Oppiliyappan temple

Oppiliyappan Temple

History : This temple is being called as South Tirupathi, the presiding deity here is Lord Venkateswara. Devotees who are unable to make a trip to Tirupathi to fulfil their vows, may as well visit this temple. This is one of the 108 Divyadesams of Lord Perumal and has the added reputation of being the birth place – Avatara Sthala of Mother Bhoomadevi. Legand says that Lord Oppilliappan married Bhoomidevi,who was brought up by sage Markandeya, here.The Lord came in the form of an old man and asked Markandeya to give his daughter Bhoomidevi in marriage to him .Markandeya said that his daughter was too young to cook food and that she did not even know how to use salt in cooking. To this the Lord said that he would forego salt in his food. Hence salt is not added in the prasadam prepared in the temple. The slogan uttered by Lord in His Gita Teaching “Maam ekam sharanam Vraja” is written on His right hand pointing to His feet. This means “I take care of those surrendering to me”. Travel Information : This temple is 5km from kumbakonam.