Story of Thiruvidanthai Temple

The third incarnation of Mahavishnu is in the form of a boar called Varaha. There are many shrines dedicated to Varaha and one such temple is Thiruvidanthai, near Mahabalipuram. The presiding deity is Lord Lakshmi Varaha and his divine consort is Komalavalli Thayar.

The temple is rich in puranic lore. Sage Kalava, believed to have 360 daughters, lived at this place which was an agraharam those days (place where Brahmins live). To get his daughters married was a Herculean task and this he surrendered to the Lord Mahavishnu, known for his benevolence, assumed the form of a Brahmachari (bachelor) and visited. Kalava’s first daughter’s house and proposed to her and tied the nuptial knot. As it was customary, after the marriage, the couple went to Varahaswamy temple to seek his blessings. The couple vanished mysteriously once they entered the sanctum sanctorum. This was repeated to the rest of Kalava’s daughters day after day.

Bewildered, the sage wanted to know the fate of his daughters and sons-in-law. He prayed to the Almighty and entered the sanctum sanctorum. Lo and Behold! The Lord appeared before him as Varahaswamy. All the daughters of the sage were seated on the lapof the Lord. Symbolically, the souls of the daughters had merged with the soul of Lakshmi as one. Thus, Lakshmi signifies all his daughters in one form and sits effulgently on Varaha’s left thigh as His consort. He considered himself blessed to be the father of Lakshmi.

The presiding deity, Lakshmi Varaha, holds a conch in one hand and disc in the other hand. The utsava moorthi (procession deity) is ‘Nithya Kalyana Swami’. It is surprising to note that there is a small scar on the face of ‘Nithya Kalyana Perumal’. Since the marriages happened every day for 360 days, the Lord is fondly called by that name: nithya means daily, and kalyanam means marriage.

The deity is decorated with 108 saligramam (celestial stone) around the neck. Legend has it that Hariseka Maharaj possessed the garland originally, and being a staunch devotee of the Lord, he presented it to Varahaswamy. It is beleived that unmarried men and women will get married if they visit the temple and offer worship to Varahaswamy.

The Lord here is said to have appeared before Markandeyar. There are separate shrines for Andal, Lord Ranganatha, Ranganayaki. The holy waters are Kalyana Theertham and Varaha Theertham. Many Azhwars have extolled the greatness of this Lord. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams of Vaishnava sampradaya.

It is situated en route to Mahabalipuram on the East Coast Road, near Chennai. Thiru Ida Yenthai, a small but scenic village, is about 40 km from Chennai en route Mamallapuram. This holy pilgrim centre is one of the 108 principal Vaishnavite kshetrams. Here is the Lord with the wild-boar (Varaha) face hailed as the Sri Lakshmi Adi Varahaswamy, who has his right foot, raised knee-high, resting on the many-hooded serpent Adi Sesha, his couch, throne, umbrella, and foot rest. This sacred shrine faces the sea on the east, and has, for its environs, tall trees and lush groves aplenty, giving the pilgrim sublime peace and equipoise.

The centre earns its name due to the fact that the 9-foot-high Lord’s idol has his consort Bhoomi Devi (Mother Earth) seated on his left thigh (‘Thiru’ : Sacred : Consort : Ida Venthai : left side). It is pertinent to point out here that at the Mamallapuram temple, Lord Varahaswamy has his consort on his right side and, hence, the shrine is known as Thiru Vala Venthai (Vala : right side).
Thiruvidaventhai soon got changed to Thiruvidanthai by which name it is presently known. The moolavar (immovable principal idol) is worshipped as Sri Akhilavalli Sametha Adi Varahapperumal or Jnaanappiran, the embodiment of all wisdom and knowledge. Thirumangai Alwar, the hierarchically juniormost Alwar, is the only Alwar to have sung on this Lord ten pasurams (Peria Thirumozhi - 2.7.1 to 10) glorifying his form and attributes.

It is the firm belief of all devotees that a devout prayerful pilgrimage to this sacred shrine will ensure speedy marriage and lifelong prosperity. The utsavamurthy (the processional idol) Sri Nithya Kalyana Perumal has for his consort Sri Komalavalli Naachiyaar (Komalavalli - the Goddess typifies a delicate creeper : tendril).

