Eternal Bliss in a minute
Lord Santhana Venugopala with His Consorts.
SHOLINGUR OR Chozhasimhapuram, one of the 108 Divyadesams or holy places sanctified by Azhwars' hymns, is known as Gadikachalam as the stay in that place for one Gadigai, an ancient unit of measurement of time, which is generally said to be one hour, gives salvation for all. There is another place nearby, which is equally venerable, and it is known as Nimishachalam as the stay in this place for one minute confers many benefits including eternal bliss for the devout public. Also called as Nimbaka Kshethram in the past, its present name is Santhana Venugopalapuram, shortly known as S.V.G. Puram. It is situated a few kilometres south-east of Sholingur, on the road to Tiruttani.
There is a reference to this place, with a temple dedicated to Lord Santhana Venugopalan or Krishna, in the "Brahmanda Puranam", "Brahma Vaivartha Puranam" and "Skanda Puranam". For nearly 400 years this temple was under the control of the Karvetinagaram kings. It is said the king of Karvetinagaram stayed in this place overnight after a day's hunting and it happened to be the place where the temple was lying buried. The Lord appeared in the king's dream and directed him to excavate and renovate the temple and also instal the "Kauthuka Murthi", one of the Utsava idols, in it. He obeyed the Divine command and reconstructed the temple
Nimishachalam is surrounded by holy places like Sholingur, Appalayagunta, Narayanavanam, Karvetinagaram, Tiruttani and R.K. Pet. The Dhruva Berar in the temple is "Eka Murthi" with the Kamadhenu on the left side, which is said to be a rare one. The Utsavar idol is that of Venugopalan flanked on either side by Rukmini and Sathyabhama with Kamadhenu standing nearby. The main Goddess here is Padmavathi Thayar.
Brahmothsavam, Adhyayanothsavam, Krishna Jayanthi and other festivals are celebrated in the temple. Another important feature is the presence of the idols of Garuda, Anjaneya, Azhwars and Acharyas in such a small temple. The rituals are conducted according to Vaikhanasa Agama.
The temple, under the control of the Tiruttani Subrahmania Swami Devasthanam, has been renovated and restored to its past glory. The Samprokshanam is to be performed shortly. Further details can be had from the Tiruttani Subrahmania Swami Devasthanam (telephone number office: 04118/685225, hill temple: 685243), Tiruttani.
T. A. SRINIVASAN
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