Oothukadu Kalinga Narayana Perumal Temple

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This historic temple is 1000 years old with Sri Veda Narayana Perumal as presiding diety. At its early stage, the temple premise was very small. This temple was renovated to its present form by the King Nalakonda Chozhan after the advent of the Utsavar idol, Sri Kalinga Narthana Perumal.

Here, Lord Krishna is seen in the dancing posture with His left foot on the serpent’s hood. Sri Krishna is depicted holding the tail of the serpent with His left hand and showing Abhaya Mudra with His right hand, which is a rare feast for the eyes of His devotees. The dancing posture of Sri Kalinga Narthana Perumal adorned with the chubby legs, sparkling eyes, His dancing style, tightly held headlock, His curly hair, tiny fingers of His lotus feet and the captivating smile, one can infer immediately that such an idol cannot be created by a sculptor as envisaged by Venkata Kavi. The curves on the body of the serpent and the human form of Kalinga beneath five headed hood of the serpent make one think that the serpent is begging the Lord to spare its life. The most amazing part is that the feet of Sri Kalinga Narthana Perumal do not touch the head of the serpent. There is an hairline gap between the serpent’s hood and the left foot of the idol. The right leg of the idol is in the mid air. The left handof the idol does not fully hold the serpent’s tail. This enchanting idol of Sri Kalinga Narthana Perumal was found by Sage Naradha from a small pond named Kalinga madu near this temple and was later installed at the sanctrum sanctorum of Sri Veda Narayana Perumal Temple. It was here that, Sage Naradha reincarnated as Sri Venkata Subha Iyyer composed and sang numerous songs praising Sri Kalinga Narthana Perumal.

Temple Structure

The temple is small but captivating. The main Gopuram is depicted as Adi Seshan. The presiding diety of this temple is Sri Veda Narayana Perumal along with His consorts Sridevi and Boodevi. Near to the sanctrum sanctorum, there is a small shrine of Goddess Lekshmi Devi. The idol of Lord Vinayaka in the dancing posture adorns the left side of the main entrance of the temple. At present, the renovation work is in progress.

Oothukadu temple #bharatham