Indra Theertham - The Temple Pushkarini Relieves all the Curses
A Sindhu king on a hunting expedition consumed food from the ashram of Gusasana Rishi while he was away. An angered rishi cursed him to turn to a dog. A man trained the dog to provide acrobatic displays to onlookers and thus earned his livelihood. After going all over the place, the dog was finally relieved from the curse after a bath at the sacred water (Chethruththamarai Theertham) at Thothadri. He regained his princely form. Hence, it is believed that a bath at this Theertham will relieve from all curses.
Speciality at this Divya Desam - Oil Abhishekam - Sarva Roha Nivarani
Kaarya Maharaja didn’t have a child. He went to Lord Nambi at Thirukurungudi who asked him to undertake pooja of the Lord who is present beneath the earth at Nanguneri. The king who dug up the earth here was shocked to find blood oozing out of the Lord’s head. The Lord asked him to perform an Oil Abhishekam and to throw the oil into the open well found at this place. Having performed this, he is said to have had children. The temple is believed to have been built by Kaarya Maharaja. The tradition of Oil Abhishekam has come to stay. Hence, the speciality of this Divya Desam is the daily oil pooja for the main deity and depositing the oil in the 25 feet open well inside the temple. The oil has been hailed by Sage Agastya as ‘Sarva Roha Nivarani’ and is said to have medicinal values helping cure both internal and external illness including ulcer and skin diseases. The oil at this temple is just as special as the ‘laddu’ of Tirupathi temple.
Garuda’s presence in front of Lord Vishnu
The story goes that Kasiyapa, who had two wives- Kathru and Vinathai, remained childless. Invoking the blessings of a rishi, the two wives were given the option of choosing between several children and just the two.
Kathru had several children including Adisesha, the Serpent King, on whom Lord Vishnu rests himself. Vinathai had two children- Arunan (Charioteer of Surya) and Garuda (Charioteer of Vishnu).
With Lord Vishnu resting himself all the time on Adisesha, an upset Garuda undertook penance at Thothadri. When the Lord appeared before Garuda, he expressed his disappointment at not accorded the same status as Adisesha. It was then that Lord Narayana asked him to come with him to Vaikuntam and accorded him the status of standing in front of him (facing him) ready all the time to take his Lord on a trip. Thus it came to be that when the Lord leaves Adisesha, he gets on to Garuda.
Liberation from re-birth
The two beautiful damsels Urvasi and Thilothama undertook penance at Thothadri seeking liberation from re-birth and with the single minded devotion of serving the Lord. Narayana, who appeared before them, expressed surprise at these two beautiful ladies undertaking severe penance at Thothadri instead of enjoying their lives. The two replied that they had now realised that serving him was the ultimate achievement for any one. As desired by them, Lord allowed them a place next to him. Hence, they are seen here at this temple next to the Lord in a gesture of fanning him (white Chamaras) and keeping him always cool. Azhvaar on the Shataari NamAzhvaar is seen on the Lord’s Shataari, a gesture that is said to be equivalent to the Azhvaar himself blessing the devotees. |
