Bhu Varaha Swamy temple is a Hindu temple, located at Srimushnam, in the South

Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the
Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as
Bhu Varaha Swamy and his consort Lakshmi as Ambujavalli Thayar.
The temple had contributions from Medieval Cholas of the 10th century with later
expansions by Thanjavur Nayaks king Achuthappa Nayak. A granite wall surrounds the
temple, enclosing all the shrines and the bodies of water. There is a seven-tiered
rajagopuram, the temple's gateway tower, in the temple.
Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Chariot
festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Vaikasi (AprilMay), being the most
prominent. The festival also symbolises Hindu-Muslim unity in the region - the flag of
the chariot is provided by Muslims in the region, they take offerings from the temple and
present to Allah in the mosques. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu
Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Contents

1 Legend
2 History
3 The Temple
4 Festivals and religious practices
5 Religious importance
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links

Legend
The legend of the temple is associated with the Varaha avatar of Vishnu. The demon king
Hiranyakshan rolled over the earth and ruled the netherworld. He was troubling Bhudevi,
who is the divine ruler of the netherworld. She was praying to Vishnu to relieve her off
the clutches of the demon. Pleased by her worship, Vishnu appeared in the form of a boar,
killed the demon and appeared in the place. The sweat of the demon king dropped in the
place which is believed to be the temple tank. While dying, the demon king wished
Vishnu to turn towards his direction, which Vishnu obliged. The presiding deity, hence
has his face towards western direction, while his body faces the devotees in the eastern
direction. Since it was a boar, the presiding deity is a smaller one. The festival deity, as
requested by Bhudevi displays the regular features of Vishnu with his conch and Chakra
in his hands.[1]

History

The existence of Bhuvaraha Swamy temple during the medieval Chola period is seen
from the inscriptions from 11th century. The temple was expanded by Thanjavur Nayak
king Achuthappa Nayak (1560 - 1614 AD). The life size image of the king and his
brothers are found in the sixteen pillared hall of the temple.[2] An epigraph dated 1068 in
the nearby Shiva temples indicates gifts by Virarajendra Chola (10631070 AD) to the
Varaha shrine. Another inscription dated at 1100 by Kulothunga Chola I (10701120)
indicates a gift of a village to the temple, where the presiding deity is referred as Varaha
Azhwar. The later inscriptions are from Vijayanagara kings of the 16th century like
Virupaksha Raya II (1465-85 AD) dated 1471 AD, Sriranga I (1572-86), Venkata II (1586
- 1614) indicating various gifts to the temple. The most notable contributions of the
temple were from Achuthappa Nayak (1560 - 1614 AD) who built the sixteen pillared
Purushasuktha Mandapa along with other smaller shrines of the temple.[3]

The Temple
There are two gopurams in the temple and two precincts enclosed within large granite
walls- the western tower is seven-tiered and is the commonly used one. The five-tiered
one on the eastern side is opened only during Vaikunta Ekadasi. There is a small image of
Srinavasa Perumal on the upper portion of the inner side of the tower. Outside the temple,
there is a 80 ft (24 m) tall monolith pillar with the image of Garuda on its top facing the
presiding deity of the temple. The Sthala Vriksha of the temple is Ashvatha tree.[4]
The central shrine houses the presiding deity of the temple, Bhu Varahaswamy in the
form of a Saligrama image with a height of around 2 ft (0.61 m). The image is set in a
standing position facing east. The image is depicted as a boar with it head facing the West
and his hands in his waist, depicting a victorious posture. The Utsavar(festival deity)
image, Patharaavi, is made of panchaloka and is accompanied by two consorts as in most
Vaishnavite temples. The image of the Utsavar is housed in the Artha Mandapa, the hall
before the sanctum.[4] The temple has two Dvarapala (guarding deities) on both sides of
the entrance of the central shrine made of panchaloha, one of which is commissioned
during the modern times. The older one on the left side was confiscated during the
Mysore war and was having a wooden replica till it was replaced in 2004.[5]
The sixteen pillared hall is called Purushasuktha Mandapa and it is the place where the
hymns of Purusha sukta are recited each day during sacred ablution of the presiding
deity. The vimana over the sanctum is called Pavana Vimana and is surmounted by a
gold-plated Kalasa. The 16 columned pavilion is considered a masterpiece of Nayak art
built by Achutappa Nayak.[4] The columns are sculpted with images of musicians, dancers
and miniature idols. The ceiling has lotus medallion sculptures and scroll work. The
central shrine is topped by a conical roof. The decorated outer walls are atypical of Chola
Art.[6] There is a shrine of Garuda and Nammazhwar facing the sanctum away from the
sixteen pillared hall. There is a separate shrine for Ambujavalli Thayar, the consort of
Bhu Varaha Swamy in the second precinct which also houses the shrines of Andal and
Ramanuja. Udayarpalaya Mandapam, as indicated by its name was built during the period
of zamindars and it houses the Kannadi Arai (room of glasses). There are other shrines
for Venugopala, Vishwaksena, Vedanta Desika, Thirumangai Azhvar, Manavala