Legend has it that sage Kalva obliged a celestial maiden by name Kuni to attain eternal salvation by enabling her to beget children. As destiny would have it, the blessed couple parented 360 children, females all! The celestial maiden left for her heavenly abode. The sage, burdened with 360 fast-growing female children, was counselled to worship Lord Varahaswami at Thiruvidaventhai and get suitable bridegrooms for them all in due course. It is said the Lord himself came down before the sage in the form of a young and charming bachelor and, in pursuance of the sage Kalva’s earnest prayers, agreed to marry all his 360 beautiful daughters. So, in the next 360 days, the celestial bachelor, Lord of Lords, married all these maidens, one by one for one whole year. Hence, he earned the appellation ‘Nithya (daily) Kalyana (marriage) Perumal (the Lord of Lords)’, meaning ‘the Lord who gets married every day’.

But, lo! All the 360 brides got transformed into one single bride. As the first maiden’s name was Komalavalli, the combined form of all these maidens into one came to be worshipped as Akhilavalli Naachiar (Akhilam signifying ‘many’ : Akhilam also means the ‘world’ and, therefore, Mother Earth, Bhoomi Devi). Thiruvidaventhai or Thiruvidanthai is also hailed as Nithya Kalyana Puri or Sri Puri (‘Sri’ signifying the ‘Divine Mother’). As the Lord appears in the form of ‘Varaha’ (the giant tusker boar, who redeemed Mother Earth from the clutches of demon Hiranyaksha, who rolled her into a ball and hid her in the ocean), the pilgrim centre is also revered as Sri Varahapuri.

The Nithya Kalyana Perumal utsavamurthy is invariably dressed and decked as a bridegroom and marriages are celebrated everyday. Even the ‘drishtippottu’ - the dot placed on the left cheek of every bridegroom, to ward off evil spirits - is placed on the Perumal’s cheek on all days as he is the daily bridegroom, the ever bridegroom!

Epigraphical evidences found in the temple precincts advise us of the relative antiquity of this Thiruvidanthai Sri Akhilavalli Sametha AdiVarahaSwami - Nithya Kalyana Perumal Temple, from the 10th to 16th centuries A.D. Chola, Udaiyar, Rashtrakuta and Pandyan kings have worshipped the Lord at this temple and have bequeathed meaningful gifts as was the custom prevalent then.

This hoary temple’s maha samprokshanam - sacred consecration : Maha Kumbabishekham in the saivite tradition : is to be performed on Friday, June 10, between 6.20 a.m and 7 a.m. Relevant week-long rituals and ceremonies are being performed currently, according to enjoined Vaikanasic Agamic traditions. Devotees are expected to assemble in thousands and thousands to have the blessings of the Lord.

Helpful points: Regular buses are available to this sacred centre at frequent intervals. The temple at Thiruvidanthai is in Chengalpattu circle, Kanchipuram district, about 40 km from Chennai, about 2 km from Kovalam, and en route Mahabalipuram.

Proper worship to the numero uno divine servent holding the Lord’s divine feet is expected to relieve the devotee of Rahu-Kethu afflictions. Rahu and Kethu are symbolic snake representations.

There is a separate shrine for Komalavalli Thayar. Holy dips in the Varaha Theertham's sacred temple tank in the month of Masi (Feb-March), in the Kalyana Theertham in Chithirai (April-May) and in the Ranganathar Theertham in Margazhi (Dec–Jan) would ensure wish-fulfilment and ultimate redemption. A nine-time circumambulation of the temple precints in the enjoined manner assures pleasing and speedy wedlock.

Vaishnavite lore has it that all of us are females and the Lord Narayana is the only male - Purushothama. For ultimate salvation we have to seek eternal union with him. It is only in this context that Thirumangai Alwar offers 10 hymnal endearments (pasurams) to the Lord yearning for merger in him. The ‘Nayika’ (bride) seeks merger in the ‘Nayaka’ (bridegroom). This is, in essence, bridal mysticism. It is against this background that Thiruvidanthai assumes special significance when we pray to the Lord for marriage - wish fulfillment in an earthly way but with a sublime connotation. We must understand and appreciate the spirit and significance behind a reverential pilgrimage to this temple.

