Deity of Sri Vishnu in Fig wood

The deity of Sri Vishnu carved in Athi (Fig) wood is very rare and is considered the most sacred. This form of rare deity is seen in Sri Varadaraja Swamy temple, Kanchipuram. The deity here is known by the name Sri Athi Varadhar and resides inside a holy tank inside the temple. Sri Athi Varadhar is brought out of the water once in forty-eight years and poojas are performed to Him for forty-eight days. Thus many of us could get a chance of having the dharshan of Sri Athi Varadhar only once in his lifetime.

But there is another deity of Sri Vishnu in Athi wood in a place called Kozikuthi near Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu. This deity is known by the name Sri Srinivasa Perumal. In Tamil He is known as Sri Vanamutti Perumal. This presiding deity gives darshan to the devotees all through the year. He is the only deity in the world who is carved out of a single Athi tree and is twenty feet tall. The Mythology of this deity, and how He got the name Sri Vanamutti Perumal and the place as Kozhikuthi is very interesting.

Maharishi Pippalar

Maharishi Sri Pippalar was suffering from a chronic skin disease. He prayed to Lord Vishnu to get his disease cured. Lord appeared in front of Maharishi and told him that he had committed an offense of ‘hathi’ (doing to death) unknowingly. Therefore he had to take a bath in the river Kaveri and pray to Lord Siva who would guide him. Accordingly, the Maharishi took a journey along the river Kaveri took a bath in the river, and prayed to Lord Siva of the Kshetra. When he was worshipping Lord Siva in a place called Moovalur, Lord Siva appeared in front of him and told him to travel northward from this point. Lord Siva of Moovalur is known as Sri Margasahayeswarar since He shows the right path for his devotees. Maharishi then traveled northward.

Kozhikuthi

Maharishi Kappilar travelled for a while. He then took a bath in the river Kaveri and prayed to Lord Vishnu for mercy. Lord Vishnu appeared in the fig tree and gave darshan to Maharishi Kappilar, and the sin occurred because of the murderous crime (hathi) he had committed unknowingly had been pardoned and he got rid of the skin problem. Since at his place, one can get rid of the sin accrued of hathi, this kshetra came to be known as “Koti Hathi” and now the name is corrupted as “Kozhikuthi”. Since the Lord Vishnu had given darshan as a tall figure as if touching the sky to Sri Kappilar, the Lord is known as “Vanamutti Perumal” [‘வான்முட்டி பெருமாள்' means in Tamil: one who is so tall that his head touches the sky]. The tank near the temple is known as Kappilar Thirtham. It is believed that by taking a bath in this holy tank one can get rid of even ‘hathi’ sin.

Old Temple

Later Kings who had ruled this place had built a beautiful temple for the Lord Sri Vanamutti Perumal which had seven rounds of prakaras. From the few inscriptions found in the present temple, the temple should have enjoyed the patronage of the then kings and must have been a great temple in size, etc. Today the temple has only one prakaram and many people have taken pains to rebuild the temple.

Garbhagraham

The garbhagraha vimanam is the shape of an umbrella. There is no separate shrine for Sri Mahalakshmi since she is seen residing in the right chest of the Lord. The Lord is hence known as Sri Srinivasan. Sri Booma Devi is seen close to the Lord in the Garbhagraham. Close to the Garbhagraham is Yoga Narasimhar, who is seen to be blessing Bhakta Prahalada and is in the state of Yoga. Since the presiding deity is carved out of wood, there is no ‘abishekam’ for the main deity and the abishekam is performed for the uthsavamoorti of Lord Yoga Narasimhar.

Beauty of the Lord Sri Srinivasa

The Lord is made of a single Athi (Fig) tree with four hands holding Sangu [counch], Chakram [disk], Gadhai [mace], and through His fourth, He assures His devotees [abhaya]. Tulasi mala, Yagyoapaveetham and other Ornaments adorens the Lord. The Lord’s lotus feet are even now rooted in the living tree. Since the Lord is carved out of a fig tree the deity had been painted with colors obtained from natural leaves and herbs.

Sri Anjaneya of this kshetra

There is a separate shrine for Lord Anjaneya [Hanuman] in the temple. Normally a devotee will find the shrine closed on three sides and the facing side only open. But in this kshetra, one can see the back portion of the Lord also. Lord Hanuman’s tail is seen raised to His head and a small bell at the end of the tail.

The Lord is seen standing in a ‘ullasa bhava’ with His left leg slightly folded easily and His right leg secured to the ground. Thandai adorns the lotus feet of the Lord. Wearing a katcham, over which a uthriyam is tightly fastened over which there is a weast ornament. The two palms are held together in a ‘pranam’ posture. His adorns ‘kankan’ in wrists, ‘keyuram’ in the upper arm, and bhujavalaya on shoulders. Lord is seen wearing ‘yagyopaveetham’ and His neck is adorned with five different types of mala. He is seen wearing a ‘kundal’ in His ears which are crowned with ‘karna puspha’ and His kesa is neatly tied with an ornamental ‘kesa bandha’. Lord's ‘pingaksha’ is bright large and glowing bestowing benevolence to the devotee.

Sapthaswara Sri Anjaneya

The Lord Sri Anjaneya of this kshetra is known as ‘Sapthaswara Sri Anjaneya’. It is known in archeology that many temples in Bharath have pillars that can produce musical tones. In all these cases there will be different pillars to produce each note. But as a peculiar case, this Lord Anjaneya produces all the seven notes of ‘sa ri ga ma pa tha ni ‘when tapped at different places of the deity. This is a unique feature of this deity and probably the only one in Bharat.

 

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SRI HANUMAN THINKS DIFFERENTLY, THINKS FAST
THINKS AHEAD AND ACTS FOR SURE

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Ed [March 2012]
Updates: [Jan 2025]

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