My native place
DATE:21.09.2024
SRIVILLIPUTHUR
Srivilliputhur also known as Thiruvilliputhur is a municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamilnadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 75,396.
The most important landmark of Thiruvillipuhur is 11 tiered tower structure dedicated to the vatapatrasayee(Vishnu), the presiding deity of the Srivilliputhur Divya Desam.
The tower of this temple(rajagopuram) rises 192 feet high and is the official symbol of the Government of Tamilnadu. It is said to have been built by periyalvar, in the year 788 CE and believed to be the adopted father of the temple deity, with a purse of gold that he won in debates held in the place of Pandya king Vallabhadeva.
Thiruvilliputhur is well known for its ancient heritage and devotional contributions. Its coordinates about 9.512°N 77.633°E . It is on the Virudhunagar-Sengottai line of the Southern Railway, about 74km south of Madurai and connected by road and rail with Madurai, Rajapalayam, Sankarankovil, Sengottai, Sivakasi and Sattur.
The history of Srivilliputhur centres around the Srivilliputhur Temple dedicated to Andal(8th century or earlier), the only female Alvar of the 12 Alvar saints of South India. She is credited with Tamil works of Thirumalai and Nachiar Tirumozhi that are still recited by devotees during the winter festival season of margazhi.
Andal is known for her unwavering devotion to God Vishnu, the god of the Srivaishnavas. The normal and expected path for women of her culture, to "marry" Vishnu.
In many places in India, particularly in Tamilnadu, Andal is treated more than a saint and as a form of God herself and a shrine for Andal is dedicated in most Vishnu temples. Sri Andal temple was under the care of the king of Travancore.
More than thousands of devotees from far and near witnessed and pulled the car(Ther) along the four car streets in the famous temple town of Srivilliputhur, on Saturday as part of the Aadipooram celebrations, to mark the birth star, Poonam, of the presiding deity Andal(Nachiar). The car festival is the highlight of the 10 day event.
Handloom weaving and farming are the primary occupations in Srivilliputhur. Virudhunagar district has four clusters of handloom weavers - Rajapalayam, Srivilliputhur, Aruppukottai and Sundarapandiyam. Srivilliputhur is known for a milk sweet called Srivilliputhur Palkova. The Srivilliputhur Milk producers Cooperative Society Ltd.
The famous temples namely Madavar Vilagam Vaidyathar temple, a six feet high monolithic image of Nataraja. Thiruvannamalai, also known as Thenthirupathi, is a temple dedicated to Vishnu located in 3.1mi away from Srivilliputhur. Kattalagar kovil is another Vishnu temple located in west of Srivilliputhur over Mantuga hills. Sathuragiri Hills is home of two temples, namely Sundra Mahalingam temple and Sandhana Mahalingam temple.The place is known for rare medicinal plants. Pilavakkal is a dam in Watrap village and is one of the picnic spots of Srivilliputhur.
Its towering gopuram, decorated with intricate carvings and paintings, serves as a testament to the ancient artisans who built it.The temple has inscription from Chola, Pandya and Vijayanagar Nayakkar kings, spanning various centuries from the 10th to 16th centuries.
For more information en.m.wikipedia.org