There is a temple near Villupuram that has frozen a piece of Hindu mythology beautifully like in a snapshot: It depicts the viswaroopam that tiny Vamana took to measure three 'feet' of land and teach King Mahabali a lesson in humility during the Vamana avataram of Lord Vishnu.

Tirukovilur is home to this temple, which is one of the 108 divya desam temples according to Vaishnavite lore. The Sri Trivikramaswamy Temple is located in the centre of the town, which is 36 km from Villupuram.

King Mahabali considered himself a peerless philanthropist. Even though he was a benevolent king, he thought no one should be more famous than him as a philanthropist. So he performed a yagam with the help of his guru, Sukrachariar.

Legend

Lord Vishnu wanted to teach Mahabali a lesson and cut him down to size. He took the form of Vamana, a very short man, and asked the king for just three 'feet' of land (moondradi mun).

Realising that the midget Vamana was none other than Lord Vishnu Himself, Sukrachariar tried to prevent Mahabali from accepting the plea. But the king agreed to donate what Vamana sought.

Then Lord Vishnu took the viswaroopam (appearing as a colossus) and measured the earth with one foot and the sky with the other. He asked Mahabali for the third piece of land that He had demanded.

Understanding at last that the little man was indeed Lord Vishnu, Mahabali humbly offered his head as the third piece of 'land' that he had promised to the Lord.

Mahabali had to pour water over his hand from a kendi (small vessel with snout) to signify the donation. Sukrachariar still tried to save the king from annihilation by taking the form of a bee and blocking the snout. Lord Vishnu used a darbai (reed) to clear the snout - thus blinding Sukrachariar - to complete the ritual.

The Lord placed his foot on Mahabali's head, gently pushing him into the netherworld. This act is believed to signify that he merged with the Lord. It is this episode that is represented in the Tirukovilur temple.

The name of the Lord here is Trivikramar. The name of the utsavar is Degaveesan. The name of the Thayar is Poongoval. According to history, Tirukovilur was known as Tirukovalur in the past, probably as a place dedicated to Poongoval!

Special features

The idol, made of wood, appears with the right foot raised high. Lord Brahma is seeing worshipping this foot.

As if this were not significant enough, the Trivikrama idol has the chakram in the left hand and the sangu in the right hand, whereas it is the reverse in other temples.

One of the hands on the right is sculpted in the form of asking where the third piece of land is.

This temple has a gopuram that is 192 feet high, which is the third tallest gopuram in Tamil Nadu.

There is an idol of Sukrachariar in this temple which was the place where the Nalayira Divya Prabandam was first sung.

Festivals

The Brahmotsavam of the temple is celebrated for 15 days in the Tamil month of Panguni. The Panchaparva festival and Sri Pushpavalli Thayar Unjal Festival are special to this temple.

It is believed that anybody seeking good employment or a promotion by praying at this temple would have his/her wish fulfilled. The Lord is also said to gift knowledge to those who worship Him here.