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.