A rare shrine for sage Vikhanasa Maharishi

CHENNAI:Perambakkam, a small and ancient village situated enroute from Sriperumbudur to Thiruvallur, has two temples, one for Siva dedicated to Cholishwara and another for Vishnu worshipped as Vaikuntha Perumal. This historic place, according to the Chola inscriptions found in this village, was known as Perumbakkam and also as Itattappadi-konda- chola-nallur. It was situated in Pasali-nadu, a sub-division of Manavir-kottam which was in Jayankonda-Chola- Mandalam.

The east-facing Perumal temple has a tall modern gopuram of five storeys at the entrance. The principal image of Vaikuntha Perumal, flanked by Goddess Sri Devi and Bhu Devi, is in a seated posture with the left leg bent and placed on the pedestal and right leg kept on the ground in front. This deity holds the sankha and chakra in the upper hands while the lower right hand is in abhaya hasta (blessing worshippers) and left hand is in ahwana hasta (inviting devotees).

People circumambulating the outer passage (prakaram), will see a number of sanctums for Sudarsana (the personification of the discus of Vishnu), Goddess Lakshmi who is worshipped as Komalavalli Thayar, Rama, Bhakta Hanuman and Andal.

Of special importance is a rarely seen shrine for Vikhanasa Maharishi. This sage was the promulgator of the Vaikhanasa Agama, which is an important scripture prescribing rules for the construction of Vishnu temples, the worship of the images consecrated therein and also the festivals conducted in these shrines.
Though the main sanctum and the one for Vikhanasa Mararishi are old, many others were added over the last fifty years. A vestige of the antiquity of the temple may be gleaned from a granite stub seen in front of the Bhakta Hanuman shrine, which is all that remains of a tall monolithic deepa-stambham or lamp-post atop which a lamp would have been lit to illuminate the temple in pre-electricity days.

Chithra Madhavan

cityexpresschn@gmail.com

The writer is a historian who focuses on temple architecture