Navaneetha Krishnan temple, Arasalur, near Thottiyam - a serene place for worship

Navaneetha Krishnan kovil Arasalur .bharattemples.com

Located in  a serene place at Arasalur villlage  close to Thottiyam town (Tiruchirappalli district) just 2 km from Namakkal / Salem Highway, Navaneetha Krishnan temple is about 400 years old. It is roughly  1km from yet another Perumal kovil -  Veda Narayana Perumal temple in Thiru Narayanapuram.  As to the origin of this village  Arasalur, it is said,  because this place was once upon a time full of  Pipal trees (in Tamil "Arasamaram") the name was derived from the grove of Arsamaram. Others are are of the view it is a derivation from its earlier name  Ashwatha Raja Puram.

Navaneetha Krishnan temple, Thotiyam findmytemple.com

Here, the main deity in the grabagriha -Navaneetha Krishnan (Utachava murthi- processional idol) is seen with his right leg  placed on Lotus petals and right hand  holding  butter ball, reminiscent of his childhood pranks of stealing butter  from his house as well as from other houses with his friends. As in many temples, he is flanked by his consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama. Moolvar is Srinivasa Perumal in standing posture.  An unusual feature on the ceiling of the sanctum is  the sculptures of Suraya and Chandra offering prayer to Perumal. There are idols of  Lakshmi Narasimha and Lakshmi  Hayagriva in this  temple.   

Krishna with butter,Tanjore painting.myangadi.com

Child Krishna stealing butter, in.pinrest.com

It is said this  small temple is a prarthana sthalam   for the childless  couple and unmarried people. Those who make a wish and pray here with trust, particularly, on their birth day  will be blessed with a child and  a caring life partner. Likewise people afflicted  with  spells or black magic will get relieved if they pray  to  god Narasimha, 

Thottiyam, Tiruchirappalli dist. TN mapsofindia.com

There is a shrine for  the idols of  great saint Sri Ramanujar  and poets Namahwar  and Swami Desigan - all under one roof.  Hanuman, carrying a hill known for medicinal herbs (Sanjeeva hill) is facing south direction.  He goes by the name of  "Kambathadiyan" and he is believed to safe guard his devotees from the ''fear of death'' (marana bhayam)- those people haunted by the death rope (Paasakayar) of Yama Dharma.

This temple god - Perumal  is protected by other gods and goddesses at four ''ordinal''  directions and they are: Karuppanna Swamy in SW, Bhagavati Amman in  NW, Mariamman in NE and Pidaria Amman in SE. It  is said, God will take Kalki Avatar (Kalki incarnation) to get rid of  adharmic things and those who commit violence against humanity.

As to the builder of this temple, clear information is not available.  Chitra Pournami, Margazhi 30 day Utsavam, Panguni Uthiram- Kalyana Utsavam are the major temple festivals here which are attended by the locals as well as people from neighboring places.  

https://www.bharattemples.com/navaneetha-krishnan-temple-arasalur-trichy/

http://www.findmytemple.com/en/vishnu-temple/t31-navaneetha-krishna-perumal,-arasalur








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