Shri Koodal Azhagar Temple — Attraction in Madurai

Koodal Azhagar Koil in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India 🍃🍁🍃

It is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams, the holy shrines of Vishnu. The temple is an ancient one and situated near the famous Meenakshi Amman Temple. Koodal is the ancient name for Madurai. Azhaghar means the beautiful one (male form) in Tamil. This temple is very important as the Thirupallandu, the first 12 verses of the 4000 Divyaprabadam, was sung by Periyalwar praising the splendor of Azhagar. The Lord was pleased and gave darshan as ‘Koodal Azhagar’.

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History: The Pandiya king, Vallabhadeva was a righteous ruler. He governed the magnificent Madurai for many years. He wanted to know more about Lord Vishnu and was seeking salvation. Lord Koodalazhagar appeared in the dream of Vallabhadeva’s priest. The Lord suggested the name of Periyalwar of Srivilliputhur to guide the king. Periyalwar was brought to the palace of King Vallabhadeva with great respect and honor. Periyalwar described the grandeur of Lord Vishnu and the meaning of the Vedas. The king took Periyalwar in a procession on the royal elephant. It is believed that Lord Koodalazhagar came there on his celestial vehicle, Garuda, to witness this grand procession.

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Pilgrim Visit: It is an important place of pilgrimage for followers of Lord Vishnu, the Vaishnavaites as it is one of the 108 Divya Darsanam shrines. 🍀🙏 Legend: It is said that architect of the Devas (gods), Vishwakarma designed and constructed Koodal Azhagar Koil in Krutha yugam (sathya or age of truth), the first of the four epochs in Vedic history. The other three are Thretha yugam, Dwapara yugam and the current one called Kali yugam.

A Pandiyan king named Sathyavrathan was totally devoted this deity, Koodal Azhagar. One day, before he went into the temple to worship Koodal Azhagar, the king washed his hands in the Krutha Maala River. A fish was caught in his hand and he thought that the fish might be Lord Vishnu himself as one of the avatars (reincarnations) of Vishnu was Matsya or fish. This is the reason for the fish to be the symbol on the Pandiyan flags.

In praise of Sri Koodal Azhagar, the Avani Onam festival was celebrated by Pandyan rulers for seven days. This festival is described in Maduraikkanchi, one of the ten epic poems called Pathupattu of the Sangam period.

Ilangovadigal (the Tamil poet who wrote the epic ‘Silappadigaram’) praises Lord Koodal Azhagar as ‘Needu Neer-Vaigai Nedumal’, meaning the Lord who covered the Universe by taking three strides, and then settled down at the bank of the River Vaigai in this temple. 🌿 Attractions Donot Miss: You can climb up to take a closer look at the richly decorated superstructure, the Ashtanga Vimanam over the sanctum. Intricate woodcarvings, especially of the coronation of Lord Rama, are wonderfully detailed. The decorative windows, with delicately designed wooden panes, are a remarkable feature of the Koodal Alagar Temple. The temple was renovated in 2006 using special natural vegetable dyes and paint made from medicinal herbs in Kerala. 🍁🧘‍♂️ The Temple: Covering about 2.5 acres, the beautiful Koodal Azhagar Koil has interesting stone grills and sculptures, two prakarams (compounds) and a five-tiered rajagopuram that is covered with exquisitely sculptured details.

In the first prakaram there is a separate shrine (sannidhi) for Maduravalli Naachiyaar. The goddess in this shrine is named Maragadha Valli in honor of the city’s most famous temple and goddess, Meenakshi Amman, whose figure is made up of the precious gem Maragatham or emerald. She is also called Vagulavalli, Varaguna Valli and Maragadha Valli.

To the north, there is a shrine for Aandal Naachiyaar, the poetess devotee of Lord Vishnu.

Koodal Azhagar Koil’s vimanam (dome) over the main sanctum is an Ashtanga Vimanam, with eight sides that represents the eight-syllable Ashtakshara manthram of Lord Vishnu, ‘Om...

