PROUDS of SRIVILLIPUTTUR,VirudhunagarDstrict,Tamilnadu,India

Pop: 70,000 Area
Phone Code: 04563

Srivilliputtur is 70km southwest of Madurai by rail, going towards Thiruvananthapuram. There are two major temples in this town: the Vatapatrasayee Temple and the Sri Andal Temple. Srivilliputtur is the birthplace of Peria Alwar and Sri Andal.

In the southwest part of town there is a small Krishna, Rukmini, and Satyabhama temple. Four km north of town is the Tirupati Srinivasa Temple on top of a 30m (100 ft) hill. Southwest of town there is a large Siva temple. Srivilliputtur is a fairly large town.

Bombay Lodge (20907), 885 Tenkasi Rd, a five-minute walk from the bus station to the left after leaving the station, has clean budget rooms, some with A/C. It is a good value, well-managed and recommended. It has a very good veg restaurant.

Nearby, the Srivilliputtur Forest, is a wildlife sanctuary, which is the only known home of the grizzled squirrel, but they are hard to find.

Vatapatrasayee Temple
The main deity in this temple, Sri Vatapatrasayee, is a light-blue Lord Vishnu deity reclining on his couch of Adi Sesa. The deity is so large, that he is viewed from three doorways.

On the side of the temple is the original tulasi garden that was cared for by one of the 12 Alwars named Vishnu Citta (Peria Alwar), around the 8th century, the father of Andal. He used to make flower garlands for Lord Vishnu with the flowers grown in this garden.

Sri Andal Temple
Next to the Vatapatrasayee Temple is a temple dedicated to Sri Andal, who is said to have merged into the body of Lord Ranganatha at Srirangam. Sri xe "Andal, Sri" Andal, also known as Godadevi, is considered to be an incarnation of the Goddess of Fortune, who was married to the deity of Sri Ranganatha. She wrote two works Tiruppavai and Nachiar Tirumozhi, which express her burning love of God.

There is a shrine dedicated to Peria Alwar next to the tulasi garden, south of the main shrine. Peria Alwar had a dream in which Lord Vishnu requested him to bring Andal to Srirangam so he could marry her. When she saw the image of Sri Ranganatha she merged with him.

The gopuram of the Sri Andal Temple is 60m (192 ft) high and has 13 storeys. This is the second highest temple tower in Tamil Nadu, the highest being at Srirangam.

For festivals, the temple has a wooden cart that has 9 gigantic wheels. It is said to be the biggest temple cart in India. The cart is over a hundred years old and requires 3,000 people to pull.

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