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There are very few temples dedicated to Damodaran, another name of Lord Krishna. One among them is the Sowmya Damodara Perumal Temple in Villivakkam.
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THE LAST of Lord Narayana's 12 names mentioned in the "Dwadasa Nama Stotra" is Damodaran or the one who was bound to a grinding stone, known in Tamil as "ural". The name has a special significance, according to Madhurakavi Azhwar, one of the Vaishnavite saints. He says in his Kanninunn Chiruthambu, his only work of 10 verses, forming part of the Nalayira Divyaprabandham, that the Lord allowed Himself to be bound to the grinding stone after playing for a long time with His foster-mother, Yasodha. Another saint, Nammazhwar, mentions Damodara as the Lord of Brahma and Siva in his Thiruvaimozhi verse.
Andal, the saint-poetess, in her Thiruppavai, goes one step further and says that Devaki, the mother of Lord Krishna, was purified by giving birth to Him. But there are only a very small number of temples to the Lord with this name and one among them is the Sowmya Damodara Perumal Temple in Villivakkam.
With a beautiful tank on its left (which is today a picture of neglect as it is now being used as a dumping ground), the temple looks majestic. One of the ancient temples in Chennai, said to be in existence for well over 600 years, it lies on the rail route to Arakkonam between Korattur and Perambur.
The place is linked to all parts of the city by bus routes. The temple is a sprawling complex with four big and four small Mada streets around it. It has got a beautiful garden on the right and the holy tank, known as "Amirtha Pushkarani", on the left.
According to legend, two demons, Ilvalan and Vatapi, who were born to Sage Dhurva and Aswamukhi, tortured the entire world and killed many innocent people. One of the demons used to take the shape of a fruit and the other used to offer it to some innocent passer-by and after he consumed it, the demon would come out by tearing his stomach.
It was left to Sage Agasthya to kill these demons with his mystic powers. It was here that the slaying of the demons took place and as a result the place came to be known as "Konnur" in times of yore. It got the name of Villivakkam much later.
The Goddess in the temple is known as Amirthvalli and She is housed in a separate shrine to the right of the sanctum sanctorum.
There are shrines for Rama and Krishna, Andal, Anjaneya and Azhwars.
Festivals such as Chithra Pournami, Rama Navami, Gajendra Moksham, Pavithrotsavam, Krishna Jayanthi, Navarathri, as well as the Brahmotsavam in the Vaikasi month and Pahal Pathu and Raappathu in the Margazhi month are celebrated.
The temple was renovated and the Samprokshanam was performed on March 8, 1996. Now the repair works to the Rajagopuram are to be carried out and the temple needs donations for this task.
T. A. SRINIVASAN
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