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{{short description|Hindu temple in Thanjavur}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox Hindu temple
| name = Gajendra Varadha Perumal Temple
| image = 009 - Thiru Kavithalam.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| map_type = India Tamil Nadu
| map_caption = Location in Tamil Nadu
| coordinates = {{coord|10|56|43|N|79|16|31|E|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| country = [[India]]
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| district = [[Thanjavur District|Thanjavur]]
| location = [[Kabisthalam]]
| elevation_m =
| deity = {{Plainlist|
* Gajendra Varadha Perumal ([[Vishnu]])
* Ramamanivalli Thayar ([[Lakshmi]])
}}
| facade_direction =
| temple_tank = Gajendra, Kapila
| tower = Gajanakriti
| festivals=
| architecture = [[Dravidian architecture]]
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity=
| inscriptions =
| year_completed =
| creator =
| website =
}}

The '''Gajendra Varadha Perumal Temple''' in Thirukkavithalam, a village in the outskirts of [[Papanasam]] in the South Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]], is dedicated to the Hindu god [[Vishnu]]. Constructed in the [[Dravidian architecture|Dravidian style of architecture]], the temple is glorified in the ''[[Divya Prabandha|Nalayira Divya Prabandham]]'', the early medieval [[Tamil literature|Tamil]] canon of the [[Alvars|Alvar]] saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 ''[[Divyadesam|Divya Desams]]'' dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Gajendra Varadha Perumal and his consort [[Lakshmi]] as Ramamanivalli. The temple is one of the five Pancha-Kannan temples, where [[Krishna]], an avatar of Vishnu is given prominence over the presiding deity.

The temple is believed to have been built by the [[Medieval Cholas]] of the late 9th century CE, with later contributions from [[Vijayanagar Empire|Vijayanagara kings]] and [[Madurai Nayaks]]. A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines and its bodies of water.

Gajendra Varada is believed to have appeared to Gajendra the elephant also called Indrajumnan, the crocodile called Kuhu, Sage Parasara, and [[Hanuman|Anjaneya]]. Six daily rituals and four yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Gajendra Moksha Lila, celebrated during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil]] month of ''Aadi'' (July–August), is the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the [[Government of Tamil Nadu]].<ref>''108 Vaishnavite Divya Desams: Divya desams in Pandya Nadu''. M. S. Ramesh, Tirumalai-Tirupati Devasthanam.</ref>

==Legend==
{{Main|Gajendra Moksha}}
[[File:Gajendra Moksha print.jpg|200x200px|thumb|left|Image indicating [[Gajendra Moksha]]]]
As per Hindu legend, King [[Indradyumna|Indrajuman]], who immersed himself in the worship of [[Vishnu]], failed to strengthen his army and lost his kingdom. While doing worship, he also did not observe the sage [[Durvasa]] (some sources claim it as [[Agasthya|Agastya]]) who went along his way. The sage got irritated and cursed the king to be born as an elephant in his next birth. The king apologized to the sage for his negligence, and moved by his innocence, the sage wished that he would continue to be a Vishnu devotee as an elephant and that Vishnu would bestow him goodwill. There was a [[gandharva]] by the name of Kuhu in the temple tank at this place, who troubled all who bathed in the tank, he was cursed by a sage to be born as a crocodile in this birth. The elephant Gajendra continued as a Vishnu devotee and while drinking water from the temple tank, his leg was grabbed by the crocodile. The elephant cried in rescue calling the name "Adimulam" and Vishnu sent his discus to fend off the crocodile. Both the elephant and crocodile returned to their human form by the grace of Vishnu. Since Vishnu heard the calling of his devotee he appeared to save the elephant Gajendra, he came to be known as Gajendara Varadar. [[Hanuman]], the [[vanara]] lieutenant of [[Rama]], (avatar of Vishnu) also worshiped Vishnu at this place and hence the place came to be known as Kabisthalam (''kabi'' in Tamil indicated monkey).<ref>{{cite book|title=South Indian Shrines: Illustrated|publisher=Asian Educational Services|page=535|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NLSGFW1uZboC&q=govindaraja+perumal+temple&pg=PA242|last=Ayyar|first=P. V. Jagadisa|isbn=9788120601512|location=New Delhi|year=1982}}</ref><ref name="hindu"/><ref name=R>{{cite book|title=An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.jZY9lup2kZl6TuXGlZQdjZY2lZpy.TVA_BOK_0006115|last=R.|first=Dr. Vijayalakshmy|publisher=International Institute of Tamil Studies| location=Chennai|year=2001|edition=1st|page=466}}</ref>

