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 The temple town of Uthiramerur, situated between
Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram, dates back to 750 AD.
Besides the presence of myriad temples, this town
is of historical importance. Uthiramerur has the distinction of
having been ruled by many dynasties: Cholas, Pandyas, Vijayanagar
kings and Pallavas. The kings contributed to the growth of the town
and left an indelible imprint by building many temples each having a
distinct identity of its own. The sculptures in the temples are
identified with a particular period.
Uthiramerur is supposed to be the name of a
Goddess. In 750 AD, Nandivarma Pallavan donated this town to 1,200
Vedic scholars who settled down there. This temple town is also
called Uthiramerur Chaturvedimangalam.
One of the famous temples here is
Sundaravaradaraja Perumal temple which has three tiers. There are
three main sanctum sanctorum, one on top of the other.
 In the lowest tier, the deity Sundaravaradar is
in standing posture with his consort and the utsava murti - also
called Sundaravaradar - poses with his consort, Anandavalli.
In the second tier, the God, Vaikunta Varadar, is
in sitting posture, and in the third and top-most tier, he is in the
sayana thirukolam (reclining posture) and is called
Ananthasayanamurti.
Lord Anjaneya, with a gadhai in his hand, and
left leg put forward, as if ready to leap, poses effulgently in a
separate enclosure opposite the temple.
It is the general belief that keeping the right
foot forward while walking denotes mangalakaram. But in this temple,
Anjaneya is ready to take off putting his left foot forward, which
is not a good omen. The temple priest has an interesting
interpretation.
Anjaneya is ready to leave for Lanka to rescue
Sita. Is he not setting foot in his enemy’s land? Ravana, who
abducted Sita, should be vanquished and Sita should be rescued.
Thus, to create havoc, he is putting his left foot forward to
proceed to Lanka. Is Anjaneya not justified in this posture?
This temple is also called Nava Narayana temple.
We shall read about the Nava Narayanas in the next article.
(To be continued)
Usha Raja
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