CHENNAI : The small village of Nalatthur near Thiruttani has a temple for Hanuman (Anjaneya) worshipped as Veeramangala Veeranjaneya Swamy. This deity, approximately five and a half feet tall, is carved out of a single slab of stone, and is in the pose of moving forward with one foot placed in front. The right hand is raised aloft with the palm in a gesture of protection (abhaya hasta).
The left hand held near the chest, holds a lotus stalk. This grand image is seen with three eyes, protruding teeth, sacred thread, a knife tucked near the waist, and wears a salagrama garland, anklets and bracelets. His long tail is raised over his head as though encircling it. The processional deity is a four-armed Anjaneya holding the conch (sankha) and disc (chakra) with the lower right hand in abhaya hasta and holding a lotus in the left hand.
During the Vijayanagara age, especially during the 15th-16th centuries AD, the popularity of Hanuman worship rose to phenomenal heights. In Vijayanagara (present-day Hampi) and in other areas which were under the control of the Vijayanagara Empire, many images of Hanuman were consecrated. It is believed that when the illustrious Vijayanagara monarch, Krishnadeva Raya was ruling in the 16th century AD, the Madhva saint Vyasaraja (Vyasaraja Tirtha) installed as many as 732 idols of Hanuman at various places in South India.
The image of Anjaneya at Nalatthur was also consecrated by Vyasaraja. For a long time, this idol was lying partially buried in the sand near the river and then housed in a mandapa, before the present temple was constructed. Other shrines inside this temple include those of Rama with Sita and Lakshmana, Navaneeta Krishna, Lakshmi Narasimha, Sudarshana, Vinayaka and Navagrahas. Near the entrance is a huge idol of Anjaneya in a seated posture.