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Kallazhagar’s abode
 Kallazhagar
Temple is one of the famous temples in Tamil Nadu. It is 20 km from Madurai
and well-connected from the temple city.
The main deity is also
known as Paramaswamy and the Thayaar
is called Sreedevi
and Bhoodevi.
The utsava
murthy goes by the name Sundararaja
Perumal and the utsava Thayaar's name is Kalyana Sundaravalli.
Jyothi vritcham and the
sandal
tree are the sthala
trees, while Noopura
Ganga is the sacred water here.
Temple history
Once
upon a time, Lord
Yama was cursed. To relieve himself from the curse, he performed
penance at the Vrishabagiri mountain (now it is known as Azhagarmalai).
This massive mountain consists of seven mountains. Impressed with Yama’s
penance, Perumal
appeared before him. Yama told Him he wished to perform pooja to the
Lord at least once a day and his wish was granted.
So it is believed that
the ‘Arthajama pooja’ performed daily in the temple is done by Lord
Yama.
According to Dharmaraja’s
desire, Visvakarma built the ‘Somaskanda vimanam’ (turret) inside
the temple. There is historical proof that Buddhists,
Samanars (Jains) and Muslims offered worship here. It should be
mentioned that there is no distinction between Saivites and
Vaishnavites
when aradhana is celebrated.
Speciality of the
temple
 Karuppannaswamy,
who is worshipped as a protector, is believed to be very powerful. He is
also affectionately called ‘Padhinettampadiyan’.
A huge shrine devoted
to this local deity is found before one enters the main Kallazhagar
Temple. The doors of this shrine are opened only once a year and for the
rest of year poojas are offered to the two massive doors that stand
between the guardian and the devotees.
Another speciality of
the temple is that farmers living in the nearby areas offer their grains
from a particular area of their fields before harvest to Azhagar. The
grains thus offered are ground into flour and the ‘dosais’ made out
of it are given to the devotees as prasadam. This dosai is as special as
Palani panchamirdham and Tirupati
laddu.
There is a river called
‘Silambaaru’ that starts from above the Azhagar temple. It is said
the water from the river comes out of the Amman’s anklet in the
Rakkayi Amman temple here. It is believed that one who takes bath in
this river or sprinkles the sacred water is relieved from diseases.
The main deity in this
temple is said to be a ‘Deiva Pradishtai’ and not a human one. Andal
who appears in the standing posture in other temples, can be seen in a
sitting posture, and Perumal appears with ‘Panchayudham’ (chanku,
chakram, gadhai, bow and sword). There is also a nanda vilakku
(ever-burning lamp) in this temple.
Important festivals
 One
of the important festivals is the Azhagar thiruvizha. This is celebrated
for 10 days in the month of Chithirai (April) in a grand manner.
Chithirai thiruvizha
celebrated in Madurai. On May 3 this year, Edhir sevai utsavam will be
celebrated at Madurai Thallakulam. On May 4, Azhagar will descend in
river Vaigai. This is a yearly ritual that draws thousands of people.
In the same way, Aadi
Perukku is celebrated for 13 days and Panguni Uthiram for five days.
If one worships Azhagar,
he/she is bestowed with agricultural prosperity, peace in domestic life
and healthy living.
Rituals
Apart
from offering hair, devotees offer coins or grains according to their
weight as ‘thulabharam’.
One can offer cloth to
Azhagar and offer agarbathi, butter, small lamps and tulasi garland
also.
Periyazhwar, Andal,
Peyazhwar, Tirumangaiazhwar, Bhoodhathazhwar and Nammazhwar are some of
the Azhwars who have sung ‘Pasurams’ on Azhagar and attained
greatness.
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