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{{Short description|Perumal temple in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox Hindu temple
| name = Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal Temple
| image = Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal .jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| map_type = India Tamil Nadu
| map_caption = Location in Tamil Nadu
| coordinates = {{coord|10|51|36|N|79|6|30|E|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}

| country = [[India]]
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| district = [[Thanjavur district|Thanjavur]]
| location = Tamilnadu, India
| elevation_m =
| deity = {{Plainlist|
* Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal ([[Vishnu]])
* Kamalavalli Nachiyar ([[Lakshmi]])
}}
| facade_direction =
| tower =
| temple_tank = Kapala Moksha Pushkarani
| festivals=
| architecture = [[Dravidian architecture]]
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity=
| inscriptions =
| year_completed =
| creator =
| website =
}}

'''Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal Temple''' in Thirukandiyur, a village in the outskirts of [[Thiruvayaru]] 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 Desam]]'' dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal and his consort [[Lakshmi]] as Kamalavalli Nachiyar.

The temple is believed to have been built by the [[Medieval Cholas]] of the late 8th 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. The temple has a 5-tiered ''[[gopuram|rajagopuram]]'', the temple's gateway tower.

Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal is believed to have appeared to Hindu gods [[Brahma]] and [[Shiva]], and King [[Mahabali]]. It is one of the few temples where the [[Trimurti]] - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are worshipped in the same premises. Six daily rituals and four yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Panguni Brahmostavam, celebrated during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil]] month of ''Panguni'' (April–May), is the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the [[Government of Tamil Nadu]].

==Legend==
[[File:Harasaba vimocahana temple.jpg|225x200px|left|thumb|View of the street]]
As per the account in [[Brahmanda Purana]], [[Brahma]], the Hindu god of creation and [[Shiva]], the Hindu god of destruction, had originally five heads. [[Parvati]], the wife of Shiva, once got confused and worshipped Brahma, instead of her husband. Shiva got enraged and cut off one of Brahma's heads; the head stuck to Shiva's hand due to the curse of Brahmahatya. To get rid off the sin, Shiva worshipped the god Vishnu at [[Uthamar Kovil|Thirukarambanur]] as [[Bhikshatana]], where his sin was relieved. Shiva freed himself from the sin after visiting Vishnu at Thirukandiyur and taking a holy dip in the temple tank, Kamala Pushkarani. Since Vishnu relieved (''vimochana'') the sin (''saabha'') of Shiva (also called Hara), the temple is called Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal Temple. After the incident, the tank came to be known as Kapala Theertham (''kapala'' indicates skull). Shiva was pleased and he built the Hara Sabha Vimochana temple and also built a temple for himself near it.<ref name="hindu"/><ref>{{cite book|title=South Indian Shrines: Illustrated|publisher=Asian Educational Services|page=534|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>

As per another legend, [[Lakshmi]], the consort of Vishnu requested Shiva to cut off one of Brahma's heads as she felt that Vishnu would ignore her and show all his affection towards Brahma. Sage [[Bhrigu]], King [[Mahabali]] and the moon-god [[Chandra]] expiated their sins, worshipping Vishnu here. Sage Bhrigu, once wanted to test the superior of the [[Trimurti|Trinity]] of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. He kicked Vishnu in his chest in anger; the sage atoned here. Chandra sinned by seducing [[Taraka (goddess)|his guru's wife]]; he partially expiated by worshipping here.<ref name="hindu"/>

==History==
The temple is believed to have been built by the [[Medieval Cholas]] of the late 8th century CE, with later contributions from [[Vijayanagar Empire|Vijayanagara kings]] and [[Madurai Nayaks]]. In modern times, the recorded temple renovation was carried out in 1984 under the aegis of seer Sri Thirukudanthai Vedanta Ramanuja Mahadesikan. The renovation is 2003 was carried out by his successor Sri Rangaramanuja Mahadesikan. The works involved renovation of the gateway tower and the shrines of Hara Saabha Vimocahana Perumal and Kamalavalli Nachiyar.<ref name="hindu"/> The oldest deities of the temple are found to be that of Santana Gopala and Navneetha Krishna. It is believed that [[Tipu Sultan]], the king of Mysore fought and won a war at this place and later became a devotee of the temple.<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|pages=458–9}}</ref>

