Malai Mandala Perumal Temple (Also known as Girivardaraja Perumal Temple) is dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu located at Sathurangapatnam Village near Kalpakkam in Kanchipuram District of Tamilnadu. Lord Varadar is seen in a walking posture with his feet at the same level as the head of Garuda. It is a Prarthana Sthalam for liberation from Sarpa Dosham.

Several special features make this an interesting temple. It is located about 15 km South of Thiru Kadal Mallai Divya Desam and a couple of km ahead of Kalpakkam on the Thirukazhukundram-Kalpakkam SH 58. This Temple has located 0.5 km from the Sadras fort. Presiding Deity is called Giri Varadar in this temple.

Now this temple has been encroached upon by Muslims who have turned the place into an Islamic place of worship. The Mandapam was lying in neglect due to Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) department’s neglect. After locals’ complaints, temple renovation committee members inspected the place and assured action.

The Malai Mandala Perumal temple located in Sadurangapattinam near Kalpakkam in Chennai is a Vishnu temple. It is said to date back to the times of Vijayendra Chola and is thus more than 1000 years old. An inscription on the main door of the temple dates back to the 1600s. It is believed that the original temple was destroyed by the Dutch and a fort was built in its place.

The temple has mandapams(halls) located on the 1.4-acre property for Oonjal(swing) and Uriyadi(Dahi Handi) festivals. The temple is controlled by HRCE, but the officials didn’t even know about the existence of the mandapams as a result of which they became dilapidated. It is said that the Oonjal and Uriyadi utsavas haven’t been conducted in the temple in the past 50 years and so the mandapams were ruined with vegetation.

The utsava murti goes out of the temple only once in a year for the Theerthavari utsavam (a festival of bathing deities in waterbodies) in the nearby seashore. This festival is conducted by the fishermen community of the locality as they have the first right. 

Recently locals noticed Muslims frequenting the temple property and cleared the vegetation to rediscover the mandapams. To their shock, they found that a dilapidated mandapam was converted into an Islamic place of worship. They complained to the HRCE officials seeking them to retrieve the mandapam. Sridharan, former director of the TN Archeological Department and a member of the Temple Renovation Committee inspected the place and confirmed that the mandapam is a Hindu structure.

He told the media that the mandapams have the markings of the Vijayanagara period and Hindu deities such as Yoga Narasimha. He said that he will submit a report based on which efforts should be made to retrieve the mandapams with the help of the District Commissioner.

TN HRCE department’s negligence is legendary. But this incident takes the cake as not only did they let the temple property be ruined, but they also let it be encroached on by non-Hindus due to their insolence and ignorance. This again shows how important it is to free temples from government hold, and involve locals who know about the tradition and history of the temples in their administration.

References:

hindupost.in