CHENNAI : The small village of Thirupparkadal, about 30 kilometres from Kanchipuram, has two old temples — one for Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal and the other for Ranganatha Perumal. The former is a standing posture and the latter is in a reclining pose. According to the traditional lore (Sthala Puranam) of this place, sage Pundarika Maharishi, who was a devotee of Vishnu came to Thirupparkadal and visited the Ranganatha temple here.
Just as he was hesitating to enter the other temple adjacent to it, an old man ushered him into this temple and the sage saw a beautiful image of Vishnu standing on an avudaiyar.The Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal temple faces east and enshrines the imposing four-armed image of Vishnu, standing on an avudaiyar (circular pedestal), holding the sankha and chakra in the upper left and right hands respectively.
The lower right hand is in a blessing (abhaya mudra) pose and lower left hand is seen resting on the thigh (kati-hasta). The utsva-murti (processional image) is Vaikunthavasa Perumal, holding a long senkkol (rod), flanked by Goddesses Sridevi and Bhudevi. Garuda here is special and is referred to as Ashta Naga Garuda as eight snakes are seen on his body.
An image of Garuda in nearby Kaveripakkam is also seen with eight serpents. The sanctum for Goddess Lakshmi, worshipped here as Alarmelmangai, and the shrine for Andal are located to the right and left of the main sanctum respectively. Also worshipped in this temple are the Azhvars (twelve important devotees of Vishnu), important preceptors like Tirukkachi Nambi and Vedanta Desika, Krishna and Hanuman.
The association of this place with Pundarika Maharishi is evident as the vimana above this principal sanctum goes by the name Pundarika Vimana and the sacred tank situated in front of the entrance to the temple is called Pundarika Pushkarini.