Ennai Petra Thaayar!

Bhakthavatsala Perumal Temple, Thiruninravur

Bhakthavatsala Perumal Temple at Thiruninravur, near Chennai is one of the 108 Divya Desams. Here the Goddess has a unique name" Ennai Petra Thaayar" (mother who gave birth to me)! How did she get that name?

Lord Samudrarajan (King of the Ocean) was longing for a child and his deep desire was that Goddess Mahalakshmi should be born as his daughter. He prayed to her for many years after which the Goddess appeared before him and granted his wish.

On one fine day, he found a beautiful girl child in the middle of a lotus flower in the ocean. Ecstatic he exclaimed " Ennai Petra Thaaye" (Mother who gave birth to me!). The child was named Ennai Petra Thaayar by which she is known till date.

The place itself derives its name from Goddess Mahalakshmi - Thiru means Lakshmi and Ninravur is the place where she stays forever.

The little girl grew up into a beautiful young lady and it was time to get her married. But Samudrarajan was not willing to part with his daughter whom he had got after praying for so many years and so when Sriman Narayana came asking for her hand in marriage, he laid a condition that he should become "Veetoda Mappillai" (Ghar Jamaai) and stay in the in-laws house for which the Lord agreed. As it is her house, the Goddess gets all the pooja and Saathupadi first, after which it is the Lord's turn.

The seven feet Bhaktavatsala perumal is a delight to watch. In Kalyana Thirukolam (wedding attire), and with the words " Maam Ekam Charanam Vraja" (Take refuge in me alone) written on his right hand (Incidentally the only other lord who has this inscription on his hand is Lord Uppiliappan in Kumbakonam), and a welcoming smile, you can keep looking at him all day long.

The Divya Desams are those where the Azhwars visited and sung hymns in praise of the Lord. When Tirumangaiazhwar came to Tiruninravur he did not sing any paasuram about Bhakthavatsala perumal. He then went to Tirukkadalmallai (Mamallapuram) to worship Sthalasayana Perumal.

Bhakthavatsala, anxious for his devotee to sing about him, appeared to the Azhwar in Tirukkadalmallai as Bhakthavatsala Perumal and it is there that the pasuram about Tiruninravur was sung! Such was the relationship between the Lord and his beloved devotee !!

Coming to the picture above, this is a unique feature of the Tiruninravur temple. As the name suggests, this is the temple for wealth, prosperity and all the Aishwaryams in the world. There is a matrix drawn in front of the Ennai Petra Thaayar Sannathi as you see in the picture, which has specific numbers. By drawing this matrix in your pooja room and placing one rupee coins on each of the squares, and praying for nine days, your wishes are granted.

Procedure for Pooja:

The Yantra is drawn in the pooja room on a flat surface using Kolam Powder. Stickers are also available in the temple if one wishes to use it. Pooja is done for nine days by placing one rupee coins in each of the boxes, applying sandal paste and Kumkum on them, and flowers as well. The coins of the previous day are then removed and stored safely and new one rupee coins are used the next day. Once the nine days of pooja
is complete, (it is preferable to start the pooja on a friday or new moon day) the 81 coins along with Thambulam for nine sumangalis is taken to the temple. The battar places the coins at the Thaayaar's feet and performs archana. The first Thambulam is then give to the Goddess. After that, he gives the coins back to the devotee who then deposits the coins in the Hundi outside the shrine. The remaining thambulams are given to other women in the temple.

I have tried it myself and it really works:)