Pondicherry Tourism: Arulala Perumal Temple, Munnur, Villupuram

Friday, July 19, 2019

Arulala Perumal Temple, Munnur, Villupuram

Arulala Perumal Temple, Munnur, Villupuram

Arulala Perumal Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu located in Munnur Village in Marakkanam Taluk in Villupuram District of Tamil Nadu. Presiding Deity is called as Arulala Perumal Temple and Mother is called as Perundevi Thayar. Munnur is also known as Darukavanam, Veera Narayana Puram, Purushotama Nallur, Chaturvedi Mangalam and Tirisathapuram. The Temple is situated very close Munnur Adavalleeswarar Temple.

Legends

Nalliyakodan:

The lord appeared on one night in the vision of King Nalliyakodan who was scared of losing a battle. He then requested the lord to be present there itself for all to see him. He won the war by the grace of Lord. Later, he built this Temple.

Communication with Adavalleeswarar:

There is a belief that the lord here communicates with Adavalleeswarar (Shiva) from the nearby temple below a banyan tree hereabouts between 1.00 am and 2.00 am through the goddess Vaishnavi.

History

A King, called Nalliya Kodan who ruled over these areas is believed to have built Arulala Perumal Temple in 1645. Inscriptions of Chola and Pallava era have also been found here indicating that the original temple could be much older and later rebuilt by Nalliyakodan.

The Temple

This is a west facing Temple. Presiding Deity is called as Arulala Perumal and he is facing west. He is gracing the devotees with his consorts Sreedevi and Bhoodevi. Mother is called as Perundevi Thayar. She is housed in a separate shrine facing west. There are shrines for Aandal, Anjaneya, Yoga Narasimhar, Chakrathalvar, Vaishnavi, Adi Kesava Perumal, Alwars and Acharyas in the Temple premises. The Yoga Narasimhar is of special significance and was found while digging the ground on a Saturday of September 2009 on full moon day and Swathi Nakshatram (star) combination. Unusually Lakshmi is in a standing posture as Vaishnavi as worshipped in North.