Tiruputkuzhi Vijayaraghav Perumal Temple

Tiruputkuzhi is a small village located near Kanchipuram. The easiest way to reach the village is via Chennai-Bangalore High Road. The village has a temple dedicated to Lord Ram. Lord Ram is named as Vijayaraghav in this temple. Tiruputkuzhi Vijayaraghava Perumal temple is one of the 108 Divya Desam temples (108 important temples of Lord Vishnu).

Rama and Krishna are the most popular incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Even though there are plenty of temples for Krishna in India, the number of temples dedicated to Lord Rama is comparatively less. This temple dedicated to Lord Ram (Vijayaraghav) is very unique, as Ram appears in the form of Lord Vishnu along with two consorts.

As per the legend associated with this temple, Jatayu, the eagle king, fought with Raavan while he was carrying Sita to Sri Lanka. However, Jataya was not successful in his attempt. He lost his wings and fell down. Ram, in search of Sita, reached this site, where he found Jatayu. Jatayu died in front of Ram and Rama did last rites to Jatayu here. Basically, Jatayu, the eagle king attained salvation (moksha) in this site. As per the request from Jatayu, Ram gave darshan to him in the form of Vishnu along with Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi. This is the reason why Vijayaraghav, the deity of the temple, is found with Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi.

Jatayu is found in a separate shrine near the temple tank outside the temple. The tank is said to have been created by Ram's arrow. It is rare to find a shrine for Jatayu. The flag post is found outside the temple structure. The temple has a small temple tower and one corridor. The main sanctum has the magnificent idol of Vijayaraghav in the sitting posture. Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi are found  on his either sides. Sri Devi is usually found on the right side of Lord Vishnu. However, in the sanctum Sri Devi is found on the left side of Vijayaraghav and Bhoo Devi is present on his right side. Also, the head of Sri Devi is in the slanting position. It is believed that Sri Devi couldn't bear the smell during the final rites of Jataya and hence she moved towards the other direction.

Near the  sanctum, there is a shrine where the idol of Narasimha along with Alwars are found. Garud is found in a small shrine facing the sanctum. The temple has just one corridor. The goddess of the temple, Maragadavalli is found in a separate shrine on the left side of the  sanctum. The shrine of Andal is found on the right side of the  sanctum. This is also unique in this temple. Usually, the shrine of Lakshmi is found on the right side and Andal shrine is found on the left side in all Vishnu temples in South India.

The temple also houses the shrines for Mudaliyandan and Senai Mudali. A small idol of Ganesha is also found in the niche on temple wall.

Happy travelling.

Fast Facts:
Site Name: Vijayaraghava Perumal Temple
Site Type: Hindu Temple
Location: Tiruputkuzhi,near Chennai city, Tamil Nadu state, India 
Highlights: One of 108 Divya Desam temples; the site where Jatayu got moksh;Rama in the form of Vishnu
Nearest Railway Station: Kanchipuram- well connected from some of the main cities of Tamil Nadu such as Chennai

Nearest Airport: Chennai has both national and international airports
How to reach: Easily reachable by road from Chennai or Kanchipuram
Hotel: Many star hotels, luxury hotels/resorts, and budget hotels are available in Chennai; good hotels in Kanchipuram
Restaurants: All options - vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Chinese, South Indian, Gujarati, North Indian, Punjabi,....- you can find everything in Chennai city; Decent restaurants available in Kanchipuram

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