Srivilliputtur

This kshethram is the avatara sthalam for both Periya Āzhwār and Sri Āṇḍāl. In the then Pandya kingdom, there was a small town called Putthoor, where great scholars and pundits were residing. Nearby, there was a forest where hunters were living. The chief of these hunters had two sons named Villi and Kandan. One day, Villi and Kandan went to the forest for hunting as usual. They spotted a tiger, and it escaped the arrows from their bows. Kandan started chasing vigorously and went deep into the forest.

After some time, the tiger hid behind a tree and pounced on Kandan, killing him. Villi waited for his brother for a long time and started searching for him. When he spotted the dead body of his brother, his heart almost stopped with grief, and he cried heavily and fell unconscious on his brother's body. During his unconsciousness, he had a scene in front of his eyes; Shrīmān Nārāyaṇa, along with Mahālakshmī, appeared and instructed Villi to stop lamenting. They told him that They would bring his brother back to life.

The two brothers would then search for a giant banyan tree in the middle of the forest, where they would find Lord Vatapatrashayee, who had been lying there for a very long time. The divine couple also told Villi that they would find a cave nearby with treasures that one could never even dream of. They further instructed that the brothers were to use that wealth to deforest the area and construct a magnificent temple that had never been seen before. Saying this, the Divine couple disappeared.

When Villi came back to consciousness, he did not know whether what he saw (in his unconscious state) was true at all, and was confused. But suddenly, Kandan got up alive as if he had just woken up from sleep (without any wounds even). Villi explained the whole thing to his brother, and both of them hugged each other for having been blessed by the Lord and having been chosen by the Lord to establish the temple.

Soon, many Vaishṇava scholars began to migrate towards Putthoor, among them Mukunda Bhattar and his wife, Padmavalli. The couple was ardent devotees of Sri Vatapatrashayee. On an auspicious day, the couple was blessed with a son, named Vishṇuchittar. The child lived up to his name by constantly finding ways to contemplate how to find the Lord's days. As time passed, he would perform pushpa-kainkaryam to Sri Vatapatrashayee. As he aged, he sold his property.

He purchased a small plot of land near the temple, which he converted into a Nandavanam, where he cultivated various creepers, vines, fragrant flowers, and tulasi plants. The plot also featured a small pond with crystal-clear water. Vishṇuchittar would spend his time cultivating his garden, plucking the flowers, and making garlands for the Lord. Over time, his small plot was allowed to expand and transform into a vast, flourishing garden with a lovely scent due to all the flowers that bloomed within it.

Soon, he married a woman who shared his ideals of serving the Lord.

During that time, there was a king named Vallabhadevan, whose capital was situated in Madurai. He was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishṇu and wished to learn the meaning of the Vedas and Upanishads. He enquired with his chief minister as to how he could achieve this goal. The minister suggested that the king call all the Vedic Scholars present in his kingdom to debate and question all the matters present in the Vedas and Upanishads. The one who could solve all the questions posed by the king would be rewarded dearly.

The king agreed with the minister's suggestion, and soon an announcement was made throughout the kingdom saying there would be a grand meeting of all the Vedic Scholars in the land. The scholar who would impress the king with their answers would be rewarded with gold coins, which would be hung in a divine binding. The coins would present themselves to the person who would aptly answer all of the king's questions. Many scholars came before the king, but none gave satisfactory answers that the king desired.

One night, Lord Vatapatrashayee appeared in Vishṇuchittar's dreams and instructed him to go to the king's court to claim the prize that was being offered. Vishṇuchittar told the Lord that he knew nothing about the Vedas or Upanishads. All he knew to do was to make garlands and present them to the Lord. The Lord then told Vishṇuchittar not to worry and to go to the royal court. The Lord said He would speak through the mouth of Vishṇuchittar.

That same night, the Lord also appeared in the dreams of the chief minister and asked him to make royal arrangements to receive Vishṇuchittar and escort him to the king's court.

The next morning, a royal elephant with palanquins arrived and carried Vishṇuchittar to the royal court. As he entered, all the scholars began to murmur and pass sarcastic comments about him, knowing that his knowledge was limited. Vishṇuchittar prostrated himself before the king and the gathered scholars, and then began his speech on the Vedas and Upanishads. As and when the king questioned, it was almost as though the answer to the question was pre-prepared and ready.

Finally, to close his speech, Vishṇuchittar made a final statement that said, "Shrīmān Nārāyaṇane Paramporul." This translates to "It is Lord Shrīmān Nārāyaṇa who is the only protector, and it is with His blessing that the universe is surviving. It is He and only He who is the underlying principle that is mentioned in the four Vedas and Upanishads. When this statement was made, the binding came undone, and the gold coins showered into Vishṇuchittar's hands from above. The king was overcome with joy and ecstasy.

All the gathered scholars lowered their heads in shame. The king then asked Vishṇuchittar how he had spoken about all the Vedas and Upanishads in such simple language. Vishṇuchittar then told the king that truly it was he who had spoken and that the Lord himself intended for this to perspire. The king was deeply moved by what Vishṇuchittar said and fell to his feet. He arranged for complete royal honors and sent him around the kingdom in a royal procession.

At one point, when Vishṇuchittar looked up at the sky, he saw the Lord along with Mahālakshmī seated atop Garuḍan, granting their blessing to him. It was at that moment that, with eyes filled with tears of joy, he said the words"pallaandu, pallaandu pallayiratthandu palakodi noorayiram." These words are still sung to date during sathumorai seva every day, whether it may be at a temple or within a household.

Periya Āzhwār being taken on the royal procession and seeing the Lord and Mahālakshmī

Life went back to normal for Vishṇuchittar, and he continued his pushpa-kainkaryam for Lord Vatapatrashayee. Once, while plucking flowers in the garden, he found a child on a flower in the garden and named her Āṇḍāl and brought her up in the service of the Lord. One day, Periya Āzhwār(Vishṇuchittar) found Āṇḍāl wearing the garland meant for the Lord. Discarding that garland, he prepared fresh garlands and offered them to the Lord. PeriaAzhwar was surprised to see the Lord refusing to accept the garland except the one used by Āṇḍāl.

Hence, Āṇḍāl is called Shoodi Kudutha Nāchiyār. As per the wishes of the Lord, Periya Āzhwār gave Āṇḍāl in marriage to Sri Raṅganāthar in Sri Raṅgam, and Āṇḍāl, on entering the sanctum, merged with the Lord.

Sri Āṇḍāl Nāchiyār

Sri Āṇḍāl is said to be the reincarnation of Bhūdevi. When Lord Varāha saved Bhūdevi from the grasp of Hiraṇyāksha, He is said to have delivered various Brahmā-gyanam to Bhūdevi. It is noted that Bhūdevi came in this form to provide that knowledge to the people in a way that they would understand it simply. Thus, Sri Āṇḍāl wrote 30 Pāsurams known as Tirupavai and Nāchiyār Tirumozhi, which contain 143 Pāsurams that convey all the knowledge that was given by Sri Varāha Perumāl to Bhūdevi on that day.

Even to date, on the tirunakshtram of Sri Āṇḍāl, Tiruaadipooram Utsavam is observed on a very grand scale. This is the time when brahmotsavam is done here, and a massive number of devotees throng to see this grand celebration.

Tiruaadipooram Celebration