Alagar Koil (Azhagar Kovil),Located 21 kms northwest of Madurai is a Vishnu Temple on a picturesque hills called Alagarmalai.The temple is surrounded by the ruins of a historic fort. The impressive main tower at the entrance, believed to have been built by the Pandyan Kings, has some beautiful sculptures depicting scenes from the epics.The Kalyana Mandapa of the temple has beautiful sculptures on its pillars which are fine specimens of Nayaka art. The notable ones are those of Narasimha, Krishna, Rathi seated on the parrot, Manmatha and Vishnu on Garuda and the idol of Tirumala Nayaka. The inscriptions of various dynasties found in this temple, as also in a cavern on the hill, throw light on the antiquity of this place. The main deity of this temple is called Paramaswamy and the processional idol is called Alagar and also Sundararajan. The shrine of Kalyana Sundaravalli, the divine consort of Alagar, is in the southern enclosure. Other important shrines are those of Sudarshanar and Yoga Narasimha. Karuppannaswamy, the God of Kallars and the finely carved eighteen steps, are held in great reverence by the devotees. It is claimed that nobody will dare tell a lie at this spot. Amongst the many festivals that are conducted here, the Chitra festival is the most important one. During this festival, the processional idol of Alagar is taken to Madurai, halting at various places on the way.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 01:58:26 +0000
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