Maduranthakam temple

Maduranthakam is roughly 90 kms from chennai on the chennai Tiruchy road about 30 kms after chengalpet  Enter the town after exiting the byepass and proceed for about half a kilometer  The temple is situated on the right side behind a small market area you may miss the small road that leads to it on the right. It is a very important temple for Rama.

Legend says that Bhringi rishi who performed the putrakameshti yaga for the birth of Dasaratha's children wanted Rama and Lakshmana to stay with him for some time. Since they were searching for Seetha they promised to visit the rishi on the return journey.For fulfilling his request Rama , Lakshmana, Seetha came here  when they were returning from Lanka .

The place is a famous vaishnavite centre as this is where Sri.Ramanuja was given the pancha samskaram  and there is a seperate sannidhi for him.This is the place under the Magizha tree, where Sri Ramanuja was given "Pancha Samskaram"(Sramasayanam) by his acharyan Peria Nambigal. That is when Maduranthakam was given the name "Dvayam Vilindha Tirupathi". Upon receiving Kanchi Varadarajar's divine order through Tirukachi Nambi, Ramanuja set to Srirangam to become the disciple of Peria Nambigal. He met him in Maduranthakam itself, in the lake precints. Peria Nambigal was on his way to Kanchi to install Ramanuja as the successor of Sri Aalanvandar. In the month of Avani, on the Sukla Panchami, Peria Nambigal gave the Samasrayanam (Pancha Samskaram) Dvaya Mantropadesam. The festival is celebrated every year. This is the only place where Ramanujar can be seen as a Grihastha.

As heard from the priest ,there is also an interesting anecdote about how the english jagirdar of the east India company  in 1796 Col.Lionel Blaze had  seen  two boys with a bow and arrows protecting the town from a breach in the madhuranthakam tank which was threatening the town. When he saw the vigrahas he was esctatic in claiming that these people were the ones protecting the tank bund the previous night .This has been recorded by the englishman 300 years ago in the temple and he has built a shrine for Janakavalli  in the complex as a thanks giving. Hence also the name “Aeri Katha Ramar” to this temple