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The abode of ‘butter’ Krishna
 Thirukannangudi,
one of the 108 Divya Desams in Vaishnavite tradition, is situated
between Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur.
The presiding deity is Damodara Narayanan
Thayar – Lokanayaki
There is a mention of Thirukannangudi temple in
Narada and Garuda puranams.
This holy place is also called
Krishnaranyakshetra.
Let us read about the sthala puranam of
Thirukannangudi.
Sage Vasishta, an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna, made an idol
of Krishna in butter and used to worship this ‘butter’ Krishna. His
devotion to the Lord was so intense that the butter remained solid.
Krishna one day decided to test the devotion of
Vasishta. He thus took the form of a child – Gopala and entered
Vasishta’s house and swallowed the ‘butter’ Krishna.
The child started moving away from that place
swiftly. The sage, perplexed at the turn of events, started chasing
the child who came to this hallowed spot and settled here
permanently.
Why did he choose this place? There is an
interesting story behind this also.
There were many rishis who were meditating on the
Lord beneath the magizha tree in Thirukannangudi. During a trance,
they had a vision of the Lord running towards the tree. The Lord was
overwhelmed by their devotion and affection towards him and was
ready to grant them boons.
The rishis grabbed the opportunity and asked the
God to reside at this place permanently to bless the devotees as he
had blessed the rishis. Thus, in order to please the rishis, the
Lord took his abode where the temple now stands.
Vasishta at once knew that it was the Lord who
had visited him as Gopala and surrendered himself to the Almighty.
The temple complex was then constructed with the
gopuram and vimana.
Lord Brahma and the Devas used to perform
Brahmotsavam to the Lord here.
Since Krishna (Kannan) was tied by the devotion
of the rishis, this place is called Thirukannangudi. He is in archa
form and this sacred place is also called Krishnakshetra.
We shall read about the special features of the
temple in the next article.
(To be continued)
Usha Raja
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