==Architecture==
[[File:Temple Praharam.jpg|thumb|The precinct of the temple]]
Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal Temple is located in [[Kandiyur|Thirukandiyur]],<ref>{{cite book|title=The Top Ten Temple Towns of India|publisher=Mark Age Publication|first=S.C.|last=Karkar|location=Kolkota|isbn=978-81-87952-12-1|year=2009|page=81}}</ref> a village located between Thiruvayyaru and [[Thanjavur]], in between the rivers [[Cauvery]] and [[Kudamurutti River|Kudamaurutti]].<ref name="hindu1">{{cite news|title=Temple for the Great Trinity |url=http://www.thehindu.com/2005/06/11/stories/2005061111020300.htm|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=11 June 2005|access-date=21 February 2016}}{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The temple has a three-tiered ''[[gopuram|rajagopuram]]'' (gateway tower) and an adjoining granite wall that surrounds the temple. The temple occupies an area of {{convert|1|acre|sqkm|abbr=on}} and is located in the between the rivers Kudamurutti and Vennar. The temple is located {{convert|2|km|mi|abbr=on}} away from [[Thiruvayaru]] in [[Thanjavur district]]. The temple has two precincts and the main gateway faces the east. The central shrine houses the image of Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal in standing posture. The sanctum is approached through two halls, namely, the Garuda [[Mandapam]] and the Maha Mandapam. Kapala Moksha [[Pushkarani]], located on the west side of the temple is the major water body associated with the temple, while the Mahabali Theertham is located opposite to it. The shrine of Kamalavalli Nachiyar, is located in the first precinct. The second precinct houses the shrines for [[Narasimha]], [[Sudarshana Chakra|Sudarshana]], [[Andal]], [[Azhwars|Alvars]], and [[Vedanta Desika]].<ref name="hindu"/>

==Religious significance==
The temple is revered in ''[[Nalayira Divya Prabandham]]'', the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by [[Thirumangai Alvar]] in ten hymns. The temple is classified as a ''[[Divyadesam|Divya Desam]]'',<ref>{{cite news|title=An NGO does its bit for god - and humanity|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1262149051.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414091637/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1262149051.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 April 2018|url-access=subscription |via=[[HighBeam Research]]|publisher=Hindustan Times|location=New Delhi, India|date=29 April 2007|access-date=13 April 2018}}</ref> one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book.<ref name="dinamalar"/> The temple is one of the few historical temples in India where the images of Hindu [[Trimurti]], Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma are housed in the same premises. It is one of the two temples in [[Chola Nadu]] where the Trimurti can be seen in the same premises, the other being [[Uttamar Kovil]] near [[Tiruchirapalli]]. The shrines of Brahma and his consort [[Saraswati]] were dilapidated during the course of time. The place is called by different names like Kandiyur, Kandana Kshetram and Pancha Kamala Kshetram, and is believed that devotees get relieved off their Brahmahatti Dosha after visiting the temple. The temple is considered older than [[Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple]] and believed to be in existence from the [[Treta Yuga]].<ref name="hindu">{{cite news|title=Temple for the Great Trinity |url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2003/03/21/stories/2003032101220600.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031013112053/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2003/03/21/stories/2003032101220600.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 October 2003|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=21 March 2003|last=T.A.|first=Srinivasan|access-date=21 February 2016}}</ref>

==Festivals and religious practices==
This temple follows the [[Vadakalai]] tradition.
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, a Brahmin sub-caste. 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 10:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''neivethanam'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for both Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal and Kamalavalli Nachiyar. During the last step of worship, ''[[nagaswaram]]'' (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. Four major festivals are celebrated in the temple, namely, the Panguni Brahmmotsavam celebrated during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] in ''Panguni'' (March–April), Aipasi Pavithra Utsavam in ''Aipasi'' (October–November), [[Vaikunta Ekadashi]] in ''Margali'' (December–January) and Karthikai Deepam in ''Karthikai'' (November–December).<ref name="dinamalar">{{cite web|title=Sri Hara Shaba Vimochana Perumal temple|url=https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=348|publisher=Dinamalar|access-date=21 February 2016}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Famous Vishnu temples}}

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

Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal Temple - Revision history

ArryArrd at 15:19, 7 May 2026