==Temple==
[[File:Kabistalam gajendra varadhaperumal temple.jpg|left|100x150px|thumb|Gopura]]
The temple is located in [[Kabisthalam]], a village situated {{convert|3|km|mi|abbr=on}} away from [[Papanasam]] and around {{convert|20|km|mi|abbr=on}} away from [[Kumbakonam]] and [[Thanjavur]], towns in the South Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]]. The village is located in between the two rivers [[Kaveri]] and [[Kollidam]]. The temple is believed to have been built by the [[Medieval Cholas]] of the late 8th century CE, with later contributions from [[Vijayanagar Empire|Vijayanagar kings]] and [[Madurai Nayaks]]. A brick wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines and bodies of water. The temple has a five-tier raja[[gopuram]] and a single precinct. The prime deity, Gajendra Varadar is enshrined in the sanctum, in a reclining posture, called Bhujanga sayanam. The [[vimana (tower)|vimana]] (roof above the sanctum) is called Ganganakrutha Vimanam. There is a separate shrine for Ramanavalli, located to the right of the sanctum. There are separate shrines for [[Narsimha|Yoga Narasimhar]], [[Sudarshan Chakra|Sudarsana]], [[Garuda]] and the [[Azhwars|Alvars]] in the first sanctum. The main [[Pushkarni|temple tank]] is Gajendra Pushkarani and there is another tank called Kapila Theertham, located inside the temple complex.<ref name="hindu"/>

==Festivals and religious practices==
The temple priests perform the ''[[puja (Hinduism)|pooja]]'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavaite]] community, from the Brahmin varna. The temple rituals are performed six times a day: ''Ushathkalam'' at 7 a.m., ''Kalasanthi'' at 8:00 a.m., ''Uchikalam'' at 12:00 p.m., ''Sayarakshai'' at 6:00 p.m., ''Irandamkalam'' at 7:00 p.m. and ''Ardha Jamam'' at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''neivethanam'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for both Gajendra Varadhan and Ramanavalli. During the last step of worship, ''[[nagaswaram|nadasvaram]]'' (pipe instrument) and ''[[tavil]]'' (percussion instrument) are played, religious instructions in the ''[[Vedas]]'' (sacred text) are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of the [[Iconography of Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu#Dvajasthamba and Pali Peedam|temple mast]]. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple.<ref name="dinamalar">{{cite web|title=Sri Gajendra Varadha temple|url=https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=347|publisher=Dinamalar|access-date=2013-09-09}}</ref> The Gajendra Moksha Leela celebrated in the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] of ''Adi'' (July–August), Chariot festival during the Tamil month of ''Vaikasi'' (May–June) on Visakam star and Brahmmotsavam are the major festivals celebrated in the temple, along with all Vishnu related festivals.<ref name="hindu">{{cite news|title=The Lord waits on the riverbank |url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2004/06/25/stories/2004062501490400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040912100628/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2004/06/25/stories/2004062501490400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 September 2004|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=25 June 2004|last=T.A.|first=Srinivasan|access-date=2013-09-09}}</ref><ref name="dinamalar"/>

==Religious Significance==
{| class="toccolours" style="clear:right; float:right; background:#ffffff; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; width:300"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC" align="center" colspan="2"|'''Pancha Kannan Temples'''
|-
|align="center"| [[Loganatha Perumal Temple]]||[[Thirukannangudi]]
|-
|align="center"|Gajendra Varadha Temple||[[Kabisthalam]]
|-
|align="center"| [[Neelamegha Perumal Temple]] ||[[Thirukannapuram]]
|-
|align="center"| [[Bhaktavatsala Perumal temple, Tirukannamangai|Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple]] ||[[Thirukannamangai]]
|-
|align="center"| [[Ulagalantha Perumal Temple, Tirukoyilur|Ulagalantha Perumal Temple]] ||[[Tirukkoyilur|Thirukkovilur]]
|}
The temple is revered in ''[[Nalayira Divya Prabandham]]'', the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by [[Thirumazhisai Aazhwar|Tirumalisai Alvar]] in one hymn. The temple is classified as a ''[[Divyadesam|Divya Desams]]'', one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book.<ref name="dinamalar"/> Since there is only a passing mention about the place in the verse, it was earlier not clear on whether the verse refers to the temple. But it has been concluded that the verse "Aatrankarai Kidakkum Kannan" meaning the Lord on the banks of the river refers to Gajendra Varadar in this place.<ref name="hindu"/> Religious scholars consider this place is a unique Vishnu temple as he descended to rescue to an animal, while he appeared in all other places to rescue sages, celestial bodies or demons.<ref name=R/>

This temple is one of the Panchakanna (Krishnaranya) Kshetrams. Kannan refers to [[Krishna]], the [[avatar]] of Vishnu, while ''pancha'' means five and ''Kshetrams'' refers to holy places. Four of the five temples are situated in [[Chola Nadu]], in modern times, in the region surrounding [[Kumbakonam]] and [[Nagapattinam]] and one of them in Nadu Nadu. There are five similar temples located in North India, called Pancha-dvarakas. Krishna is not the presiding deity in any of the temples. The processional deity, Krishna, led to the derivation of the names of these places. In Kabisthalam, Kannan is referred as "reclining Lord in the river banks".<ref>{{cite book |last=T. |first=Padmaja |title=Temples of Kr̥ṣṇa in South India: history, art, and traditions in Tamilnāḍu |year=2002 |publisher=Shakti Malik |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-7017-398-1|pages=93–94 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pzgaS1wRnl8C&q=pancha+kannan&pg=PA93}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External==
{{Hindu temples in Thanjavur District}}
{{Famous Vishnu temples}}

[[Category:Divya Desams| ]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Thanjavur district]]

Gajendra Varadha Temple - Revision history

Ayurtreatservices at 22:41, 28 April 2024