Mamunigal, Kuzhanthai Amman and Tirukachi Nambi. There is a garden on the northern
side of the temple that houses a shrine of Rama. In this temple there is a statue of
Hanuman lifting Rama and Lakshmana on his shoulders.[2] The temple is administered by
the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department of Tamil Nadu government.
His Holiness the Pedda Jeeyar of Tirupathi is the permanent trustee of the temple.

Festivals and religious practices

The temple follows the traditions of the Thenkalai sect of Vaishnavite tradition and
follows vaikanasa aagama. The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals
and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the
Vaishnavaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed six times
a day: Ushathkalam at 7 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 p.m.,
Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 8:30 p.m.
Each ritual has three steps: alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and
deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Bhu Varaha Swamy Perumal and
Sundaravalli Thayar. During the last step of worship, nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and
tavil (percussion instrument) are played, religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred text)
are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of the temple mast.
There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple.[7]
Some of the festivals of the temple has been practiced during the Nayak times as
indicated by the inscriptions on the walls of the first precinct. The inscriptions indicate
patronage for the festivals to be conducted during the presence of Sun in 12 zodiac signs
during various months of the year. The usage of processional vehicles during this
occasion is also prescribed.[8] The temple follows Pancharatra mode of worship. There are
two Brahmotsavams celebrated in the temple, one each during the Tamil month of Masi
and other during the month of Chittirai (April -May). During the first, the festival deity
of Bhu Varaha Swamy is taken for seven days around the villages of Srimushnam.[9] The
chariot festival is a symbol of Hindu - Muslim unity in the region, with the flag of the
temple chariot offered by the local Muslims. They also accept the offerings from the
festival deity and present it to Allah in the mosques. The Muslim devotees thank Allah to
have brought Bhu Varaha Swamy to their place.[1] The other festivals are Sri Jayanti
Utsavam during Aavani, Navaratri, Vijayadasami, Deepavali and Makara Sankranti.[2]

Religious importance
The temple is considered one of the eight Sywayambu Kshetras of Vishnu where
presiding deity is believed to have manifested on its own. Seven other temples in the line
are Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple, Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, and
Vanamamalai Perumal Temple in South India and Saligrama, Naimisaranya, Pushkar and
Badrinath Temple in North India. Divine ablution is performed daily for the presiding
deity, unlike other Vishnu temples where it is performed only occasionally. In the Bhu
Varaha temple in Tirumala, devotees are supposed to visit after they worship the Tirumala
temple, but in Srimushnam, devotees visit the Srinivas temple in the western entrance

before visiting Bhu Varaha Swamy. The temple is frequented by childless couple seeking
children and unmarried people seeking marriage. The local belief is that the worship done
to Saptha Kannigaigal in the temple leads to right match.[1] The temple is counted as
Abhibana Stalas, the temples that are closer to the heart of Vishnu.