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Haven for the art lover
NESTLING AMIDST the placid village of Parakkai, about five km from Nagercoil on the way to Manakudy, is the ancient Madhusudhana Perumal temple renowned for its mural paintings and for its exquisite art on stone. Most of the pillars supporting the roof of the mandapam leading to the sanctum sanctorum contain numerous images of gods including the Sayana murthy etched magnificently. The temple is a delight for those with taste for art. Visiting the shrine after going to the Sri Sthanumalayan temple dedicated to the Trinity at Suchindram, (located on the way to Kanyakumari near here), is considered very auspicious.
The presiding deity, Lord Madhusudhana, in majestic splendour, with a serene countenance and four arms, is nearly five feet in height. Lord Vishnu appears in the form of Madhusudhana with four hands. While, two hands hold the disc and conch, the other right hand is held aloft in abaya hastha position and the left rests on the left thigh. He is seen with Goddesses Lakshmidevi and Bhoomadevi.
A noteworthy feature of the temple is the stone image of Garuda facing the deity. According to a legend, a sculptor who was an ardent devotee of the Lord etched an image of Garuda in wood while in Kanchipuram and as the bird was made according to Shilpa Shastras, it came to life and flew Southwards. After arriving at the Parakkai village, Garuda, it is said, had a dip in the tank in front of the temple and exclaimed "kandaen kulam", with joy. Immediately after, he hovered around the deity as though he was making a pradakshana and began to fly away.
An artisan, who was renovating a pillar at the temple, saw the bird and hurled a chisel at it. The bird fell down crying `Madhusudhana', much to the shock and disbelief of the man. As a result its right wing suffered a wound. A stone image was later carved at the spot where he fell.
The village came to be known as Pakshirajapuram as per legend. Another legend claims the village was called Kezharmangalam Paravaikasur and later became Parakkai. It is also said Lord Vishnu came to be known as Madhusudhana after he slew the demons Madhu and Kaidapan.
J. V. SIVA PRASANNA KUMAR
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