Conservation works are to be taken up soon at the Sri Adhinarayana Perumal temple in Pulicat in Tiruvallur district, which had been constructed during the Vijayanagara period. The temple’s main deity, Adhinarayana Perumal can be found in a standing posture accompanied by his consorts Sridevi thayar and Bhoodevi thayar.
The restoration, using only traditional materials including chunnam, jaggery and kadukkai, is to be conducted at a cost of ₹3 crore. The funds have been allocated by the State government, said a source in the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department.
“It is a very old temple and made of laterite stone. A few years ago some kind of restoration was attempted but that was carried out using cement. It was stopped after a few activists went to court. The present works are to be taken up using only traditional materials and taking care to maintain the original structure of the temple,” said HR&CE Minister P. K. Sekar Babu.
The temple has separate sannidhis for Pankajavalli thayar in a seated position, Andal and Garuda. The Anjaneya sannidhi is outside the temple and was constructed by devotees. “The entrance to the Anjaneya shrine is very small and people have to crawl inside,” said a resident.
Priest N.Ananthanarayanan said the temple was being cleared regularly of shrubbery. “Since the flooring is only of soil, the plants keep growing. Not many devotees come to the temple. I light the lamps daily in the mornings and offer flowers. It is an oru-kaala puja (one-time puja) temple,” he explained.
Suman, a resident of Pulicat, said the temple had large tracts of land. If the temple was cleaned and entrances were marked clearly with lighting, it would attract more devotees, he added.
