Pandava Thoodhar Perumal Temple, Thiruppadagam
Thiru Paadagam
Photo: Richard Mortel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Houses an approximately 25-foot seated Vishnu murti, held to be the tallest seated form of the Lord in any Indian temple.
Sthala Purāṇam
The presiding deity at Thiruppadagam is Pandava Thoothar (Pandava Dhootha Perumal), Krishna in His form as the envoy of the Pandavas. The sthala puranam draws directly from the Mahabharata. Before the Kurukshetra war, Krishna travelled to Hastinapura as the peace envoy of the Pandavas, seeking their rightful share of the kingdom from Duryodhana. The Kaurava prince plotted treachery, preparing a gem-studded throne over a concealed pit and hiding wrestlers to seize and kill Krishna. In response Krishna revealed His Vishwaroopa, the cosmic universal form, before the entire Kaurava court, including the blind king Dhritarashtra, who is said to have been temporarily granted sight to behold it and asked to be made blind again afterward, unwilling to see anything lesser. The temple's colossal seated icon, about 25 feet (7.6 m) tall, is held to depict this Vishwaroopa. Krishna is seated in Ardha-Padmasana with the right leg folded down. Uniquely, because He appeared in human form, the murti has only two arms rather than the usual four, the right hand in abhaya and the left in varada mudra. The Thaayars are Rukmini and Satyabhama. Counted among the 108 Divya Desams, it is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham by five Alvars: Pey Alvar, Bhoothathalvar, Thirumazhisai Alvar, Nammalvar and Thirumangai Alvar.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Pandava Thoodhar (Pandava Dhootha Perumal) with Rukmini Thayar of Thiru Paadagam is glorified in 6 pāsurams by:
Thiruppadagam (Pandava Thoodhar Perumal Temple) in Kanchipuram, Thondai Nadu, is the 48th of the 108 Vaishnava Divya Desams. The presiding deity is Pandava Thoothar (Pandava Dhootha Perumal) — Krishna in His form as the peace envoy of the Pandavas before the Kurukshetra war, depicted in a colossal roughly 25-foot seated Vishwaroopa icon (held to be the tallest seated form of the Lord in any Indian temple). The Thayar is Rukmini (with Satyabhama). The abode is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham by four Alvars who performed mangalasasanam in a total of six pasurams: Bhoothathalvar (Irandam Thiruvandhadhi, 1 verse), Peyalvar (Moonram Thiruvandhadhi 30, 1 verse), Thirumazhisai Alvar (Thiruchchandha Viruththam, 2 verses incl. the celebrated 'ninRadhu endhai Uragaththu irundhadhu endhai pAdagaththu' that pairs Padagam's seated Lord with neighbouring Uragam and Vehka), and Thirumangai Alvar (Periya Thirumozhi and Thirunedunthandakam, 2 verses praising 'pANdava thUthan' of Kanchi). Two verses — Peyalvar's Moonram Thiruvandhadhi 30 and Thirumazhisai Alvar's Thiruchchandha Viruththam 64 — are reproduced with verbatim Tamil sourced directly from the authoritative divyaprabandham.koyil.org.
சேர்ந்த திருமால் கடல் குடந்தை வேங்கடம் நேர்ந்த என் சிந்தை நிறை விசும்பும் வாய்ந்த மறை பாடகம் அனந்தன் வண் துழாய்க்கண்ணி இறை பாடியாய இவை
sErndha thirumAL kadal kudandhai vEngadam / nErndha en sindhai niRai visumbum vAyndha / maRai pAdagam ananthan vaN thuzhAykkaNNi / iRai pAdiyAya ivai
Peyalvar lists the divine abodes (iRai pAdi, 'capitals') where Sriman Narayana, adorned with His cool tulasi garland, gives darshan: the Milky Ocean (thiruppARkadal), Thirukkudandhai (Kumbakonam), Thiruvenkatam, the devotee's own surrendered heart, the fulfilled realm of Srivaikuntam, the Veda, Thiruppadagam, and on Adisesha. Thiruppadagam (pAdagam) is named here among the places the Lord has graciously made His residence so as to be accessible to all.
நின்றது எந்தை ஊரகத்து இருந்தது எந்தை பாடகத்து அன்று வெஃகணைக் கிடந்தது என்னிலாத முன்னெலாம் அன்று நான் பிறந்திலேன் பிறந்தபின் மறந்திலேன் நின்றதும் இருந்ததும் கிடந்ததும் என் நெஞ்சுளே
ninRadhu endhai Uragaththu irundhadhu endhai pAdagaththu / anRu vehkaNaik kidandhadhu ennilAdha munnelAm / anRu nAn piRandhilEn piRandhapin maRandhilEn / ninRadhum irundhadhum kidandhadhum en nenjuLE
Thirumazhisai Alvar sings of the three Kanchipuram Divya Desams together: my Lord stood (in standing posture) at Thiru-Uragam, sat at Thiruppadagam (pAdagaththu irundhadhu), and reclined at Thiruvehka — long ago, before I existed. In those former times I had not yet been born; but since being born I have never forgotten Him. Now He stands, sits and reclines within my very heart. The phrase 'irundhadhu endhai pAdagaththu' (my Father is seated at Padagam) directly glorifies the seated Pandava Thoodhar of Thiruppadagam.
Verses & references (2)
- Thirumangai Alvar performs mangalasasanam to the Lord of Thiruppadagam in his Periya Thirumozhi. In the canonical Nalayira Divya Prabandham numbering this is verse 1541, glorifying Krishna as Pandava Thoothar (the envoy of the Pandavas) enshrined in the seated form at Kanchi/Thiruppadagam. (Exact Tamil text not reproduced here pending verbatim verification from an authority.) — Thirumangai Alvar, Periya Thirumozhi (Irandam Ayiram) NDP 1541 (Periya Thirumozhi) · source ↗
- In Thirunedunthandakam verse 15, the heroine (parakAla nAyaki, Thirumangai Alvar's feminine persona) recalls the divine name 'pANdava thUthan' (the Pandavas' envoy) of the Lord enshrined at Thiruppadagam within fortified Kanchi ('kachchi mEya kaLiRu'), affirming this temple's place among the abodes she cherishes. (Exact Tamil text not reproduced here pending verbatim verification from an authority.) — Thirumangai Alvar, Thirunedunthandakam (Iyarpa) Thirunedunthandakam 15 (NDP 2674) · source ↗
Tamil text & meaning sourced from divyaprabandham.koyil.org and other Śrī Vaiṣṇava authorities — please cross-check the linked source for the canonical reading.
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