Srivilliputhur Andal Temple - 108 Divya Desam
Srivilliputhur Andal Temple, 2000 year old Hindu temple is one of the 108 Divya Desams of lord Vishnu, located in Virudhunagar district. It is the birthplace of two of the most important alvars (saints) in the Vaishnavite tradition, Periyalwar and Andal. The temple is dedicated to lord Vishnu, who is worshipped as Vadabathrasayi and his consort Lakshmi as Andal. The Alwars lived in the 8th century, so that the existence of the temple can be traced even before. The temple was constructed by the king Villi who ruled the place. The majestic temple tower was constructed under the guidance of Periyalwar funded by the Pandyan king Vallabadevan.
The Andal shrine had been constructed by different kings of the Pandya dynasty at different times. King Thirumalai Nayak has done many renovations here. Andal is the daughter of Periyalwar, who wanted to marry lord Vishnu. Since she was just a human, Periyalwar wanted to stop her thinking and indulge in normal life. It is believed that lord Vishnu appeared in his dream and asked him to dedicate the garland worn by Andal to him daily, which is a practice followed during the modern times. It is also believed that lord Ranganathar of Srirangam married Andal, who later merged with him.
Andal is known for her devotion to lord Vishnu and she is the only lady among 12 holy saints. She avoided marriage, the normal and expected path for women in her culture and instead chose to marry Lord Vishnu, both in the spiritual and physical sense. Two brothers Villi and Kandan belonging to the hunting community ruled a portion of the place. When hunting, the younger brother Kandan was killed by a tiger. Unaware of this, Villi searched for him everywhere and could not find his brother. The lord appeared in a dream and revealed the fate of Kandan.
He also said that he now dwells under a Banyan tree, in the Vadabadra vimanam in a reclining posture. He directed him to create a town and construct a temple for him. With the divine blessing, he constructed the town. As it was made on sand mounds it was known as Villi Puthur and as it was the birthplace of Andal, it was called Srivilliputtur. The temple consists of two parts. The temple has inscriptions of different dynasties spanning from the 10th to 16th centuries. The 190 feet high main tower of this temple is used as the official emblem by Tamil Nadu Government.