Vijayaraghava Perumal Temple, Thiruputkuzhi

Sthala Purāṇam

The Vijayaraghava Perumal Temple at Thiruputkuzhi, about fifteen kilometres from Kanchipuram, is intimately bound to the Ramayana episode of Jatayu. According to the sthala puranam, while Rama and Lakshmana searched for the abducted Sita, they found the eagle-king Jatayu mortally wounded after his valiant attempt to stop Ravana's chariot. Jatayu recounted the abduction and breathed his last, and Lord Rama, here worshipped as Vijayaraghava Perumal, is believed to have performed Jatayu's funeral rites at this very spot, honouring the bird with the affection due to a father. The place-name derives from this episode: Jatayu belonged to the Pul (bird) clan and was laid to rest in a pit (Tamil kuzhi), giving the site the name Thiru-put-kuzhi. The Lord is depicted in the posture in which he performed those last rites, and the consort is Maragathavalli Thayar. The temple was sung by Thirumangai Alvar in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, and Vedanta Desika composed hymns in praise of the deity; tradition also holds that Yadava Prakasa, the early teacher of Ramanuja, was born here. The temple tank is the Jatayu Tirtham (Jatayu Pushkarini), named for the water body where the eagle fell. Built in Dravidian style with a five-tiered rajagopuram, the shrine bears Pandya inscriptions of the thirteenth century, along with Chola and Thanjavur Nayak patronage.

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