Thiruvalanchuzhi,(Another temple near Swamimalai) as the name indicates (thiru-sacred, valanchuzhi-right handed curve), is a holy place where the river Kaveri takes a gentle curve hugging the divine sthala to her bosom. Adding glory to the place is the age old temple dedicated to the leader of ganas, revered in this sthala as Swetha Vinayagar or the Pure White one.
Mein deity: Lord shiva and ambal. Shiva is called as Sri Kabardeeshwarar (Kadaimudi nathar) and Ambal is called as Sri Prahan nayaki (Periyanaki Ambal). But this temple is famous for the sri vellai vinayagar.
Sri Vellai Pillaiyar (Swetha Vinayakar or Nuraippillaiyaar) Temple is situated at Thiruvalanchuzhi, a village located just 6 kms near Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu, India.
When Durvasa Muni came to visit Indra, he
brought with him a garland obtained from Lakshmi. Seeing Indra riding on his
Airavatha, he offered the garland as a fitting gift to the king of devas.
Indra, who was in one of his proud moods, carelessly took the garland and
placed it on airavatha’s head. The elephant in its playful mood dragged it down
and stamped on the holy garland. Anger burst through Durvasa who cursed Indra
“Oh foolish proud King, You have just shown disrespect to Lakshmi herself. May
all your prosperity melt away. May your strength disappear and may you rot in
disrespect.”. Cursing thus he left the place, the devas all shivering in fear.
Seeing no other go they rush to MahaVishnu and seek his help. “Divine Protector,” they pleaded, “please show us a way out”. The ever benevolent Vishnu cast his eyes on them and said “Oh Devas, you have but one way left. Churn the Milk Ocean to obtain amrutha. Intake of this divine nectar will free you from all the curse and restore you back to power”. The devas prostrated before him and left. The churning would require a huge churn support and a humongously long rope. Vasuki, the king of snakes offered himself as the rope and the devas decided to use the meru mountain as the churn. All preparations done they still couldnt begin, their strength all gone with the curse. Having been weakened by the curse, they alone couldnt churn the ocean.
After prolonged consideration, Indra sent a missive to his step brothers, the asuras, asking them to join in this effort, promising a portion of the nectar. With the assent of the asuras, the churning was to begin.
According to the legend, when the Devas and asuras were churning the ocean, they forgot to worship Ganesha. They realized their error when the poison came out, and Indra immediately made an image of Ganesha out of the sea foam which had collected as a result of the churning of the ocean. Ganesha was pleased, and the Devas were able to obtain nectar. This is the Ganesha present in the temple. Swetha Vinayakar, a Ganesha made of Sea Foam.
Indra continued to worship the cream idol and took it with him when he went on a pilgrimage to absolve his sins. When he reached the banks of the kaveri, he placed the idol down to take a bath and perform the ritual poojas. Returning back, he saw that the idol had firmly attached itself to the ground and refused to budge. Understanding the divine will of the lord he prostrated in front of the idol. “Who am I to take you around when your desire is to stay here. All I ask is one boon. May I be allowed to perform pooja to you everyday?”, he asked. Vinayagar gave his approval, and happy with this Indra returns back to Amaravathi leaving the cream white idol to be worshipped by generations of devotees in what is now Thiruvalanchuzhi.
The cream idol, adored as Vella Pillayar, Swetha vinayagar or Nurai Pillayar, in the sanctum is pure white and is protected very fiercely by silver and gold frames. No abhisheka or pushpa are offered to the deity, lest the cream is washed away. Every decoration and splendour is for the surrounding frames alone. The only offering is Pacha-Karpooram (a fine edible form of camphor), which is finely crushed and sprinkled over the image on a basis. This alone is the main offering by the devotees to the temple.
Seeing no other go they rush to MahaVishnu and seek his help. “Divine Protector,” they pleaded, “please show us a way out”. The ever benevolent Vishnu cast his eyes on them and said “Oh Devas, you have but one way left. Churn the Milk Ocean to obtain amrutha. Intake of this divine nectar will free you from all the curse and restore you back to power”. The devas prostrated before him and left. The churning would require a huge churn support and a humongously long rope. Vasuki, the king of snakes offered himself as the rope and the devas decided to use the meru mountain as the churn. All preparations done they still couldnt begin, their strength all gone with the curse. Having been weakened by the curse, they alone couldnt churn the ocean.
After prolonged consideration, Indra sent a missive to his step brothers, the asuras, asking them to join in this effort, promising a portion of the nectar. With the assent of the asuras, the churning was to begin.
According to the legend, when the Devas and asuras were churning the ocean, they forgot to worship Ganesha. They realized their error when the poison came out, and Indra immediately made an image of Ganesha out of the sea foam which had collected as a result of the churning of the ocean. Ganesha was pleased, and the Devas were able to obtain nectar. This is the Ganesha present in the temple. Swetha Vinayakar, a Ganesha made of Sea Foam.
Indra continued to worship the cream idol and took it with him when he went on a pilgrimage to absolve his sins. When he reached the banks of the kaveri, he placed the idol down to take a bath and perform the ritual poojas. Returning back, he saw that the idol had firmly attached itself to the ground and refused to budge. Understanding the divine will of the lord he prostrated in front of the idol. “Who am I to take you around when your desire is to stay here. All I ask is one boon. May I be allowed to perform pooja to you everyday?”, he asked. Vinayagar gave his approval, and happy with this Indra returns back to Amaravathi leaving the cream white idol to be worshipped by generations of devotees in what is now Thiruvalanchuzhi.
The cream idol, adored as Vella Pillayar, Swetha vinayagar or Nurai Pillayar, in the sanctum is pure white and is protected very fiercely by silver and gold frames. No abhisheka or pushpa are offered to the deity, lest the cream is washed away. Every decoration and splendour is for the surrounding frames alone. The only offering is Pacha-Karpooram (a fine edible form of camphor), which is finely crushed and sprinkled over the image on a basis. This alone is the main offering by the devotees to the temple.
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