Therazhundur Devadirajan Perumal Temple: Meaning of the Idols and Their Symbolism
Therazhundur is a village in Mayiladuthurai district of
Tamil Nadu. The Devadirajan Perumal temple here is also known as the
Amaruviappan temple. It is built in Dravidian style of architecture and it is
dedicated to Bhagavan Vishnu. The temple is praised in the Naalayira Divya
Prabandham, the Tamil collection of the Alvar saints, who lived between the 6th
and 9th centuries CE. It is counted among the 108 Divya Desams. Here Bhagavan
Vishnu is worshipped as Amaruviappan, and his consort Lakshmi is worshipped as
Sengamalavalli Thayar.
In Hinduism, an idol is not just a decoration or a piece of
art. They are a form of divine through which a devotee sees the divine. Every posture, every hand gesture and every companion figure of a deity
carries a teaching. The idols of this temple are a good example of this idea.
The Mulavar: Devadi Raja Perumal
The main deity, called the mulavar, is Devadi Raja Perumal.
He stands in the sthanaka posture, which means the standing posture. He has
four arms. In the upper hands he holds the Shankha (conch) and the Chakra
(discus). In the lower hands he shows the Abhaya hasta and the Kati hasta.
Each of these has a meaning. The Shankha represents the
sacred sound of Om, the first sound of creation. The Chakra represents the
power of Bhagavan to protect devotees and to destroy adharma, and it also
stands for time which keeps moving. The Abhaya hasta, the raised palm, tells
the devotee "do not fear". The Kati hasta, the hand resting at the
waist, shows that the ocean of samsara, the cycle of birth and death, is only
as deep as the waist for one who surrenders to Bhagavan. The standing posture
shows that Bhagavan is always ready to come to the help of his devotees.
Garuda and Prahlada in the Sanctum
Stone images of Garuda and Prahlada are placed next to the
mulavar. Garuda is the vahana of Vishnu and he represents devotion and service.
Prahlada is the great child devotee from the Bhagavatam, whose faith in Vishnu
never changed even when he was troubled by his father Hiranyakashipu. It is
believed that Prahlada had darshan of Bhagavan here in the calm and kind form
of Amaruviappan. So the sanctum teaches that Bhagavan accepts sincere bhakti,
whether it comes in the form of service like Garuda or in the form of pure
faith like Prahlada.
Sengamalavalli Thayar
Thayar Sengamalavalli is seated in her own separate shrine
and she has four arms. Worship of Vishnu always includes worship of Lakshmi,
because she is the one who pleads with Bhagavan on behalf of the devotees. The
word Sengamalam means red lotus, and the lotus is a symbol of purity, as it
grows in mud but stays clean.
The Utsavar and the Cow and Calf
The bronze utsavar, or processional image, of Amaruviappan
has four arms and holds Abhaya, Chakra, Shankha and Gada. He is shown along
with his consorts and also with a cow and a calf. This is a special feature of
this temple.
The reason comes from the Bhagavatam. Brahma once took away
the cows and cowherd boys of Krishna to test him. Krishna then created many
cows and boys exactly like the earlier ones, so nobody in Gokulam noticed any
change. When Brahma understood that all of them were forms of Krishna, he felt
ashamed and apologised. He prayed to Krishna to make his abode at this place.
Because Krishna came here for the sake of the cows, the deity is called
Amaruviappan, which means the one who is surrounded by cattle.
The cow in Hinduism is a symbol of selfless giving,
motherhood and dharma. The calf near the cow shows the bond of love between
Bhagavan and the devotee, like a calf running to its mother.
Why Idols Matter in Hindu Dharma
The Agama shastras give detailed rules for making idols, including proportions, postures and ornaments. This system is called Shilpa Shastra. An idol made by these rules is not just stone or metal. After the pran pratishtha ritual, the presence of the deity is invited into it. Devotees do not worship the stone, they worship Bhagavan through the form that he has accepted for the benefit of devotees. The Alvars sang about these forms with great love, which shows that darshan is a real spiritual experience.
The idols of Therazhundur teach many things together:
fearlessness, surrender, protection, devotion and the care of Bhagavan for all
living beings. A devotee who understands these meanings gets much more from
darshan than from only looking at the sculptures.