Sriperumbudur Temple: Sri Adikesava Perumal Temple (Birth place of Ramanuja)
Sriperumbudur, is a suburban area of Chennai and there is a lot of historical importance attached to this place. The Sriperumbudur Temple, Sri Adikesava Perumal Temple is 500 years old, it seems. SriPerumbudur is also known as Thiru Perumbudur (in Tamil) and its old name was Bhoodapuri.
Right opposite to the Temple, there is a pillared hall which is considered to be the birth place of Sri Ramanuja, a Hindu saint who lived in the 11th/12th centuries. It is believed that he lived for 120 years and was an important saint responsible for the spread of Vaishnavism/Vaishnavite philosophy all over India. Sri Sankara (who lived in neighboring Kanchipuram and spread Advaita philosophy) and Sri Ramanuja (click to read about his works) were important Hindu philosophers who lived just 40 KM apart (in different time periods) and still many people in Chennai are oblivious of both!
This photo offers the view of Sriperumbudur Temple (Sri Adikesava Perumal Temple) from outside. You can see the Gopuram and other structures in this Temple more clearly in the photos, below. Refer to the embedded video (in the top of this page) to have a look at the Sri Ramanuja mandapa (I forgot to take a photo of it!).
There is no separate Vaikunta/Swarga vaasal in this Temple as the whole place is considered as Heaven (as it is the birth place of Sri Ramanuja). On Vaikunta Ekadesi, it is believed that both God and Sri Ramanuja grace the mandapam outside the Temple. The 10 day Chittirai festival (during April-May) is also very popular. Another notable thing is, Sri Ramanuja’s Then Uganda Thirumeni (statue made of metals) is kept inside the Temple and the water (theertham) that emanates from this statue is considered to have curative powers.
For further information on what you need to see inside the Temple, visit this page. I’ll leave you with some photographs taken by me around this Temple.
Destination Infinity
I like the gopurams… the intricate carvings and so many sculptures painted with so many colours… It must have taken a long time to complete these!
The photos are all very beautiful! I have heard this temple name, but only seeing it through your blog.
Thanks for the information.
Thank you for sharing this information.
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