01The frog and the handsome youth
The temple keeps two kathas. Sage Sutapa sat in tapas under water here and did not notice Durvasa waiting on the bank; the angry sage cursed him to become a frog. Still praying as a frog in the Mandooka Theertham, Sutapa was freed when Vishnu appeared as Sundararajan. In the other katha Brahma grew proud of his own beauty as the maker of all forms. Vishnu came before him as a youth so handsome that Brahma asked who he was, and then showed his true form, teaching that the body’s beauty passes and the heart’s does not. Brahma’s image stands in the sanctum with Sridevi and Bhudevi.
02Anbil and the Cholas
Sundara Chola, father of Rajaraja I, was a devotee of this Perumal, and his minister Anirudha Brahmarayar came from Anbil. The Anbil copper plates of the Chola period record the king’s gifts. Thirumazhisai Alvar sings of Anbil in a single pasuram of his Nanmugan Thiruvandhadhi, where he lists the reclining forms at Kudandai, Vekka, Evvul, Srirangam, Pernagar, Anbil and the Ocean of Milk. The east-facing gopuram has three tiers, and the prakaram holds shrines of the twelve Alvars, Narasimha, Venugopala and Hanuman. The Tirthavari in Maasi, when the Perumal is taken to the river, and Vaikuntha Ekadashi are the great days.
The life of this place
- Alvar periodThirumazhisai Alvar names Anbil among the seven reclining forms.
- Sundara Chola (957–970)The king endows the temple; the Anbil copper plates belong to his reign.
About 25 km east of Tiruchirappalli near Lalgudi, on the north bank of the Kollidam. The Mariamman temple of Anbil is nearby.
