Oppiliappan temple, Thirunageswaram, Tamil Nadu

Oppiliappan temple, Thirunageswaram,
Raji.srinivas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

OppiliappanTemple, also known as Thiruvinnagar of Venkatachalapathy Temple is a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The temple located near Thirunageswaram, a village in the outskirts of the Kumbakonam in the Tamil Nadu state. It is counted as the 60th of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu. Vishnu is worshiped as Uppiliappan and his consort Lakshmi as Bhumi Devi. The presiding deity is also called by various names, including Venkatachalapathy, Thiruvinnagarappan, Oppilaappan, Thanoppillaappan, Uppiliappan and Srinivasan.

Legend

According to the legends, Mother Bhoomadevi expressed Her grievance to Lord Perumal (Lord Vishnu) that She had not the privilege of being in the chest of Lord though she too had all the dignity features of Mother Mahalakshmi and demanded that right for Her too.  Lord replied that She would have that position as the daughter of a Maharshi Markandeya and that She would be known as Tiruthuzhai (Tulsi).  Meantime, sage Markandeya was also performing penance to have Mahalakshmi as his daughter.  He saw a little child Bhoomadevi having all the attributes of Mahalakshmi near a Tulsi plant.  He was too happy to take the child and bring Her up.  When She attained the marriageable age, Lord Vishnu in the guise of an old man called on the sage seeking his daughter in marriage.  Sage simply turned down His request saying that his daughter was too young for Him and did not know even cooking with correct quantity of salt to be added to the preparations.  Adamant Lord said that he would accept the food even without salt.  Sage understood that the visitor was no other a person than Perumal Himself, was happy to give his beloved daughter to Him.

Oppiliappan temple tabk
Ssriram mt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architecture

The temple was constructed in Dravidian style of architecture. The temple has a five-tiered rajagopuram (the gateway tower) and enshrined within a granite wall. The complex contains all the shrines and water bodies associated with it. Lord Vishnu is worshiped as Uppiliappan and his consort Lakshmi as Bhoomidevi. The 8 feet tall idol of the Lord with Bhoomidevi on the right and Markandeya maharishi on the left was appeared in the main sanctum. The Utsava deity Oppiliappan is never taken out of the temple without his consort Bhoomidevi, since he had promised Markandeya maharishi that he would never leave his daughter Bhoomidevi alone while asking her hand in marriage. The holy birth spot of Bhoomidevi are located in the northern side. The Temple has a holy tank inside the temple premises. Lord Rama, Lord Garuda, Lord Hanuman, Maniappan, and Muthappan are the other shrines present in this temple premises.

Temple Timings

The temple is open from 6.00 A.M. to 1.00 P.M. and from 4.00 P.M. to 9.00 P.M.

Pooja Timings:

  • Viswaroopa Dharisanam  at 6.00 A.M. 
  • Thirupavai  at 7.30 A.M. 
  • Thiruvaradhanam Nithiyapadi Pooja  at 8.30 A.M. 
  • Uchi Kaala Pooja  at 12.00 P.M.
  • Nithyanu Santhanam at                7.30 P.M.
  • Thiruvaradhanam Nithiyapadi Pooja at 8.30 P.M.
  • Arthajama Pooja at 9.00 P.M.

Festival

The major festivals celebrated in the temples are

  • Float festival for 5 days during Thai (Jan – Feb)
  • Chariot festival for 9 days Panguni (March–April)
  • Vasanta Utsavam (spring festival) for 6 days during Vaikasi (May–June)
  • Pavitrotsavam (purifying festival) for 5 days during Avani (Aug – Sep)
  • Brahmmotsavam for 9 days during Purattasi (September-October)
  • Kalyana Utsavam for 12 days during Aipasi (October-November)
  • Adhyayana Utsavam for 10 day and 10night during Margazhi (Dec–Jan)

Ramanavami

    Sri Ramanavami is celebrated for 10 days with music and dance performance and on the concluding day  kanakabhishekam and Rama Pattabhishekam are conducted.

Oppiliappan temple, Thirunageswaram,
Arunasank, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to reach

By Air:

The nearest airport Trichy is 109 KM away.

By Rail:

Thirunageswaram has its own Railway station but only few trains will stop here. The temple is 5 km from Kumbakonam Railway Station which is very well connected to other cities.

By Bus:

Direct Bus is available from Kumbakonam.

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