Kattuazhagar Kovil

Kattuazhagar at Alagarkovil,Srivilliputtur

Kattu azhagar kovil is situated about 18 kms south of Srivilliputtur near the foot of the Western Ghats(Merku Todarchi malai).The usual way of reaching this kovil is to reach shenbagathoppu-pullaiyarkovil and then from there come to Meenkuthi parai.From Meenkuthi parai it is a narrow route leading to Kattu azhagar kovil.

Comming from the Othhaiadi padai(narrow passage made by clearing the forest) one reaches the theertham of this thirukovil.The theertham of this thirukovil is Noopuragangai.When Brahma performed abhishekam for the lord's holy feet ,a fraction of the water came into contact with one of the anklets of the perumal and fell in this kshetram and thus the theertham got the name Noopuragangai.Once Durvasa rishi cursed sage suthpa to became a frog .After taking bath at the theertham the sage was freed from the curse The auspicious theertham flows into a large tank from a faucet and a special feature of this theerthem is that water from the faucet flows uninterruptedly without any break during all times.

The temple is situated on top of a small hillock and one has to climb around 247 steps to reach the entrance.This kovil is said to have been built by the king Thirumalnayakar.This kovil has a very nice ardhamandapam with the two dwarapalakas standing majestically. Sundararajaperumaal(Kallazhagar) of Thirumaalirumsolai is present here as Kattuazhagar with thayars Sridevi and Bhoomadevi

MAHASAMPROKSHANAM AUG 31 2006

Mahasamproksanam of the Kattu Azhagar Thirukovil was held on 31 Aug 2006(Vyaya Samvatsaram) from 9:30 to 10:30 am after a gap of 81 Years.The last samprokshanam was performed by one Chettair Gentleman from Karaikudi in 1925. He is also credited with massive renovation of the temple tank and building of the steps (247 steps) leading to the temple which was started in 1918. The Yagasalai programs for samprokshanam started on 29 August and ended on 31 August. In the Yagasalai Mandapam in front of the temple entrance there were 16 Homakundams arranged in a nicely decorated pandhal around the temple. On 30 August Poornaahuti was done around 7;45 pm which was later followed by Thirumanjam which was performed to the chanting of vedic Hymns which conluded around 9:30 pm. Approximately 350 bhagavathas stayed in the hillock overnight surrounding the temple to participate in the samprokshanam.


On 31 August the crowd swelled to around 450 Bhagavathas and the place was teeming with bhagavathas from many nearby places.The yagasalai programs started in the morning around 6:00 am and the Mahapoornahuti conclued at around 9:15 am. On the rooftop of the temple, there was a wooden structure built around the vimanam with a ladder leading to it,so there were only a few points from where the vimanam could be seen clearly. At around 9:20 am the chief Bhattachariers ,the Collector and the Executive officer of the Nachiar devatshanam climbed the ladder and reached the wooden platform sorrounding the Vimanam.The priest tied a garland around the Vimanam and performed the Mahasankalpam?. At around 9:45 pm the green flag was waved, and amidst the prayers by the devotees the kumbhabhishekam was performed.It was a great occassion to witness this once in a Lifetime opportunity of the priest pouring the Kumbha Jalam on the Vimanam of the Kattu Azhagar Kovil which overlooked the western Ghats. The chief Bhattachariers SrI Ramakrishna Bhattacharier and Muthakutty Bhattacharier later left climbed down from the roof top to continue with the remaining part of the samprokshanam.The garuda sevai was held on the same day at srivilliputtur