ThiruvithuvakkOdu Divya dEsam (Thirumithakode)

[Click on pictures to enlarge]

So far in this blog, the Divya dEsams in southern and central KeraLA have been covered. Now let us travel further north in KeraLA. There are two divya dEsams – ThiruvithuvakkOdu and Thiru nAvAi in the northern (or north-central, to be more precise) part of kEraLA.

ThiruvithuvakkOdu is a beautiful Divya dEsam that has been glorified by Sri KulasEkara AzhwAr in a set of extremely moving pAsurams.

Location and Access:

This temple is locally known as “anjumoorthy koil” since it has five separate sannidhis. It is also referred to as ThiruvinjikkOde.  It is located about 17 km from Shoranur, en route to GuruvAyUr. The nearest railway station is Pattambi, which is 3 km away. Pattambi is a station on the Shoranur-KallikkOttai railway line. Pilgrims may alight at Pattambi, cross the BharathapuzhA river and walk two kilometres to the temple.

Alternately, pilgrims may take a bus towards GuruvAyUr from Shoranur  and alight after about 15 km. After alighting, a walk of 2 km along a narrow path will lead to the temple. There are no facilities for food or stay near the temple itself. The temple is located on the banks of the BhArathapuzhA river.

The Temple:

The thAyArs here are Sri VithuvakkOttu vaLLi and Sri padmapANi nAchiyAr. The Lord here is Uyyavandha perumAL, also known as abhayapradhan. The temple has four sannidhis dedicated for Sri perumAL and one to SivA. The temple is fairly big with a lot of open space. The theertham here is known as Chakra theertham.

Legends and History:

This Divya dEsam is said to be the place where the great devotee King ambareeshA attained salvation. According to legend, Sri perumAL took four different forms – as pradyumnA, aniruddhA, sankarshanA and Para vAsudEvA - and appeared before King ambareeshA here. Hence there are four separate sannidhis here representing each of these forms. It is also believed that these sannidhis were worshipped by the pAndavAs of mahAbhArathA fame – one sannidhi each by YudhistirA, BheemA and Arjuna and one sannidhi jointly by nakulA and sahAdEvA.

AzhwAr mangaLAsAsanams:

KulasEkara AzhwAr: 688-697 

[pAsuram numbers as in any standard Divya prabandham book]

A sample pAsuram:

விற்றுவக் கோட்டம்மா நீ வேண்டாயே ஆயிடினும்

மற்றாரும் பற்றில்லேன்  என்று  அவனைத்  தாள்நயந்த

கொற்ற வேல் தானைக் குலசேகரன்  சொன்ன

நற்றமிழ்  பத்தும் வல்லார்  நண்ணார்  நரகமே.

In this pAsuram, Sri kulasEkara AzhwAr avers that he has no refuge other than the feet of Sri perumAL even if the Lord does not like or accept him. Those who chant Sri kulaSEkara AzhwAr’s  decad of pAsurams on the Lord of ThiruvithuvakkOdu will never suffer the pangs of hell.

Sri vithuvakkOttu vaLLi, Sri padmapANi nAchiyAr samEtha Sri uyyavandha perumAL thiruvadigaLE saranam