Temple for Cupid, Thadikombu, Dindigul

Editor October 12, 2023October 12, 2023 0 Comments

Located 8 Kms from Dindigul on the Dindigul-Karur National Highway(NH7) is the temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, here known as Soundaraja Perumal Temple. This temple is said to be more than 1000 years old. There are various inscriptions in the temple referring to Pandya Kings and Raya (Achuta Raya, Rama Raya) kings which are evidence of the great past of this temple.
Soundaraja means beautiful king. The Lord’s vigraha and the entire temple is very beautiful filled with very delicate stone carvings.This is a must visit temple for anyone interested in sculpturing.Mahalakshmi is here known as Soundaravalli. It it said that the temple is related to the Kallalagar temple in Madurai.

Other main specialties in the temple include

1) Shrine for Cupid : Called as Manmatha in Sanskrit and his consort Rathi, they have a shrine in this temple. A special puja is offered in this temple for separated couples who want to unite. This is done for 5 consecutive thursdays.

2) Goddess of Knowledge Saraswathi and God of Knowledge Sri Hayagriva have seperate shrines here, where pujas are offered for success in education. On Tiruvonam star (Shravana Nakshtra) these pujas are performed with honey,coconut,jaggery powder,coconut & Cardamom.

3) Karthaveeryarjuna temple : Karthaveeryarjuna is a deity mentioned in the puranas who is said to recover genuinely lost/stolen things. This would be probably the only temple which has a shrine for Karthaveeryarjuna. There is a special mantra for Karthaveeryarjuna and pujas/homam is performed with this mantra.

4) Svarna Akarshana Bhairava : Bhairava is considered as a form of Shiva and normally none of the Vishnu temple have a shrine for Bhairava. This temple is an exception. During Rahu Kalam on sundays pujas are performed for relief from business problems and bad debts. Standing Lord Ganesh and Vishnu Durga also have shrines here.

5) Dhanwantri : There is a special shrine for Lord of medicine and Ayurveda, Dhanwantri. Devotees perform pujas here for good health and getting rid of diseases.

6) Musical Pillars : Like Madurai Meenakshi temple, in this temple there are 7 musical pillars which give sounds of the 7 notes of carnatic music.

Of all the sculptures in this temple, 14 are considered unique. In some of them even minute details like nails, muscles etc. have been carved carefully. Some images can be seen below: