Bairagi Mutt Temple - Sowcarpet, Chennai

Do you know about the Chennai temple built by a saint from Pakistan? Have you heard about the Bairagi sect and their association with Chennai? Have you seen the female form of Garuda, the divine vaahana of Lord Vishnu? Let me introduce you to a temple with many unique features and lesser-known tales. The temple is known as Bairagi Mutt Tiruvengadamudaiyan Venkatesa Perumal Temple. It is located in Sowcarpet locality in Chennai.

Highlights

• God - Tirvengadamudaiyan or Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal
• Goddess - Alarmel Mangai
• Sthala Tirtha (Holy water) - Varaha Pushkarani
• Temple that predates the British period in Black Town formed by the British
• Temple built by a saint from Pakistan
• Funded by a Muslim woman
• A blend of north Indian and south Indian iconography, rituals and poojas
• Mutt, South Indian type big temple, a small North Indian temple, all in a single complex
• Vishnu in eight different forms in different shrines (excluding mutt)
• Garuda in the female form (separate vaahana for Alarmel Mangai)
• Temple administered by lesser-known Bairagi sect
• Vishnu found, along with his three consorts
• All three consorts of Vishnu holding kids in their arms
• One of the oldest surviving Tulsi Madams of Chennai
• Icons of almost all South Indian Vaishnava saints

Who are Bairagis?

Black Town or George Town, the area formed by the British, has its population from diverse communities. (Sowcarpet is part of this locality). Marwaris, Khedawal Gujaratis, Jains, Telugu Chettis, Armenians and so on. No history book has done justice in exploring all these communities of Black Town and their diverse culture.

Bairagi is a Hindu Vaishnava sect. It was arguably started by the saint Ramananda in the 14th century CE. There are four divisions of Bairagis, namely Ramanujis, Nimanandi, Vishnu Bairagi and Tyagi Bairagi. The Bairagis are found in large numbers in the Nagpur region in Maharashtra and in the Allahabad region in Uttar Pradesh.

Who built this temple?

Per the historian Shri S. Muthiah, it was probably this temple, which was referred to as "Lorraine's Pagoda" in the Madras Map dated 1710 CE. He even believes that Kitti Narayana, the son of the famous Dubash Beri Thimanna, would have constructed this temple in the late 17th century CE. "Lorraine" was probably the anglicized form of Narayana.

The temple authorities have an altogether different story. According to them, Bairagi Mutt was formed before the British arrived in Madras (Chennai). (Mutt, also written as Matha or Math, is more like a monastery for Hindu saints). Lal Das Ji, a Bairagi saint from Lahore (part of Pakistan nowadays), started this mutt in the early 1600s. He apparently cured the stomach ache of a wealthy Muslim woman. She donated gold coins to the saint, which he used to extend the mutt and build the temple of Venkatesa Perumal.

To my little knowledge, it appears that this temple might have been built by the Bairagi saint and not by the Dubashi's son due to the following reasons:

• The temple is under the administration of the Bairagi community even today. The successors of Lal Das Ji (Mahants) still live in the mutt.
• The architecture of the temple resembles Vijayanagara or Nayaka period. There is no reason why a Dubashi in the British period would have followed this style of architecture.
• The temple is magnificent, with so many sub-shrines and hundreds of icons. There is no other temple in Madras built or contributed by the British or its Dubashis, which has many sub-shrines. All such temples are very simple in layout and have only a limited number of deities.
• Bairagis are there all over India. In North India, wherever a mutt of Bairagi is found, an adjoining temple is also found, similar to this temple complex. There is no reason why Kitti Narayana would have extended the Bairagi mutt into a temple.

I do not deny that Kitti Narayana might have contributed to this temple, which was misinterpreted as he had built it. (I have written about such a false claim by a Dubashi in my article on Chenna Kesava Perumal temple). I do not deny the possibility of this temple being referred to as Lorraine Pagoda on the map. In my opinion, Narayana refers to the presiding deity, not Kitti Naryana.

Although we cannot go by whatever is claimed by the temple authorities, we could at least believe that the mutt was there even in the 1600s, and the temple was extended in the later period. It was not built by any of Dubashi or Dubashi's family members.

Layout of Temple Complex

The temple has three sections. The Mutt, which enshrines the North Indian style white marble Murtis, is the first structure. It has an east-facing entrance. The magnificent temple of Tiruvengamudaiyan Venkatesa Perumal is the second structure. It has three entries in the east, north, and south directions. Within this temple complex, near the tank, a small separate North Indian-style temple is located. It has its own small entrance.

Bairagi Mutt

If we enter the small lane called General Muthiah Street from N.S.C. Bose Road, Bairagi Mutt is the first structure. The mutt has an east-facing entrance.

The sanctum enshrines lovely marble icons of Rama, with Lakshmana on his right side and Sita on his left side. (It should be noted that Rama has Lakshmana instead of Sita on his proper right side, which is not usual.)

Behind the icons of Ram Parivar, the black marble stone Murtis of Vishnu and his three consorts are found. Vishnu is commonly found with his two consorts, Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi. However, his third consort Neela Devi is also found in this sanctum. 

In the standing posture, Vishnu has two arms and holds conch and discus. All his three Devis are found seated. Each of them holds a kid on her lap, which is unusual.

An icon of Krishna stylishly keeping his two arms on his hip is also found in this sanctum. It is made of black marble.

Few bronze icons of Krishna in various postures are also kept in the same sanctum.

The Tulsi Madam (the holy altar with the Tulsi plant) found in this mutt is one of the oldest surviving Tulsi Madams in Chennai.

The red-colored sculptures of Hanuman and Ganesha are found in the prakara.

A big red-colored relief image of Hanuman found on the wall of this mutt is very interesting.

Temple Tower

Adjoining the Bairagi mutt, the main entrance of the Tiruvengadamudaiyan temple is located. It faces the east direction. A five-tiered tower with many interesting stucco figures is found at this entrance.

The south-facing entrance has a three-tiered tower. There is another entrance in the north direction.

Beautiful Mukha Mandapa

The Mukha Mandapa is very long and wide. It is designed like a chariot. The pillars are full of figures of elephants, horses, Yazhils, lions and soldiers. The sculptures in this mandapa indicate that they were built in the Vijayanagara or Nayaka period.

Tiruvengadamudaiyan

The east-facing sanctum enshrines the gigantic seven feet image of Tiruvengadamudaiyan. He is also called as Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal. He is found in the standing posture and has four arms holding conch and discus in his two upper arms. He resembles the image Tirupati Balaji.

The utsava icons of Tiruvengadamudaiyan and his two consorts, Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi are also found in the sanctum.

There is no flag staff. Instead, a deepa stambha (lamp-post) is found. Garuda is found in Maha Mandap area, facing the sanctum.

Alarmel Mangai

The Goddess of the temple is Alarmel Mangai. Her beautiful and big image is enshrined in a separate shrine in the southwestern corner of the prakara. Her bronze icon is found in the same shrine.

Ranganatha

Ardha Mandapa has a separate south-facing shrine of the reclining Ranganatha. Brahma is found seated on a lotus that emerges out of his navel. Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi are also seen.

Mandapas and Important Shrines

There are three important mandapas found in this temple.

The mandapa in the southwestern corner has three shrines: Alarmel Mangai, Rama-Sita-Lakshmana and Varadarajar-Sri Devi-Bhoo Devi.

Another mandapa in the north western corner has three shrines, namely Andal, small images of Nardana Krishna-Rukmini, Bhama and Varaha in the standing posture.

The third mandapa is located in the northeastern corner of the temple. There are three shrines situated here. They are Manavala Manmuni, Lakshmi Narasimha and Puri Jagannath. In the Puri Jagannatha shrine, the small images of Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra are found, similar to the Puri temple. Narasimha Yantram is found in Lakshmi Narasimha shrine.

All the sub-shrines enshrine the stone and the corresponding bronze images of the deities.
The mandapas are full of pillars with so many beautiful and interesting sculptures. Apart from these mandaps, the pillars with carvings are found all over the temple.

Paramapada Vaasal (entrance) is located between the first two mandapas, painted beautifully in vibrant colors.

Anjaneya is found in a separate shrine near the first mandapa.

Vaahanas

The Vaahanas that carry the bronze images of the deities during the festivals and processions are very big and impressive. For example, the elephant vaahana is almost in the size of an elephant calf. Garuda Seva is about Garuda carrying Vishnu during the procession. In this temple, unusually, Alarmel Mangai is carried by Garuda during the parade. Interestingly, Garuda vaahana, which carries the Goddess is in the female form. 

Vaishnavite Saints

Name any South Indian Vaishnavite saint; you could find his image in the temple.

There are many sub-shrines in the Mukha Mandapa and in the prakara for Vaishnavite saints that include Alavandan, Pillai Lokacharya, Koorathalwan, Ramanuja, Mudaliyandan, Tiruvarangaththu Amudanar, Tirumangai Alwar, Kumudavalli, Madura Kavi Alwar, Nammalvar, Nathamuni, Bhutat Alwar, Periyalwar, Periya Nambigal, Senai Mudaliyar, Pei Alwar, Poigai Alwar, Tiruppan Alwar, Tirukkatchi Nambi, Araiyar, Tirukoshtiyur Nambi, Empaar Bhattar, Tirumalai Nadan, Nampillai, Periyachan, Nanjeeyar, Vadakku Tiruveeti Pillai, Tirvai Mozhi and Manavala Mamuni.

The sub-shrines enshrine the stone images and the bronze images of the Vaishnavite saints. Not many Vishnu temples in Chennai enshrine such a large number of Vaishnava saints. This should also be considered one of the highlights of this temple.

Mural Paintings

Many beautiful mural paintings are found on the walls across the temple. The painting of Paramapadanathan with Sri Devi, Bhoo Devi and Neela Devi and the one that depicts Rama in the Pattabhisheka ceremony are notable paintings.

North Indian Temple

The holy temple tank, Varaha Pushkarani, is located on the temple's north side. A small North Indian-type temple is found on the banks of this tank. It is constructed probably in the 20th century CE. The images of Shiva Linga, Hanuman, Sapta Matas, Kartikeya, Ganesha and Ambika are enshrined here. It is called Hanuman temple and Shiva temple, by the locals.

Happy travelling. 

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