Adikesava Perumal temple, Mylapore
| Adi Kesava temple | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Adi Kesava temple Location in Tamil Nadu | |
| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 13°1′50″N 80°16′14″E / 13.03056°N 80.27056°ECoordinates: 13°1′50″N 80°16′14″E / 13.03056°N 80.27056°E |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | Chennai |
| Location | Mylapore |
| Culture | |
| Primary deity |
Adi Kesava (Vishnu) |
| Consort |
Mayuravalli (Lakshmi) |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | Dravidian architecture |
Adi Kesava Temple is dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu located in Mylapore, Chennai, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Adi Kesava and his consort Lakshmi as Amirtagadavalli. The temple is believed to be the birthplace of Peyazhwar, one of the first three of the twelve azhwar saints of the 6th-9th century AD.
The temple is open from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m and has six daily rituals at various times of the day. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Legend
As per Hindu legend, during the churning of the Ocean of milk, Vishnu instructed his consort Lakshmi to reach the hermitage of Sage Bhrigu. The sage was doing penance to attain a girl child and accepted the girl Lakshmi. the presiding deity, Adi Kesava is believed to have married goddess Bharghavi, the daughter of sage Bhrigu.[1]
The temple is believed to be the birthplace of Peyazhwar, one of the first three of the twelve azhwar saints of the 6th-9th century AD. The legendary Azhwar was believed to have come to earth from the 60 ft (18 m) well called Manikairavam inside the temple premises.[2]
The temple
The temple is built in Dravidian architecture occupies around 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) and has two precincts. It is located in Mylapore, a suburb in Chennai, the capital of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The temple has a rectangular plan surrounded by 10 ft (3.0 m) high walls, pierced by a 5-tier gopuram, the gateway tower. The presiding deity is housed in the sanctum and is an image made of granite. The deity is seen in standing posture. The shrine of Garuda facing Adi Kesava, the eagle mount(vahana) of Vishnu, is located axial to the central shrine. The central shrine is approached through a worship hall and a narrow Ardha mandapam. The flagpost is located behind the shrine of Garuda, axial to the central shrine and the gateway tower. There are images of Azhwars in the worship hall on both sides and the shrine of Mayuravalli is located on the western side of the temple in the second precinct.[3]
Worship practices and festivals
The temple is open from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Vaishnavaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed four times a day: Ushathkalam at 8 a.m., Kalasanthi at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 7:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Kudamudakoothan and his consort Amirtagadavalli. During the worship, religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred text) are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of the temple mast. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple.
The temple procession takes place during the ekadasi day, Tiruvonam, Full Moon / New Moon days, when the festival images of Adi Kesava, Sridevi and Bhudevi are taken in a processiong. There are different processions taken by Mayuravalli Thayaar on Fridays and Uthiram star, Aandaal on the Pooram star, Rama on Punarpoosam, and the Azhwars, on their birthdays. Brahmotsavam, the main festival of the temple is performed during the Tamil month of Panguni. During the ten day festival, the twelve Azhwars and the twenty-one Vaishnava Aacharyas are taken in procession along with Adi Kesava. During the Tamil month of Aadi, float festival is conducted for five days.[1][4]
The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
References
- 1 2 "Sri Aaadi Kesavaperumal temple". Dinamalar. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ↑ Lalithasai (27 February 2011). "Float festival at Adi Kesava Temple". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- ↑ M., Rajagopalan (1993). 15 Vaishnava Temples of Tamil Nadu. Chennai, India: Govindaswamy Printers. pp. 57–65.
- ↑ "Abounds in legends". The Hindu. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
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