The Shift
The trustee says that the Nayak king, a Vaishnavite and dedicated devotee of Goddess Meenakshi, wanted to merge the brahmotsavams of Meenakshi and Kallazhagar Temples mainly aiming at fostering communal amity between Saivites and Vaishnavites.
The Thenur villagers readily accepted the shift to Vandiyur. The happy king offered the villagers lands and ensured that they were transported to Madurai and meted out their expenses through the royal exchequer.
Following which, the king constructed a ship-shaped mandapam called ‘Thenur Mandapam’ on the river Vaigai at Vandiyur, where Mandooga episode is revoked every year during the Chithirai festival even today.
“The 24-pillared stone structure is the only testimony to Azhagar’s visit to Thenur, the ritual and the shift of the ritual,” Mr. Neduchezia Pandian notes.
The undated original mandapam at Thenur was renovated as stone structure by R. Periya Naicken Servai few decades ago. Again, in 2007, the mandapam was transformed into a temple named ‘Arulmigu Sri Sundararaja Perumal (Kallazhagar) Temple.’ The newly constructed temple has Lord Vinayaga at the entrance while Lord Sundararaja Perumal (Kallazhagar) stands with his consorts – Sri Devi and Boo Devi. Lord Karudalwar stands at the entrance of the sanctum sanctorum facing the deities. At a cost of Rs.300,000, the devotees have bought various ‘vahanas’ (vehicles) to carry deities during the festival.
Read more about this topic: Alagar Koyil
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