Vallakottai
| Vallakottai | |
|---|---|
| town | |
 | |
  Vallakottai Location in Tamil Nadu, India | |
| Coordinates: 12°52′59″N 79°56′05″E / 12.8830°N 79.9347°ECoordinates: 12°52′59″N 79°56′05″E / 12.8830°N 79.9347°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | Kanchipuram |
| Talukas | Sriperumbudur Taluk |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 602105 |
Vallakottai is a town near Chennai, India. It is situated on the highway between Sriperumbudur and Singaperumalkoil near Chengalpattu.
The Vallakottai Subramaniyaswami temple is very famous in Vallakottai. The Temple was recently renovated. People from various places visit this temple during festival days. Frequent bus facility is available to the village from Tambaram and Sriperumbudur. The Subramaniya Swamy idol in this temple is the tallest Lord Muruga statue in India.
One of the foremost of Murugan temples in India, Vallakottai Murugan temple is situated in a tiny hamlet near Chennai. Vallakkottai is a hamlet in Kanchipuram District, situated at a distance of twelve kilometers south of Sriperumputūr on the Sriperumputūr Cenkalpattu Road 24 kilometers from Tamparam on the Orakkalam Sriperumputūr bus route.Let us peep into its puranic lore. The Vallakkottai – or the Kodai Nagar – temple was built by king Bagiradha in gratitude for His divine grace. Vallakkottai Murugan is therefore known as ‘izhandha selvangalai meetuth tharum arulmigu kodayaaNdavar’ He who restores all that is lost. It is also said that the place owes its name to an ogre by name Vallan, who struck terror in the minds of people. They took refuge in Lord Muruga and he destroyed Vallan. Since this was ruled over by Vallan for a very long time, it continues to be known as Valla – Kottai – fort of Vallan.
Saint Arunakirinātar has glorified this temple in his Tiruppukal in seven songs. Here in this temple, the idol of Murukan is the tallest in Tamil Nadu, seven feet in height. With Valli and Teyvayānai on both sides, the Lord is in all splendour and bestows grace to the devotees.
Bhageerathan ruled a city called Salangkondapuram in the kingdom of Ilanji. Narada, a rishi, came to meet Bhagareethan who was discourteous to him. Narada, enraged at the act, cursed king Bhageerathan and left for the jungle. Meanwhile, a demon by name Khoran was on a pilgrimage and he met sage Narada and sought his blessings. The sage asked the Asura to win the king in a battle as it would fulfil the Asura’s wishes. As expected, Khoran was victorious in the battle and Bhageerathan was banished to a jungle. At this juncture, the king met Narada and pleaded for his blessings. He wanted to regain his lost kingdom. Narada asked Bhagareethan to go to Sage Dhurvasar who guided the king to observe vratam on Fridays.
The king followed the advice of Dhurvasar and worshipped Lord Muruga under the padiri tree and secured his lost kingdom. The king worshipped Muruga, Valli and Devasena in Vallakottai. It is believed that this temple was built by the king.
There is another interesting story about the temple. Since a demon called Vallan ruled this place, called Kottai (fort), it is called Vallakottai. The demon tortured the Devas who complained to Muruga. The Lord killed the demon and restored peace and prosperity to this place.
The temple tank known as Vajra theertham, the temple tank is believed to have been created by the kulisaayudham or vajra-ayudham of Indra. Indra wanted to worship Lord Subramanya and wanted to know the ideal place for worshipping Him and he approached sage Bhrgu, who showed him the Vallakkottai temple. Indra accordingly came to Kodai Nagar and with his mightiest of lances, vajra-ayudham, created the temple tank for performing the abhishekam and hence the name Vajra theerththam. People believe that a holy dip in the tank with the chanting of the mantra ‘Aum Saravanabhava’ would end all miseries.
Oragadam and Sriperumbudur Sipcot industrial parks are situated near this village.
External Links
- Vallakottai Murugan Temple Independent Article