Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple Thiruparkadal

Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple Thiruparkadal
Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple Thiruparkadal

Sage Pundareeka, a staunch Vishnu devotee, was in the habit of visiting Thirupparkadal to worship Lord Vishnu everyday. He was on his way one Vaikunda Ekadesi day when he got delayed. Therefore he decided to worship the Lord at the nearby village temple before the Ekadesi naazhigai was over. He saw a small temple and Pushkarni at this village which was then called Avani Narayana Chaturvedi Mangalam. After quickly bathing in the pond, he went into the temple only to find a Shivalinga (Dooseshwara) at the Sanctum Sanctorum. Disappointed that he had not got a glimpse of Lord Vishnu as he had expected, and worried that he would not be able to worship him before the auspicious time was over, he walked out of the temple. An old man appeared before him and asked him why he was so sad. When Sage Pundareeka narrated what had happened, the old man told him that what he had seen was indeed Lord Vishnu s shrine and invited him to go along with him inside the temple. On reaching the Sanctum Sanctorum, the old man disappeared and Lord Vishnu gave darshan to the Sage as Venkatesa Perumal standing over the Shivalinga. From that day, the Lord is called Pundareeka Varadhan and the Pushkarni is called Pundareeka Pushkarni.