History and Important Significance of Srivilliputhur Temple, Tamilnadu

The temple town of Srivilliputhur is highly sacred place for Srivaishnavites and has two holy shrines.

1. Sri VatapatraSayee Temple: The abode of Sri VatapatraShayi with his consorts Goddess Bhudevi and Sridevi and 
2. Sri Andal Temple: The abode of Sri Rangamannar with his consort Goddess Andal.

The Srivilliputhur temple is located in Virudhunagar district of the state of Tamilnadu. The temple town is well connected by road and rail from all major parts of Tamilnadu. The temple contact telephone number is 04563-260254 and temple's official website is www.srivilliputhurandaltemple.tnhrce.in.

Legend & History of Temple SriVilliputhur:

Legend: According to temple inscriptions, there were two brothers VILLI and KANTHA(also known as PUTHUR) in Vateswarapuram. One day, they went to Vateswarapuram forest for hunting. Unfortunaltely, Kanthan was killed by Tiger. While searching, VILLI found his brother Kanthan’s dead body and fanted there itself. In his dream, Lord Vateswara promised to give his brother’s life back and ordered him to built a temple on His name. After Villi wake up, he found that his brother KANTHAN was alive.

They returned to their village and built a beautiful temple to the Lord in this village. They found the idol of Lord Vateswara under a banyan tree and installed the IDOL of Lord VATESWARA. The Lord Vateswara is also known as VATAPATRASAYEE(One who is lying down a banyan tree).

History: It is believed that the shrine of VatapathraShayi is 2000years old ancient temple was built Valli and Puthur. The temple of Sri Vatapathrashayi (Lord Vishnu) is also called as Periya Perumal Temple in Srivilliputhur.

Srivilliputhur is the birth place of great saints Vishnuchittar and Goda Devi(Sri Andal). The Rajagopuram of Srivilliputhur temple was constructed by Vishnuchittar(who had been affectionately called Peria Alwar) during the rule of Pandava King Vallabadevan 765AD-815AD as per Guru Parambara traditions.

Sri Andal Sannidhi was constructed by different kings of Pandava Dynasty at different times during their rule in the 8th century. 

Origin of  Temple Name as 'Srivilliputhur': In mean time, Sri VatapathraSayee temple village 'Vateswarapuram' was called as VILLIPUTHUR in the name of great devotees VILLI and PUTHUR as they built the temple to the Lord. Later, the temple town is called as SRIVILLIPUTHUR as it was the birth place of great devotees ANDAL and Vishnuchittan. By the incarnation of great saint ‘Vishnuchittan’ and his divine foster daugther ‘Andal’ in this sacred place, the temple town became a highly sacred shrine for Srivaishnavites.

Significance and Importance of Srivilliputhur Temple, Tamilnadu:

The Srivilliputhur temple is one of the 108 divya desams. The temple Rajagopuram is so divine and unique.

The main attraction of temple is RAJAGOPURAM with 11 tiers and 192 feet height. Srivilliputhur Temple is unique for it's rich architectural heritage. The exquisite images, sculptures, carvings and drawings adorn the temple beautifully. The symbol of Temple Rajagopuram is being used as Official EMBLEM of Tamilnadu Government.

Srivilliputthur is known as Varaha Kshetram, Vateswarapuram, Vanmikapuram, Puduvaiputur, VataKshetra. The importance of this 2000years ancient temple is mentioned in VarahaPuranam and BrahmaKaivatsa Puranam.

Unique Significance of Sri Andal Temple: 1) It is a tradition followed here that the flower garland of Goddess Andal is sent to Tirumala Temple, Andhrapradesh one day before the annual brahmotsavam of Lord Venkateswara Swamy. Like wise the lord's garland of Tirumala Temple is sent to wedding ceremony of Sri Andal with Sri Rangamannar in the month of Panguni(March/April).

2) The lord of SriRangam also wears the Garland of Goddess Andal during Chithirai festival in Madurai.