Madurantakam
Encyclopedia
Madurantakam is a town located in the Kanchipuram district
in the state of Tamil Nadu
, India
. The town is situated 77 km south west of Chennai
(Madras).
. The temple is about 1300 years old. Sita resides in the temple as Sri Janaki Valli. The other deities enshrined are Sri Chakrathalwar, Sri Ramanuja
, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha
and Sri Hanuman
.
The Kodandaramaswamy temple has two sets of utsavar idols of the presiding deity and His consort, and Lakshmana. While one deity is named Rama, the other is known as Karunakaran.
There is also a separate shrine for Goddess Sita, known as Janakavalli Thayar, which is claimed to be very rare. This shrine was built by an English Collector, Colonel Lionel Place who assured the people that he would build a shrine for Devi if the newly built surplus water weirs withstood the fury of monsoon rains. The huge tank with immense storage capacity would breach every year after the monsoon rains and wash away the rough stone-built outlet of the tank. While camping at Madurantakam during a monsoon night, the tank was full and almost overflowing. The Collector visited the tank bund and is said to have seen Rama and Lakshmana keeping guard at the tank. The construction of the shrine for the Goddess began the very next morning and the Lord is known as Aeri Katha Ramar as he saved the tank bund from collapsing.
Thiru-Venkateswarar Temple near Madurantakam railway station, too a renowned temples in the town. It is built by king who suffered form skin disease and then relived when he had bath in the tank; then he realized his wonder and built this temple during British raj;
Similarly other temples includes renukapara-meswari ( Amman ) temple, siva temple adjacent to G.S.T road, Murugar temple's, chelliyamman temple and anjaneya temple near to substation Madurantakam.
Northern-thiru-nallar and Sri ragavendrar temple and a vishnu cum anjaneya temple on the karunguzhi mountain ; then Prasana Venkateswarar temple in Padalam were in the perimeter of madurantakam.
Next in St.joesph's School, "St.Mary's church" and another one is located near Arugunam Village 3km from madurantakm
In two of his poems, Saint Manavala Mamunigal asks everyone who wants to cast away his past sins to worship the Lord at this place. There are separate shrines for Lakshmi Narasimhar, Periya Nambi and Ramanuja, Andal, Sudarsana and Vedanta Desika. The holy tank is opposite the temple with a separate shrine for Anjaneya on its banks.
Kanchipuram district
Kanchipuram district is a district in the northeast of the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is bounded in the west by Vellore and Thiruvannamalai districts, in the north by Thiruvallur District and Chennai District, in the south by Viluppuram District and in the east by the Bay of Bengal. It lies...
in the state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The town is situated 77 km south west of Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
(Madras).
Temples
Sri Kodanda Rama, also known in this region as Aeri Katha Rama (the one who saved the village from flooding from Madurantakam lake), is enshrined in the Aeri Katha Ramar TempleAeri Katha Ramar Temple
Aeri Katha Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu located in the town of Maduranthakam, Tamil Nadu, India. This is the stalam where Udayavar was named Ramanuja. Ramanujar was instructed the Pancha Samskara Mantram. Mathuranthaka Chaturvedi Mangalam, Vaikunda Varthanam, Thirumathurai,...
. The temple is about 1300 years old. Sita resides in the temple as Sri Janaki Valli. The other deities enshrined are Sri Chakrathalwar, Sri Ramanuja
Ramanuja
Ramanuja ; traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar , Emperumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete...
, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha
Lakshmi Narasimha
Lakshmi Narasimha is a Telugu film which stars Balakrishna, Asin Thottumkal, Prakash Raj, and K. Viswanath. Jayant Paranji directed this film. It is a remake of the 2003 Tamil hit, Saamy...
and Sri Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
.
The Kodandaramaswamy temple has two sets of utsavar idols of the presiding deity and His consort, and Lakshmana. While one deity is named Rama, the other is known as Karunakaran.
There is also a separate shrine for Goddess Sita, known as Janakavalli Thayar, which is claimed to be very rare. This shrine was built by an English Collector, Colonel Lionel Place who assured the people that he would build a shrine for Devi if the newly built surplus water weirs withstood the fury of monsoon rains. The huge tank with immense storage capacity would breach every year after the monsoon rains and wash away the rough stone-built outlet of the tank. While camping at Madurantakam during a monsoon night, the tank was full and almost overflowing. The Collector visited the tank bund and is said to have seen Rama and Lakshmana keeping guard at the tank. The construction of the shrine for the Goddess began the very next morning and the Lord is known as Aeri Katha Ramar as he saved the tank bund from collapsing.
Thiru-Venkateswarar Temple near Madurantakam railway station, too a renowned temples in the town. It is built by king who suffered form skin disease and then relived when he had bath in the tank; then he realized his wonder and built this temple during British raj;
Similarly other temples includes renukapara-meswari ( Amman ) temple, siva temple adjacent to G.S.T road, Murugar temple's, chelliyamman temple and anjaneya temple near to substation Madurantakam.
Northern-thiru-nallar and Sri ragavendrar temple and a vishnu cum anjaneya temple on the karunguzhi mountain ; then Prasana Venkateswarar temple in Padalam were in the perimeter of madurantakam.
Church
The Simpson Memorial Church belong to Church of South India, located on the GST road is one of the popular church in madurantakam.Next in St.joesph's School, "St.Mary's church" and another one is located near Arugunam Village 3km from madurantakm
History
Madurantakam is one of the holy places visited by Saint Ramanuja though it has not been sung by the azhwars. The place is also unique in that Ramanuja's idol is found dressed in white on all days while in almost all temples the saint is dressed in ochre.In two of his poems, Saint Manavala Mamunigal asks everyone who wants to cast away his past sins to worship the Lord at this place. There are separate shrines for Lakshmi Narasimhar, Periya Nambi and Ramanuja, Andal, Sudarsana and Vedanta Desika. The holy tank is opposite the temple with a separate shrine for Anjaneya on its banks.
Geography
The reservoir near Madurantakam irrigates more than 1000 small villages in and around the town. The entire town was donated to Brahmins by Chola King, Uthamachola (Maduranthaka Chola) for chanting and preserving the four Vedas. Therefore the village is known as Maduranthakachaturvedamangalam.External links
- http://www.madurantakam.info
- Story on how the Temple came into existence
- History of Aeri Katha Ramar Temple