Alagar Koyil

Azhagar Kovil (Alagar temple),is a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu situated 21 km from the city of Madurai, which lies in the Tamil Nadu state of India.

History

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu visits Madurai taking the human form of Alagar to give away his sister Meenakshi in marriage to Sundareswarar. But He then storms out of the city at the perceived insult by the city, which did not throw a formal welcome in his honor.

Ever since, Meenakshi Kalyanam (Meenakshi's Marriage) is re-enacted every year as part of the Chithirai festival in the famous Madurai Meenakshi temple. The "Kallalagar" (Alagar comes in a disguise of a bandit through the forest) procession also takes place to re-enact Alagar crossing Vaigai river to attend his sister's marriage. The Mahabharata says that this temple was visited by both Yudhisthira and Arjuna. From this we can infer that the temple was built before the birth of Lord Krishna and typical proof is that you can see only 7 avatars of god in this temple.

Azhagar Kovil (Temple of Alagar) is situated on a hill, and hence, the place is also known as Alagar Hill. The statues of Lord Kallalagar can be found in seated, standing and reclining postures in this temple. Azhagar is popularly known as Soundara Rajan, meaning 'very beautiful king'. This temple is also famous for its shrine of Karuppa Swamy, the guardian deity.The Temple of Pazhamudircholai is also situated in a hillock nearby.

It was also said that Alagar come to Madurai to give blessing to Mandooka Maharishi who is in the Vaigai river as a Frog. A king of Madurai wanted to bring a good bonding among the Saivas & Vishnavas. So he linked Alagar visit to Madurai & Meenakshi Thriukalyanam as one event and made it as a month long festival.

Architecture

The architecture of the Azhagar temple corresponds to any of those of south Indian temples, with large gopurams and pillared mandapams.The gopuram of the Karuppa swamy shrine depicts the passionate side of human relationship in the form of beautiful statues. Apart from these, it also depicts the evolution of cultural aspects of the local society including a depiction of an Englishman in British police uniforms. There is another half built gopuram on the southern side of the temple which has been used as an artistic backdrop in a few Tamil movie songs.

Herbal forest

The Azhagar Hills has a tropical forest cover which extend from Azhagar Kovil in the south to Natham in the north. The Tamil nadu state forest department has been maintaining a herbal garden on the hills.The entrance to the garden is restricted to siddha research scholars. The garden is irrigated by a natural spring locally known as the devi theertham.

See also

* Thirupparamkunram
* Pazhamudircholai - a temple atop the hill in Alagar Koyil