NACHIARPATTI

LOCATION :-
Srivilliputtur Taluk,Virdhunagar District, Tamil Nadu,India.
About 7 kms from Srivilliputtur and 77 kms from Madurai .
CLIMATE :-
The climate of the region is semi-arid tropical monsoon type. Temperature range is 20° C to 37° C.It has a high mean temperature and a low degree of humidity. April, May and June are the hottest months of the year. The South West monsoon which sets in June and lasts till August brings scanty rain. The bulk of the rainfall is received during the North East monsoon in the months of October, November and December.
REACHING THERE BY BUS :-
Buses and mini buses to Nachiarpatti from Srivilliputtur start from the bus stand and church in Srivilliputtur. Buses from Srivilliputtur are available every 30 mins.
BY TRAIN :-
Daily Train is available from Chennai Egmore to Srivilliputtur. The TSI Chennai Express from Chennai Egmore takes around 11 hours to reach Sivilliputtur.Summer special trains are available from Virdhunagar Jn in summer(April-June). A daily passenger train service is also available from Madurai
BY AIR :-
The nearest Domestic Airport is Madurai(approx 77 kms). Nachiarpatti is around 100 minutes from Madurai Airport by Taxi

Andal and Vatapatrasayi temples

This Andal temple is located in Srivilliputtur (7 kms from Nachiarpatti). It is said that the present Andal temple was the place(house) of Periyazhwar in those days The temple initially established by periyazhwar was devoloped later by the pandya king vallabhadeva pandiyan and is said to have been built around 789 AD.

Two towers welcome you to the small town of Srivilliputtur no matter from where you come.As you see the majestic chariot at it's Nilay on the Keel ratha veedhi near the Big tower you know that you have reached Nachiyar Tirumaaligai.Going towards the chariot one can notice the intricate woodwork on the sides of the imposing chariot covered with asbestos sheets. Turning towards the left a narrow street runs inside leading to the temple mandapam-this is the andal sannidhi street.
In this Sannidhi Sri Andal , Rangamannar and Garudazhwar (periyazhwar) are on the same throne.(Simmasanam) .Andal with a "kizhi"(parrot) is on the extreme left Emperuman Rangamannar stands with a 'Senkol' in his right hand and his left hand points at his Thiruvadi.Garudazhwar(periyazhwar) stands with his hands folded across his chest in dasa bhavam always ready to do kaimkaryam for the Divya dampathis any time.


This is one of the tallest temple towers in Tamil Nadu,next only to the Srirangam Rajagopuram and is located in the front side of the temple.This was built by the pandya king vallabhadeva pandyan.Built in a typical South Indian temple architecture it has 11 kalasams at the top.From the bottom one can see 11 progressively smaller tiers reaching towards the top Kavichakravarthi Kamban has sung a poem on this gopuram comparing it to the great meru mountain which has been inscribed on the tower
It has a base area of about 13 cents and stands at a height of about 196 feet.This gopuram was selected to be the symbol of the state government of Tamil Nadu a few decades ago.This gopuram is dotted with lots of fine terracotta images with the images of Sri lakshmi Narayanan and Sri Narasimhan adorning the crest.The gopuram is currently being renovated.

Chakkrathazhwar Sannidhi

The chakkrathazhwar sannidhi is located in Srivilliputtur, within the Vatapatrasayi Temple complex to the south of the vatapatrasayi perumal shrine.At the entrance of the sannidhi there is a large hall after which one enters the Mahamandapam Here Sudarsanaperumal (chakkrathazhwar) is with sanghu chakram,val,suzham and 16 divine hands and jwala kesham within the circumference(see picture) On the rearside is Yoga narasimhar with chakraudhams in his 4 divine hands. Offering our prayers to chakrathazhwar gives us freedom from fear,sharpened intelligence and success in desired ventures

Kattuazhagar Kovil

Kattu azhagar kovil is situated about 25 kms south of Nachiarpatti near the foot of the Western Ghats(Merku Todarchi malai).The usual way of reaching this kovil is to reach shenbagathoppu-pullaiyarkovil and then from there come to Meenkuthi parai.From Meenkuthi parai it is a narrow route leading to Kattu azhagar kovil.


Comming from the Othhaiadi padai(narrow passage made by clearing the forest) one reaches the theertham of this thirukovil.The theertham of this thirukovil is Noopuragangai.When Brahma performed abhishekam for the lord's holy feet ,a fraction of the water came into contact with one of the anklets of the perumal and fell in this kshetram and thus the theertham got the name Noopuragangai.Once Durvasa rishi cursed sage suthpa to became a frog .After taking bath at the theertham the sage was freed from the curse The auspicious theertham flows into a large tank from a faucet and a special feature of this theerthem is that water from the faucet flows uninterruptedly without any break during all times.

The temple is situated on top of a small hillock and one has to climb around 247 steps to reach the entrance.This kovil is said to have been built by the king Thirumalnayakar.This kovil has a very nice ardhamandapam with the two dwarapalakas standing majestically. Sundararajaperumaal(Kallazhagar) of Thirumaalirumsolai is present here as Kattuazhagar with thayars Sridevi and Bhoomadevi

THIRUVANNAMALAI TEMPLE

This temple is located 10 kms north-west of Nachiarpatti(3 kms from Srivilliputtur) atop a small hill. It is also known as south thiruppathi. Here perumal Srinivasan is just like in Thiruppathi in ninra thirukkolam, with sanghu, chakram, sri mahalakshmi adorning the perumal's chest, kridam and the smiling face. Every saturday special thirumanjanam takes place and perumal is adorned with velli kavacham.(silver vest)



During the month of porattasi the tiruvannamalai Sanivara utsavam takes place and lots of people from nearby towns and villages visit this temple in large numbers.Garuda sevai is held every saturday in the tamil month of porattasi.