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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Krishna with butter,Tanjore painting.myangadi.com |
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| 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,
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| 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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