01Shukra’s eye
When Mahabali poured water to give Vamana his three steps, Shukracharya, who had warned the king against it, became a tiny creature and blocked the spout of the vessel. Vamana cleared it with a blade of darbha grass and pierced the guru’s eye. Shukracharya came to this place, Bhargavapuram, to do tapas for his sight, and Vishnu restored it; the Netra Deepam that burns in the temple is the light he regained. The temple katha also says Maya, architect of the asuras, was told by Brahma to build on the Kaveri an abode like Vaikuntha to equal Vishvakarma, and chose this place, where Markandeya sat in tapas. The Lord appeared to him as Sringara Sundaran.
02Rama with the bow
Thirumangai Alvar sings of Thiruvelliyangudi in a decad of ten pasurams, and calls the Lord Kolavilli Raman, Rama of the beautiful bow, though he reclines here as Ranganatha. The sanctum alone is of granite; the other shrines, Maragathavalli’s among them, are of brick within a brick wall, and a gopuram rises at the entrance. Shukra, Venus among the grahas, is held to have found grace here, and devotees come for the planet’s relief. The village lies in the fields north of the Kaveri, about 19 km from Kumbakonam.
The life of this place
- Alvar periodThirumangai Alvar sings a decad on Thiruvelliyangudi.
About 19 km north-east of Kumbakonam, north of the Kaveri; the road is narrow and the temple keeps short hours, so go in the morning.
