Alagar Kovil or 'Azhagar Kovil' is a village in

Madurai district Madurai district is one of the 38 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu in southeastern India., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The city of Madurai serves as the district headquarters. It houses the famous Sri Meenaksh ...

in the South Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. The history and living of the village is centered around

Kallazhagar Temple Kallalagar Temple (Kallazhagar Temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu in Alagar Koyil, a village in Madurai district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified i ...

. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the ''

Divya Prabandha The Naalayira Divya Prabandham ( ta, நாலாயிரத் திவ்வியப் பிரபந்தம், lit=Four Thousand Divine Hymns, translit=Nālāyira Divya Prabandham) is a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses composed by ...

'', the early medieval

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 '' Divyadesams'' dedicated to

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

, who is worshiped as

Kallazhagar ''Kallazhagar'' is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Bharathi starring Vijayakanth and Laila. Nassar, Sonu Sood and Manivannan play other supporting roles, while Deva composed the score and soundtrack for the film. This ...

and his consort

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with '' Maya'' ("Illusion"). A ...

as Thirumamagal.

Kallazhagar Temple

covers an area of about and has a five-tiered ''

gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the Sout ...

'' (gateway tower). The temple is enclosed in a rectangular enclosure with huge granite walls. The central shrine houses the image of the presiding deity, Sundarabahu Perumal in standing posture. The images of Sridevi and Bhudevi are also housed in the sanctum. There are two life size images of

Narasimha Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...

, the

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appear ...

of Vishnu. One of them is shown holding the demon Hiranya and other slaying him. The temple houses some rare Vijayanagara sculptures similar to the ones present in Soundararajaperumal Temple, Thadikombu,

Krishnapuram Venkatachalapathy temple Krishnapuram Venkatachalapathy temple (also called Krishnapuram Temple) in Krishnapuram, a village in Tirunelveli district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. It is located 10 km from Tirunelve ...

, Srivilliputhur Divya Desam and Jalakandeswarar Temple, Vellore. The temple also has one of the unique deities Chakarat Azhvar (Alvar) where the god with

chakram Chakram ( sa, , script=latn; pa, , script=latn) is a throwing weapon from the Indian subcontinent. One of its major purposes is to protect the turban and the head from sword/melee attacks. It is circular with a sharpened outer edge and a diame ...

having 16 hands and 16 weapons is without Narasimha above him. Also

Chithirai Festival

Chithirai festival of this temple celebrated for ten days is one of the declared festivals of Tamilnadu Government. This festival day is declared as a Local Holiday. In Chithirai (April-May), Lord Kallazhagar starts from Azhagar kovil in the form of Kallar and reaches Madurai on Pournami (Full Moon day). Here he steps into river Vaigai in his Horse Vaganam. Lakhs of devotees flock to river Vaigai to see this event. "Ethir Sevai" festival is celebrated on the day before Alagar steps into river Vaigai. It is a tradition for the people of Madurai to welcome Alagar. As Azhagar returns from Vandiyur Dhasavatharam, festival is celebrated throughout the night at Ramarayar Mandapam in the Northern part of river Vaigai. After this event, Azhagar is taken to Mysore Veera Mandapam on decorated Anantharayar Palanquin. The next morning Azhagar in the form of Kallar returns to Azhagar kovil in ‘Poo Pallakku'(Palanquin decorated with flowers) In the month of April and May, each year the great Chitra festival is celebrated on Pournami (full moon day). The Festival dramatically re enacts the visitation of Lord Kallazhagar to Madurai from Azhagarkoil. Lakhs of devotees flock to river Vaigai to personally witness the event of lord Azhagar stepping down into the river and to get his blessings. During the months of July and August the festival of Aadi Brahmmorchavam is being celebrated for 10 days. This festival occurs within the precincts of the shrine. Devotees from different parts of Tamilnadu throng to participate in this festival. The temple car ‘Amaiththa Narayanan’ is taken in procession during Pournami (Full-Moon day) of Aadi (Brahmotchavam).

References

Villages in Madurai district {{Pudukkottai-geo-stub