4) Appakudatthan

 

Appakudatthan

• 6th out of 108 divya-deshams
• This place is named after ‘Appam’, a traditional sweet dish which is a favorite of the Lord here.
• Here the Lord (deity) is called as ‘Appalarangan’, a form similar to Ranganatha (He had appeared here even before the appearance of Lord Ranganatha)
• Very huge and beautiful deity Sri Vaisnavas say that a king named Uparicarvasu lost all his wealth due to a curse and was told to come here and give food in charity (anna-dana). The supreme Lord came in the guise of an old Brahman and requested for charity. When offered, the old man ate all the food. But still He was not satisfied with the offering. The king then understood that the old man was none other than his worshippable lord and so started offering prayers. Being pleased with His devotee, the Lord asked for his favorite food—‘Appam ’ sweet. The king happily offered lots of appam sweets in a huge silver pot. That silver pot is still present in the temple. The moment Lord consumed the pot of appam, the king got liberated from his curse.
• This is the only divya-desam where appam is offered daily to the Lord.