ThirukkadithAnam Divya dEsam

[Image from http://www.thrikodithanam.org]

Also known as ThirukOdithAnam, this is one of the malai nAdu divya dEsams.

Location and Access:

ThirukkadithAnam is located 3 km east of the town of ChengannAchEry near TiruvallA in the south Indian state of kEraLA. ChengannAchEry is located 8 km from TiruvallA on the road leading to Kottayam. It is one of the Divya dEsams that can be covered with the town of TiruvallA as the travel base (There are no facilities for lodging in ThirukkadithAnam itself). From TiruvallA, this divya dEsam can be reached by bus.

Legends and History:

It is believed that this temple was renovated by SahAdEva, the youngest of the five pAndavA brothers of mahAbhArathA fame. Further it is believed that the idol of KrishnA installed here by SahAdEva shines with renewed holiness every 60 years. It is predicted that this idol will merge with the sky in the form of a blaze of light at the end of kali yugam.

Another interesting story associated with this temple is that of King RukmAngadA of the solar (surya) dynasty. The King maintained a beautiful garden. The dEvAs (demi-gods) used to steal flowers from this garden for worship of Lord SrI Vishnu. When the King discovered the theft of flowers from his garden, he had the devAs captured and imprisoned. Later, realizing who they were, he apologized and allowed them to leave. But, having been deprived of their powers, the devAs could not return to their heavenly abodes. To facilitate their return, King RukmAngadA undertook penance at this Divya dEsam every EkAdEsi day and gave away the fruits of his penance to the dEvAs.

The Temple:

The thAyAr here is known as sri karpagavalli and the perumAL  here is called sri arputha nArAyanan or amirtha nArAyanan. There are separate sannidhis for SrI narasimhA and SrI krishnA. The temple is built in the typical kEraLA style of architecture.

An interesting statue :

Outside this temple, we see a rather weird statue – which shows a man lying stiff horizontally on a vertical stone pillar. This statue represents a person (a local king) who once entered the temple after it had been closed for the day after the regular hours of worship. He was severely punished and as a deterrent for potential offenders, his statue was put up near the very temple  whose protocol he tried to violate. In the kEralA protocol of worship, it is considered extremely unacceptable to enter the temple after the normal hours of prayer in the evening. 

External references:

This webpage has a lot of information on the temple at ThirukodithAnam :http://www.thrikodithanam.org/

AzhwAr mangaLAsAsanams:

SrI nammAzhwAr: 3502-12

[Note: The numbering convention for the pAsurams seems to differ in various Divya Prabandham books. In some Divya Prabandham books, the same pAsurams by srI nammAzhwAr are listed as verse numbers 2909-2919]

A sample pAsuram:

கொண்மின் இடர் கெட உள்ளத்துக் கோவிந்தன்

மண் விண் முழுதும் அளந்த ஒண் தாமரை

மண்ணவர் தாம் தொழ வானவர் தாம் வந்து

நண்ணு  திருக்கடித்தான நகரே.

In this pAsuram, sri nammAzhwAr says: To end all your miseries, worship in your heart, GovindA, who measured the Earth and the Sky and who is worshipped by the people of the Earth and the Gods in the divya dEsam of ThirukkadithAnam.

Sri karpagavalli thAyAr samEtha sri arputha nArAyanan thiruvadigaLae saraNam