and Puttan, two brothers who were Sons of Queen Mallu the queen of Shenbagaranyam. 

Shenbagaranyam is a place where Bhagwan Narayan took a rest along with Devi Lakshmi and Bhooma Devi under the Banyan tree during his Varaha Avatar after defeating an asur called Kalinemi.

Villi and Puttan were hunters, who used to go to the forest for hunting, once the hunters spotted a tiger but during the chase, Villi lost the track of Puttan and Puttan was killed by the tiger by hiding behind a tree, when Villi saw the dead body of Puttan he was in deep grief and slept there itself after some time. 

During his sleep, he had a dream in which Narayan appeared and told him not to grieve because he will get his brother’s life back. He also mentioned the previous appearance that he made as Vatapatrasayi in saying the third kolam under a Banyan tree. He asked him to deforest the place and build a village alongside the temple with his statue which was already in a cave near the Banyan tree. Narayan also informed that Villi can find a lot of Gold coins and jewels enough to build the village and Temple.

Once Villi was awake he narrated the entire scenario to his Puttan, whom he found alive and the two build the Temple and the village as per Bhagwan Narayan. 

Significance of Srivilliputhur Temple

Srivilliputhur temple represents the culture of Tamil Nadu and therefore is chosen as the emblem of the state, in the year 1956. 

People visit Srivilliputhur to feel the divine culture and history of Tamil Nadu and mostly in cases to enjoy the beautiful Car festival.

The town of Srivilliputhur is known for a milk sweet called Srivilliputhur Palkova, being the talk of the town.

 

Structure of the Temple

The Temple structure is built as huge as the Rajagopuram the temple’s gateway tower has 11 tries with a height of 194 ft. Periyazhwar built the temple with the prize money he won from a religious debate. 

The temple is divided into two parts, One is Andal Temple which is in the Southwest Direction and Vatapatrashaayi Temple which is in the Northeast Direction.

Vatapatrashaayi section of the temple has the murti of Bhagwan Vishnu along with Maa Lakshmi and Bhooma Devi. It also has Sage Bhrigu and Markandeya. 

Andal Section has Image of Andal and Ragamannar. The second hall from the entrance has sculptures of Mohini, Rama, Kamadeva, Ratidevi and many other deities.

The temple has inscriptions from Chola, Pandya, and Nayak Rulers spanning various Centuries from the 10th to 16th centuries.

The sculpture of the temple house is similar to Meenakshi Temple at Madurai, Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli, and Kasi Viswanathar temple at Tenkasi, Krishnapuram Venkatachalapathy temple, Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram, Jalakandeswarar Temple, Vellore, and many more.

Festival celebrated in the Temple

In the month of Aadi, Margazhi, and Puratassi, Annual festivals are celebrated. 

Three yearly festivals are celebrated, among which Aadipooram festival, the birthday of Andal, also famous as the Car festival is the most famous among all the festivals celebrated here. This festival is celebrated during the Tamil month of Adi which is between July-August.

The car festival marks the adoption of the Presiding deity by the family of Rengamannar and Goddess Andal after they found her near the Tulsi plant. The car is very heavy and is decorated beautifully along with idols of the Family.

 

What time is suitable to visit Srivilliputhur?

The best time to visit Srivilliputhur is the month of the Car Festival which is July-August.

 

Timings of Andal Temple 

Morning Puja Timing’s	Evening Puja Timing’s
6:30 AM to 1 PM	4 PM to 9 PM

 

Timings of Vatapatrashaayi Temple 

Morning Puja Timing’s	Evening Puja Timing’s
6:30 AM to 12:30 PM	4 PM to 8:30 PM

 

 

How to reach Srivilliputhur Andal Temple?

The temple is situated at a distance of 80 km from Madurai and 100 km from Tirunelveli.

By Air, one can take a flight to Madurai Airport which is the nearest airport to the temple. The daily flight operated between Madurai and Chennai Airport.

By Railway, the nearest railway station to Srivilliputhur is sivakasi which is about 10 km from the city. 

By Road, frequent buses run in the main city of Srivilliputhur and one can choose to travel by any owned vehicle as well. 

 

Puja Timing

In the temple, the puja is performed 6 times a day, which are as follows,

Puja Name	Timings
Ushathkalam	7:00 AM
Kalasanthi	8:00 AM
Uchikalam	12:00 PM
Sayarakshai	6:00 PM
Irandamkalam	7:00 PM
Ardha Janam	10:00 PM

All this puja has 3 steps each, 

Alangaram which means decoration, followed by Neivethanam which is a food offering, and lighting Diya and Aarti at the end which is called Deepa Aradhana.

Contact information –

Srivilliputhur Temple contact – 04563260254

Contact for Puja Services, is now available anywhere, anytime, personally, and in online mode. 

Visit some other temples in Tamil Nadu – Siruvachoor Mathura Kali Amman Temple; Kalikambal Temple; Sri Neervanna Perumal Temple, Tiruneermalai; Vedapureeswarar Temple.