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Tiruvallar is glorified by the location of a famous
Vaishnavite temple dedicated to Sri Veeraraghava Swami. The deity of
Veera-raghava is Lord Vishnu lying on Adi Sesa, with Lord Brahma coming
out from his navel. The Goddess is known as "Kanakavalli" or "Vasumati".
The temple has a huge intricately carved Gopuram. It is a marvelous sight
to see the glorious specimens of Dravidian art in sculptures depicting the
mythological legends of Hindu scriptures in the pinnacles of the Gopurams.
It is believed that Lord Vishnu killed the demons Madhu and Kaitabha here
at Veeksharanya Kshetram.
Tiruvallur was also known as "Bhikshwaranyam" (the forest where
sages lived on alms) in ages gone by. During January 1960, Kumbhabhishekam
was performed in this temple after all the Gopurams were renovated and
repainted.
Legend Connected With The Origin Of The Temple
The legend connected with the origin of this temple shows that once upon
a time, in Krita Yuga, a sage by name Purupunyar lived with his wife
Satyavati in Badarikashram. They had no children. Purupanyar performed a
Sali Yajna (Putrakameshti Yaga) with great fervor and devotion. The sage
offered 1,000 'Ahutis' (oblations of ghee to the sacrificial fire after
chanting the mantra each time) every day, for one full year. On the last
day, when Purnahuti (the final offering) was performed, Lord Narayana was
pleased with the austerity of the ritualistic observances of the sage, and
appeared in the sacrificial fire in a blissful mood to offer boons. The
sage prayed for a noble son.
The boon was granted with the condition that he should be named after the
name of the Yajna as Salihotran. With this blessing, Lord Narayana
disappeared. Then the sage collected the ash strewn around the Yajna
Peetha and gave a handful of it to his consort to take in with great
veneration as Prasadam.
In the tenth month after that, a glorious son was born to Sage
Purupunyar. The child was named Salihotran as ordained by Lord Narayana.
With the growth of years, the child showed signs of precocity and started
on a pilgrimage-visiting temple after temple. On Pushya Amavasya day (New
Moon day in January-February), he reached Tiruvallur where he found that
Lord Brahma, other Devas and great sages like Vasishtha, were engaged in
taking bath in the Hrittapanasini tank.
Next year, on the same Pushya Amavasya day, he completed one year of
penance and took a holy bath in the Hrittapanasini tank and observed his
morning prayers. As he was fasting for one year without food or drink, he
collected on that day some paddy and prepared prasadam out of that. He
divided it into three parts; the first part was offered to Lord Narayana.
The second part was kept for offering as charity and the third for his own
consumption.
At this juncture, Lord Narayana took the form of an old Brahmin and came
the way where Salihotran was waiting to offer the share to a guest. When
Salihotran saw the old Brahmin, he immediately requested him to grace his
hermitage. He respectfully offered to the Brahmin the prasadam meant for
the guest. Quickly the Brahmin ate up the offering and Salihotran felt
from his facial appearance that he was not satisfied.
On inquiry, he learnt that the old Brahmin had had no food for the last 4
or 5 days and his hunger was not fully satisfied. At this, the second
portion that he kept for himself was offered to the guest. The guest was
satisfied and left the place. Salihotran commenced another year's penance
without food and drink. Again, on the day of Pushya Amavasya at its close,
he took his holy bath in the tank and noticed many unusual good omens on
his way. After finishing his morning rituals, he procured some paddy and
prepared oblations. Like the previous year, he offered a portion to Lord
Narayana and was waiting for a guest to offer the second portion, leaving
the last portion for him.
This time also, Lord Narayana took the form of an old Brahmin and was
coming by that way. Salihotran-welcomed him and while accompanying him to
the hermitage, the old Brahmin expressed that he was feeling extremely
hungry and thirsty and needed a place for rest also. In the hermitage,
Salihotran offered the entire prasadam meant for the guest as well as for
himself. The old Brahmin was greatly pleased and asked Salihotran, for a
place to lie down. Salihotran arranged for a bed too.
Later that night Salihotran saw a beautiful princess passing by his
hermitage. The prince was so charmed by the beauty of the princess that he
voluntarily expressed that he, a prince was on the lookout for a bride.
The princess advised the prince to go and worship Lord Veeraraghava in the
temple situated on the northern bank of Hrittapanasini tank, if he wanted
to marry her.
But the prince did not move, but argued that if the mutual love was real,
God Himself would come down to approve of it. The princess then sent for
her parents. Arriving there, they enquired about the prince's lineage but
the prince would not divulge his identity.
However, he swore by Lord Veeraraghava that after his marriage with the
princess, he would stay there. This being a very sound proposal, the
marriage was fixed; and performed. Following the traditional custom of
offering prayer at the temple after marriage, by the newly wedded couple,
the prince and princess, accompanied by the parents and the invited
guests, went to the temple of Lord Veeraraghava.
When they approached the sanctum sanctorum, to the utter amazement of all
present, the newly married couple merged into the deity and stood
transformed as Lord Veeraraghava, and his divine consort Kanakavalli, who
blissfully blessed the parents and the assembly to attain salvation after
their preordained, stay in the world.
The Holy Tank
The sacred tank here is known as "Hrittapanasini". The tank is
so holy that evens a sight or a touch or a bath would immediately dispel
all anguish of heart. The local tradition attaches greater importance to
this tank than to the Ganga, the Godavari, etc Unfortunately, the tank is
now dry. As usual, at the centre of the tank there is a Mandapam, where
seasonal festivals are performed.
Air: The nearest airport is at
Chennai, which has
both National and International terminals.
Rail:Tiruvallur is 42-km from
Chennai, on the
railway line between Chennai
and Arkonam (Arakkonam). This temple is about 5-km north of the railway
station.
Road: There are regular buses from
Chennai and the
neighbouring cities and towns to Tiruvallur.
Accommodation is available at the hotels in Tiruvallur or Chennai. Being the capital city of the state, Chennai is well equipped with various kinds of accommodation options, varying from economic class to luxurious ones. For staying at Tiruvallur, only small budgeted hotels and choultries are available.