Sri Manikandeswarar Temple Tirumalpur, Vellore

SRI MALVANANGEESWARAR TEMPLE

Tirumalpur, Tamilnadu, India

God

Sri Malvanangeeswarar is main deity of this temple. He is an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Sri Malvanangeeswarar here is in Linga form faces East direction. He is Self-manifested(Swayambhu) lingam.

Goddess

Goddess Parvathi is an consort of Lord Sri Malvanangeeswarar.

Interesting Facts

This ancient temple is located on the banks of Virudhasheera river (Palaru).
It is believed that the Moolavar of this temple is made of sand by Goddess Parvathi herself.
This lingam is not touched by human hands, not even by the priests, as it is “Theendathirumeni” and is always covered by a metal sheet (Kavacham).

Best Season To Visit

The best season to visit this temple is Winter season. The best months to visit are September to February.

Weather

Highest - April to June (38°C during day and 26°C during night)Average - May (33.7 °C during the day and 21 °C during night)Lowest - October to February (26 °C during day and 17 °C during night)Monsoon season - June to September

Dress Code

For men the dress code is Shirt & Trouser, Dhoti or Pyjamas with upper cloth.
For women the preferred dress code is saree or half-saree with blouse or chudidhar with pyjama and upper cloth.
Shorts, mini-skirts, middies, sleeveless tops, low-waist jeans and short-length T-shirts are not allowed.

Do's & Dont's

Tourists are advised to hire approved guides & photographers who exhibit their identity cards

Smoking and drinking is prohibited on tirumala hills.
Chewing betel leaves, tobacco, gutka and spitting inside temple is strictly prohibited.

transport connections

Name	Distance	Contact Number
Thirumalpur Bus Stop	300 MTRS	1800 41 99099
Tirumalpur railway station	6.4 KM	139
Chennai International Airport	76 KM	044-2256 1122

Railway Station Name	Distance	Contact Number
Tirumalpur railway station	6.4 KM	139

Airport Name	Distance	Contact Number
Chennai International Airport	76 KM	044-2256 1122

Architecture

Lord Mahavishnu was given the Chakra here, this place got the name Harichakrapuram (in Sanskrit) and Thiru Malpuram (“Mal” meaning Mahavishnu and “Puram” meaning village in Tamil). Similarly, Lord Shiva here is also praised as “Sri Malvanangeeswarar” (“Mal” meaning Mahavishnu and “Vanangu” meaning worship in Tamil). After that temple is known as Sri Malvanangeeswarar temple. East facing temple with Dravidian style of Architecture. The 70 feet high Rajagopuram with 5-tiers.

The wall surrounding the main shrine has the relief images of Ganesha, Dakshinamurthy, Vishnu, Brahma, Durga and Chandikeshwara as the Goshta idols. There are more than 80 inscriptions in this temple, some of which speak of endowments made to recite Nammalvar's Tiruvaimozhi at the Ninrarulia Perumal temple nearby (Now in ruins). In the mandapam reliefs of Dhakshinamoorthy, Suryan, Mahavishnu, Balasubramaniyar, Appar, Sundarar, Thiruganasambandar, Vinayagar, Murugan, Naanmugan (All the four faces are visible), Ambal worshiping Lord Shiva, Kaalinganarthanam, Kamadhenu, Bairavar, Veerabathrar doing dhabas standing on one leg. In the Sabamandapam, Natarajar with Ambal and Manikkavasakar. In Koshtam Dhakshinamoorthy, Mahavishnu, Brahma, and Astabuja Durgai. Urchavamoorthangal are in Arthamandapam. Here theertham (Holy water) is known as Chakkara theertham, located in front of the temple. The presiding Moolavar Lingam is made of Sand by Parvathi.

Religious Significance

The legend is that once, when Goddess Parvathi was playing with her husband Lord Shiva, she inadvertently covered his eyes with her hands. She soon realized that because of this act, all living beings in the world had come to a standstill. She immediately removed her hands. To repent for the hardships caused due to her action and to seek absolution for her sins, she decided to come to earth, make a lingam with sand, install it on the banks of Viruthasheera river and start offering her prayers there. Lord Mahavishnu got his discus (Sudarshana Chakaram) from Lord Shiva here. It is believed that once, while Goddess Parvathi was offering her prayers, the river started overflowing. To safeguard the lingam, she hugged it and prayed to her brother Mahavishnu for help. He immediately took his reclining form “Ranganathar” and acted as a dam to divert the flood. It is believed that this lingam is the moolavar in the sanctum of this temple. The place where Ranganathar diverted the river is called Thiruparkadal. It is near this temple and there is a separate shrine for Lord Mahavishnu there.

History

It is believed that in his battle against Sage Thutheesi, Lord Mahavishnu had used his discus (Chakrayudam). When the discus touched the sage’s body, it lost its sharpness and became defunct. Worried, Lord Mahavishnu consulted with the celestial gods (Devas) who advised him that Lord Shiva had the “Sudharsana Chakram” (discus) which he had created to destroy demon Chalandaran. Lord Mahavishnu came to this place (Thirumalpur) and worshipped Lord Shiva here every day by making an offering of a thousand lotus flowers. To test the determination of Lord Vishnu, it is believed that Lord Shiva caused shortage of one flower. To make up for this shortage, Lord Vishnu immediately plucked one of his eyes out and offered it along with the flowers. Pleased by his determination, Lord Shiva restored Lord Mahavishnu’s eye and blessed him by saying that “since you offered your eye in place of a lotus flower, your eyes will have the beauty of the lotus flower itself and you will be praised as “Padumashan”. Lord Shiva also blessed him with the “Sudharsana Chakram”.

Temple Timings

Day	Timings
All Days	06:00 AM - 12:00 PM	04:00 PM - 08:00 PM

Tours

Airports

Airport Name	Distance
Shamshabad	40 KM
Lorem Ipsum	12 KM

Railway Stations

Railway Station Name	Distance
Secunderabad	10 KM
Nampally	12 KM
Begumpet	6 KM
Lingampally	20 KM

Bus Stations

Bus Station Name	Distance
MGBS	35 KM
CBS	28 KM
kukatpally	20 KM
Lingampally	30 KM
Uppal	35 KM

Private Transports

Transport Name	Distance	Contact Number
Private Transport	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757