Divyadesam51 Sri Sonnavannam Seitha Perumal Yathothakaari Temple — Attraction in Tamil Nadu

On Tirukachi Nambi Street as we proceed from Varadarajaswami temple on the right side is situated Yathokthakari temple. It is on the opposite side of Ashtabhujakaram temple and can be reached by share-auto from Tiruvadi-koil or any bus going to Kanchipuram bus stand. It is about 2km from Varadaraja Perumal temple.

The temple is huge and covers an area of 4 acres. As we offer prostrations at the dwajasthambam one swami asks us to do it facing Perumal sannidhi and not sideways as to our left is Poigaiazhwar sannidhi. After doing anjali to Garudazhwar we went to Perumal sannidhi and saw Perumal lying with His Head resting on His left hand in a left to right position. At His Feet is Saraswathi devi worshipping Him. This is the Moolavar in Bhujana sayanam in reverse order and is Yathokthakari or Sonna vannam Seydha Perumal. What did He do as commanded/requested? To begin with He listened to Brahma who wanted to complete his ashvamedha yaagam in Kanchi which was being disrupted by his angry wife Saraswathi who was rushing furiously as Vegavathi to wash off the yaaga site. What did The Protector do? Well He protected His devotee by just lying down and stopped the gushing waters from entering the yagaasala. So He is known as Vegasethu or the dam on Vega. Brahma completed his yagyam and paved the way for the emergence of Varadaraja.

As if to reinforce His name in the era of Pallavaraya there was one Kanikannan a disciple of Tirumazhisaiazhwar who got banished from the kingdom for refusing to sing praises of the king. The guru followed his shishya and asked Perumal to roll up His serpent-bed and follow them. With their departure the kingdom was doomed and the king rushed to Orikkai(one night stay) and apologised and begged them to return. They returned and Perumal proved again that He was sonna vannam seydhavan. The utsavar goes by the name Vegasethu. After worshipping Perumal we worshipped Komallavalli Thayar at Her sannidhi and came out to take permission from the authorities for taking photos.

A group of ISCKON devotees were singing and dancing at Andal sannidhi so we had a look at Poigaiazhwar sannidhi which had details of azhwar’s avatharam as also relevant pasurams offfered by Poigai, Pey,Tirumazhisai and Tirumangaiazhwar and upadesarathanamalai and Yathokthakari Suprabatham covering the walls. As we proceeded in pradakshinam we worshipped the Vedasaravimanam and stopped by a mandapam with several vahanams. This was the Bhakthisara Premika Pavithrotsava mandapam offered by Krishnapremi swami. It houses Kalvar sannidhi and Nilathungathundan sannidhi and has a yagyavarahamurthi in between. The huge vahanams were beautiful to behold and an employee of the temple removed the cover from Hanumanthavahanam so that we could take a photo. After completing pradakshinam we worshipped at Andal sannidhi. Andal is captivating and imposing. As we stepped out an employee invited us to have a look at Srikrishna somewhere behind and when we went there we saw a faded painting of Manavalamamuni rendering kalakshepams to shisyas and learnt that swami stayed at this temple and taught Sribashyam. As we stepped out of the temple we saw a board saying ‘Poigai Pushkarni’ and followed the arrow to reach a pond in which Poigaiazhwar took avatharam. The place around was littered and this hallowed spot deserves better maintenance.

Incidentally Poigaiazhwar is the first azhwar who took avatharam at this pushkarni and composed the first anthathi (Mudal Tiruvanthathi). He was the manifestation of Panchajanyam, Perumal’s Conch. Known as Bhakthisaara his sambandam with the poigai is better known and this hallowed spot should be worshipped .

To conclude This Perumal who is called ‘Kanchi bhaaghyam’ is addressed as ‘Vishnu sethu’, ‘jagadhaiyaka sethu’, ‘shathamakhamani sethu’ (sapphire hued dam) and ‘Vegasethu’ by swami Desikan in ‘Vegasethu stotram ‘ He who reclines on Adisesha on the river Vegavati does whatever those who surrender at His Feet...

