Andalakkum Aiyan Perumal Temple, Thiruvadhanur
Thiru Aadhanoor
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Sthala Purāṇam
Thiru Aadhanoor enshrines Sriman Narayana as Andalakkum Aiyan with Thayar Ranganayaki (Kamalavalli). The place-name is explained from the celestial cow Kamadhenu (Aa, cow; oor, town) having performed penance here, after which she abides with the Lord in the sanctum; Sridevi and Bhudevi are seen at His holy feet. The deity's name and the marakkal (measuring vessel) He holds arise from the legend of Thirumangai Alvar. When the Alvar undertook the great renovation (thirupani) of Srirangam and fell short of funds to pay his labourers, the Lord by a celestial voice bade him go to the banks of the Kollidam. There the Lord appeared in the guise of an elder who measured out wages to the workmen; for the sincere the sand turned to precious gems, while the deceitful received only river sand. Because the Lord measured and bestowed, He became renowned as Andalakkum Aiyan, the Lord who measures and rules, and bears the marakkal. He reclines upon Adishesha with the measure as His pillow. Tradition also records that Indra was freed here of the curse of Brihaspati's wrath and Agni cleansed of sin. The sanctum is crowned by the Pranava Vimana, and the shrine, glorified by Thirumangai Alvar, was built by Aditya Chola and patronised by later Vijayanagara and Nayak rulers.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Andalakkum Aiyan with Ranganayaki (Kamalavalli) of Thiru Aadhanoor is glorified by:
Thiru Aadhanoor's Andalakkum Aiyan Perumal is celebrated by Thirumangai Alvar, who mentions the shrine as 'Aadhanoor Andalakkum Aiyan' (verse numbered 3815 in the Prabandham, in the Periya Thirumadal). The single reference ties the deity to the local 'measuring' legend - the Lord with the marakkal who measured out wages to His workers. The Mangalasasanam here is brief (a single localized mention) rather than a full decade.
Verses & references (1)
- Thirumangai Alvar refers to this shrine as 'Aadhanoor Andalakkum Aiyan' - the Lord of Aadhanoor who measures and bestows. The name alludes to the sthala legend in which the Lord, carrying a marakkal (grain measuring vessel), measured out and paid the temple workers; hence the deity reclines holding the measuring vessel beneath His head and a palm-leaf (olai) and stylus (ezhuthani) in His hand. He is praised as Andalakkum Aiyan with consort Ranganayaki. — Thirumangai Alvar, Periya Thirumadal (Thirumangai Alvar) Thirumangai Alvar verse no. 3815 (Periya Thirumadal) · source ↗
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