Sri Venugopala Swamy Temple Annadanam Pettai, Cuddalore, Tamilnadu

SRI VENUGOPALA SWAMY TEMPLE

Annadanampettai, Cuddalore, Tamilnadu, India

God

The main deity of this temple is Venugopala Swamy, who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu with a height of 19 feet reclining form on Adisesha playing a flute with his hands.

Goddess

Radha and Rukmani are consorts of Lord Venugopala Swamy.

Interesting Facts

On the North-Eastern corner, a well named Sakkara Keni exists, this is supposed to have been created by lord himself with his wheel weapon.

Best Season To Visit

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

Weather

Highest - April to June ( 38°C during day and 26°C during night)Average - May (37 °C during the day and 21 °C during night)Lowest - October to February ( 30 °C during day and 18 °C during night)Monsoon season - August 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.
These rules are applicable for foreigners also. Shorts, mini-skirts, middies, sleeveless tops, low-waist jeans and short-length T-shirts are not allowed.
Pilgrims/visitors will not be allowed inside the temple if dress code is not followed.

Do's & Dont's

Do bathe and wear clean clothes before you enter the temple.
Do respect ancient customs and co-piligrims while at temple.

Smoking is strictly prohibited inside the temple premises.

transport connections

Name	Distance	Contact Number
Kurinjipadi Bus Stand	4 KM	1800-419-4287
Kurinjipadi Railway Station	5.4 KM	139
Puducherry Airport	54.5 KM	0413-2255506

Railway Station Name	Distance	Contact Number
Kurinjipadi Railway Station	5.4 KM	139

Airport Name	Distance	Contact Number
Puducherry Airport	54.5 KM	0413-2255506

Architecture

The temple was built in Dravidian style of architecture has a 7-tiered Raja gopuram. There is a Unjal madapam, which has 16 pillars, each 50 Feet height. A huge wall 236 Feet in length and 129 Feet in bredth runs around the temple. The entire granite structure is nearly 15 Meters in height. To the South of the temple is a one acre temple tank. The tank has 7 wells and a masonry is supposed to be housing the mortal remains of the architect of the temple.

Religious Significance

LEGEND 1 - From the day Mother Sita was abducted by Ravana till she was rescued after a long war, Lord Sri Rama had no rest both physically and mentally. During his return from Lanka with Mother Sita, brother Sri Lakshmana and Sri Anjaneya, he relaxed in this place after completing the Shiva puja in Rameswaram. Seeing lord tired, Lakshmana took his earlier original Adisesha form and became the bed for lord to relax. Mother Sita softly massaged his feet and at same time Lord Anjaneya sat at his feet.

LEGEND 2 - Bhasmasura Vatha is said to have happened at a place called Vegakollai near Vengadampet. Since the Mohini Avatara happened there, a statue of Mohini had been placed at the Kalapeswarar Temple at Vegakollai. Bhasmasura had prayed to Lord Shiva for a boon that when he placed his hand on anyone's head, that person would be reduced to ashes. As soon as the boon was granted, Bhasmasura wanted to test it. He started chasing Shiva to test it on him. Shiva started running, After running for a long time, he became tired and could not run any more. At this point, he prayed to Lord Vishnu to help him. Vishnu took the form of Mohini and appeared before Bhasmasura to divert his attention. She started dancing in front of him. Bhasmasura forgot all about Shiva. Enticed by Mohini's beauty, he started dancing with her. While dancing, Mohini placed a hand upon her head, and Bhasmasura did the same forgetting his boon and was instantly reduced to ashes. The place where Lord Shiva rested due to fatigue, came to be known as Kalapeswarar Temple. (Kalaipu is tiredness is Tamil) and an idol of Mohini from that temple had been moved to the nearby Venugopala swamy Temple as that temple had got dilapidated. With this idol, representation of Vishnu avatara over the three yugas is found in this temple. The idol of Mohini is damaged and hence is placed under a tree outside the temple. In spite of it, abhishekam is performed regularly and lamps are lit near it.

History

The temple was built by a woman named Venkatamma in 15th century A.D. who was the sister of a ruler of Gingee, who hailed from this village. One of the Mac Kenzie manuscripts says that Venkatapathi, who ruled Gingee about 1478 A.D. was from the village of Vengadampettai. The temple at present is being renovated by Siva Sri Arumuga Bhaskara Kurukkal Swamy who is in Germany.

Temple Timings

Day	Timings
All Days	05:00 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