Yathothkari Perumal is believed to have appeared for Saraswati and Thirumalisai Alvar. Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple. The temple houses a rare image of Ranganatha recumbent on his left hand unlike other temples where he is recumbent on his right.

Once there was an argument between Saraswati, the consort of Brahma and Lakshmi on superiority. They went to Indra, the king of celestial deities. Indra judged Lakshmi as superior and not satisfied with his argument, Saraswati went to her husband, Brahma. He also chose Lakshmi to be the superior one. Saraswati was unhappy with the decision and decided to stay away from Brahma. Brahma did a severe penance praying to Vishnu and did an ashvamedha yagna. Saraswati was still angry that the yagna, which usually is done along with consorts was done alone by Brahma. She tried to disrupt the penance, but Vishnu interfered with his serpent Adishesha. Saraswati, on seeing Vishnu in her path, accepted her defeat and subsided in the form of river Vegavathi. As Vishnu interfered the path of the river, it was termed Vegavani, then as Vegannai and gradually corrupted to Vekka. The presiding deity thus got one of his names, Vegasetu. As per historian Nagaswamy, the temple was called Vehha meaning Vishnu leaning as a slanted slope, which gradually became vekka.

Once sage Bhargava had a son through Kanakangi, a celestial dancer. The boy was stillborn and was not fully developed during his birth. Kanakangi left his son under bushes and left to the celestial world. It is believed that the child was a divine incarnation of one of Vishnu's weapons, the Chakra. By the grace of Vishnu and Lakshmi, the baby became alright and began to cry. A childless farmer couple who were passing by took up the child, named him Sivavakkiyar and started rearing him. Once the boy reached adulthood, he was sceptical about choosing between Shaivism and Vaishnavism. He was defeated in arguments by Pey Alvar. He became a devotee of Vaishnavism and the disciple of Pey Alvar. Sivavakkiyar was also called Bhakthisarar and later as Thirumalisai Alvar.

Thirumalisai had a disciple by name Kanikkannan. He also had an old lady serving him - Thirumalisai prayed to the presiding deity of the temple and by the grace of Bhujangasayana Perumal, the old lady became a beautiful young lady. The Pallava king who was ruling the region at that time got attracted by the lady and married her. With time while the king was growing older, the lady remained young. He called up Kanikannan and ordered to sing praise of him so that he also turned young. When he refused, the king ordered Kanikannan to be banished out of the country. Kanikannan explained this to his master Thirumalisai, who prayed to Bhujangasayana Perumal. When the king heard this, he ordered the three to be sent of the country, which they obliged. When the three left Kanchipuram, it was engulfed in darkness. Realising his sin, the king worshipped Bhujangasayana Perumal to return along with his two devotees. Since the presiding deity obliged to his devotees wishes, he is called Yathothkari Perumal. Yathothka means as requested and kari denotes the person who accomplishes the task. One of the Alvars, poet saints of the 7-10th century, Poigai Alvar was born at...

Yathothkari Perumal (regarded as Sonna Vannam Seidha Perumal) Temple is one of the 108 Divya Desams of Lord Vishnu. Here, Lord Vishnu is in the form of Ranganatha, sleeping on Adisesha. According to a legend, Goddess Saraswati was angry with her husband Lord Brahma, who conducted yagna without informing her, as the yagnas are performed along with the consorts. She tried to disrupt the yagna by transforming into a river named Vegavathi. Lord Brahma sought the help of Lord Vishnu, who in the form of Ranganatha, interfered with Adisesha. Thus the flow of the river was stagnated and Saraswati accepted her defeat.

The image of the presiding deity is one of the rare forms of Lord Ranganatha, where he is recumbent on his left hand. Another instance of this rare form can be seen in Adikesava Perumal Temple, Thiruvattaaru in Kanyakumari District. The pose of the presiding deity is almost similar to that of Lord Rama holding his bow and arrow, but in a sleeping position, without the bow and arrow. Goddess Saraswati is worshipping the Lord Vishnu near his feet in the same shrine. Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped here as Komalavalli Thaayaar and she has a separate shrine. This temple is the birth place of Poigai Azhwar.

The old name of this area is Thiruvekkaa. This temple is now located in Little Kanchipuram, only around 2 km from Kanchipuram...