Sri Jagathrakshaka Perumal Thirukudalur

Sri Jagath Rakshaka Perumal temple, Thirukudalur, Tamil Nadu .

Jagath Rakshaka Perumal Temple or Thirukudalur (locally called Aduthurai Perumal Temple) is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi as Padmasanavalli.

The temple is believed to have been built by the Medieval Cholas of the late 8th century AD, with later contributions from Vijayanagar kings and Madurai Nayaks. A brick wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines and bodies of water.

Jagath Rakshaka is believed to have appeared to sage Nandaka and King Ambarisha. In this temple v can see a sangu (conch) naturally formed in a jack tree.. during our visit to cholanadu divyadeshams we were lucky enough to see the aani thirumanjanam .

As per Hindu legend , King Ambarisha who immersed himself in the worship of Lord Vishnu , failed to strengthen his army and lost his kingdom . While worshipping , he also did not observe the sage Durvasa who went along that way . The sage got irritated and cursed the king . The king went to Lord Vishnu for rescue , who sent his discus to chase the sage. The sage surrendered to Lord Vishnu for forgiveness . The king Ambarishan is believed to have built the temple and hence the presiding deity is also called Ambarisha Varadhar at this place .

As per another legend , all rivers come to river Kaveri for cleansing themselves . Kaveri wanted to cleanse herself and approached Lord Brahma . She is believed to have worshipped Vishnu at this place and got relieved . A parrot which was devoted to Lord Vishnu was shot down in the nearby forest . Lord Vishnu rescued the parrot and appeased him of his previous birth . Thus it is believed that Vishnu descends here for all forms of life . Lord Vishnu is also believed to have appeared for sage Nandaka . Since all sages came here and prayed to Lord Vishnu , the place is called Koodalur ( Koodal means group ) .The temple is called Vaiyam Katha Perumal as the presiding deity is believed to have saved the world .