Paratatva Nishkarshanam On the 18th of December 2017 about thirty women of Babu mami's stotra pata goshti from Srirangam headed to Madurai to witness the enactment of 'Paratatva Nishkarshanam' at a specially erected pandal near Koodal Azhaghar temple.We left Srirangam at about 1.30p.m. and reached Koodal Azhaghar temple at about 6.00 p.m. after worshipping Mohanavalli and Kalamegha Perumal at Tirumoghur ,and Narasimhavalli and Narasimha Perumal at Othakadai near 'yanai malai' . But since our intent was to see the celebration of the birth of 'Pallandu' shall concentrate on that event. After worshipping Maduravalli Thayar( She has given the name Madurai to the place) Koodal Azhaghar ,Vyuha Sundararajar in 'irundha tirukolam'(sitting posture) we climbed steps along the ashtanga vimanam to see Perumal in 'nindra tirukolam' on the first level and in sayana tirukolam' on the second level.The Beauty of the colored Divyamangala vigrahams took our breath away. Next we made our way to 'Thanga Mayil'(it is a big jewellery shop) asking everyone the way. When we reached the spot we saw a pandal where Perumal would come. We surveyed the place, read the information and waited for the arrival of Periazhwar and Perumal. It was about 9.00 p.m. when He came on Garuda vahanam. Garudan had his head tilted to one side and had really big wide eyes. as he carried Perumal. Periazhwar came on the elephant and the 'Purana Patanam'(story of the occasion is read ) started after offering of vastrams harathi etc, The Pouranikar (narrator of the purana) was impressive in his 'Araiyar kulla' of velvet embossed with shanku. chakram and tiruman'. He narrated the story in a clear melodious voice. Madurai on the banks of 'Krithamala' was the place where Matsya avatharam happened. Our story goes to the time of Vallabhadeva Pandian the monarch of Pandya desam which had Madurai as its capital. Once during his night jaunts he met a holy man who said 'Save in summer for the rainy days, save for old age when young and save your atma in this birth'. The king wanted to know how the atma could be saved so he called a congregation of learned men(vidvans) to hear their views. Vatapatrasayee the reigning Deity of Srivilliputtur asked Vishnuchitta who offered flower garlands for Him daily to attend the gathering and establish the Ultimate Truth'. Hesitatingly he went with Vishnu in his chittham(heart) and relied on Him to speak confidently in the august gathering. By quoting from the Vedams (vendiya vedam) appropriately he successfully established the Ultimate Truth. Worshipping Lakshmi Narayana and surrendering one's atma to Them would save it from being born again and again. Convinced by his arguments he was declared winner and was given a golden parrot and was taken seated on an elephant's back on a victory march on the streets of Madurai. Perumal came rushing on His Garuda to see him."Oh my God You are exposing Your Beauty, You will get drishti' exclaimed Vishnuchitta." Taking the bell around the elephant's neck he burst into song 'Pallandu Pallandu'(Long live long live) he began. The goshti(group) gathered in between Perumal and Vishnuchitta sang the verses and it felt as if the event was just happening. After this incident Vishnuchitta came to be 9 known as 'Periazhwar' because he showed 'pongum parivu'(deep concern) for Perumal and later on made Him his son-in-law'. Well we got theertham. srisathari and rejoiced at our good fortune to be there on that day. We have to thank Smt. Hema of 'Babu mami' group for organising the trip comfortably and taking all the 60 pluses to witness this wonderful exposition and dropping each one of us at our doorstep...

The temple is barely five walking minutes away from the Madurai railway junction.

This temple is located in the heart of the city, close to Periyar Bus Stand. The temple is maintained very neat the tidy and important pilgrim center for Vaishnavites. The location not to be confused with Azhagar temple, dedicated to Sundaraja perumal which is at about a distance of 20 K.Ms.

Vimana dharshan (need to get ticket at the counter) was very good. Here the god can be seen in 3 forms: standing posture, sitting posture and sleeping posture. For the other 2 forms of god, we need to go to the Vimanam.

Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the Koodal Azhagar Temple, located in the centre of Madurai city of Tamil Nadu is a unique and famous temple of historical significance constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture and supposedly built by the Pandyas. Koodal is another name for the city of Madurai and Azghar in Tamil translates to 'beautiful one', referring to Vishnu as Koodal Alagar and his consort Lakshmi as Mathuravalli. Beautifully sculpted and carved by adding different shades of colour, the majestic temple imposes itself in the eyes of the beholder.

With Lord Vishnu as the main deity in the form of Sri Koodal Azhagar, this temple is one of the 108 Divyadesams and lies on the 47th spot. This ancient temple is situated near the famous Meenakshi Amman Temple. Six pujas are performed in this temple which covers an area of 2.5acres. What makes this temple so rare and unique, is the presence of three different postures of Vishnu at such proximity to each other. The temple complex is big and built in traditional style with big front Gopuram and beautiful vimanam. Thousands of pilgrims flock here every day and most importantly during the Tamil month of Vaikasi (May - June) to offer their prayers. Glorified in the words of ancient literature, from the Sangam period to the works of Alvars, the temple is the present embodiment of unparalleled craftsmanship of a past era.

The ornate flamboyant Dravidian style architecture is a treat to anyone’s eyes. The Koodal Azhagar temple has a giant gateway tower, a five-tiered rajagopuram that rises to a height of 125 feet and the complex covers a total area of about 2 acres. The enclosure around the grand temple is bounded by huge granite walls. It was renovated in 2006 using special natural vegetable dyes and paint made from medicinal herbs from Kerala.

The Ashtanga Vimanam over the structure is astonishingly placed. It is said to be the magnum opus of Vishwakarma, the divine architect. The shadow of the huge Vimana on the main structure does not fall on the ground! This type of Vimana construction is said to be found in only three other temples, at Uthiramerur, Thirukoshtiyur and Cheranmadevi temples in Tamil Nadu.

The Koodal Azhagar Temple is the only Vishnu temple to have Navagrahas, the nine planetary deities - a visual imitation of the nine planets (one excluded now) in our solar system. Usually, they are only present in temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. Inner walls of the temple sanctuary depict paintings of ashtadipalakas (the eight guardian deities who protect the eight quarters of the world, in Hindu mythology). The three positions of Lord Vishnu as Koodal Azghar are exceptionally shown on three levels of the temple.

You can find inscriptions and detailing related to Ramayana and Mahabharata here. The coronation of Lord Rama is depicted here with woodcarvings. Intricately woven and masterfully sculpted, every wall in the temple has a...