"My crooked deeds are chasing me relentlessly like a shadow and I am truly shaken. I, therefore, ran and sought refuge at the divine feet of the Lord at Thiruvidaventhai and, lo, these evil forces are fleeing away from me realising that the Lord there is my saviour, support and dear to me." Divyakavi Pillai Perumal Iyengar - 108 Tirupati Andaathi - ‘Thiruvidaventhai’.

Please note: Thiru Ida Yenthai, Thiruvidaventhai, Thiruvidanthai and all other names of this temple mentioned here pertain to the same temple.

LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE: Sri Nithyakalyanaperumal Temple, is situated at Thiruvidanthai, a small village near chennai, Tamilnadu, India.

HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE: Along the banks of Saraswathi river, in Sambu Island, lived a rishi by named "Kuni" along with his Sishyaas. An small woman helped him and did all the necessary needs towards him. After attaing the maturity, she started to do the tapas. At that time, Naaradar came to her and said that only married woman's tapas are accepted and after then only they can get the final destiny, the Moksha.

So she, went to the Muni's place and asked whether someone in the place can marry her. At that time, Kalava muni said that he will marry her and they both got married and gave birth to 360 female child within a year. Kalava muni became so sad and worried, because he has to make the duty of all 360 woman children to get married to a good persons. So, he came to this sthalam and worshipped the Aadhi Varaghapperumal. One day, the perumal came there as a Brahmacchari (Bacheolor) and said to Kalava muni that he will marry all of 360 girls daily. Since, he married all the girls daily, he is named as "Nithiya Kalyana Perumal

DIVINESS OF THE TEMPLE:The name of the first girl is Komalavalli. Because of this, Komalavalli has a separate sannadhi in this temple. Sri Aadhi Varagha moorthy helped Sri Srinivasa perumal in Tirupathi by giving the land. This is one of the small information said about this perumal. As to explain this, we can find a white big pottu (bindhi) in the chin of Nithiya Kalyana perumal and thaayar as we can find in Tirupathi perumal. Agilavalli thaayar is found on the left shoulder of the perumal and Bhooma devi is also found here next to him. This is of the speciality of this sthalam.

AUSPICIOUS DAYS: All days are auspicious in this temple, Ekadasi is very special.

POOJA TYPES AND TARIFF: Poojas listed here are applicable for this temple only.The tariff shown are not actual cost payable to the temple. It includes our service charge, cost of pooja items and Delivery charges.
Pooja Name
USD $ INR Rs. Archana - Sri Nithyakalyanaperumal Temple
10.00 450.00 Sagasranama Archana - Sri Nithyakalyanaperumal Temple
15.00 675.00 Ashtothra Archana - Sri Nithyakalyanaperumal Temple
15.00 675.00 Abishekam - Sri Nithyakalyanaperumal Temple
50.00 2250.00

The Prices mentioned in USD are subject to change as per the prevailing rates

* Delivery of prasadam - 3 to 4 days from performing date for Indian address. - 5 to 7 days from performing date for Euroupe, Gulf and Asian address. - 10 to 12 days from performing date for US, Canada and Australia address.

Thiruvidanthai Temple, one of the 108 Divya Desams, is situated at Thiruvidanthai in Kanchipuram District of Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity here is Sri Lakshmi Adi Varaha (Lord Vishnu), also known as Sri Nithya Kalyana Perumal .

The main deity is 3 m high and the lord possesses a conch in his upraised right hand and Sudarsana Chakra in his left. The presiding goddess is Akhilavalli Ammal.

The annual festival, Thaipusam, is celebrated with much pomp and splendor. Painguni Utram, celebrated for 9 days, is another major draw. Thousands of devotees visit the shrine every year.
Thiruvidanthai Temple, also known as Lord Varaha Temple, is about 40 km south of Chennai.