Cheyyar is home to many temples, one among them being a small temple for Rama, called Vijaya Kondandarama Swami temple (also known as Sampati Rama temple) in Kodanagar, a part of Cheyyar town. The main entrance on the south opens on to the prakaram (enclosure). The presiding deity in the east-facing sanctum is a small stone image of Vijaya Kondandarama Swami in a standing pose, holding bow and arrow along with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman. The utsava-murtis are similar to the main ones. A very unique feature of this temple is an image of Sampati, worshipped in a niche on the wall of the sanctum to Rama’s left. His wings are clearly seen and his palms are pressed together (Anjali hasta), in devotion to Rama.
The two vultures, Sampati and his younger brother Jatayu are well known because they have been mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayanam. When Sampati and Jatayu were young, they flew towards the sun. When Jatayu went very near the sun, Sampati flew higher than him and spread his wings to protect Jatayu from the heat. Shaded by Sampati, Jatayu was saved, but Sampati’s wings were scorched and he fell down on earth, unable to fly. Later, when Sugriva’s monkeys went in search of Sita, they came across Sampati who told them the direction in which Sita was being held captive by Ravana. It is said that Sampati regained his wings after he helped the monkeys and flew very high till he was lost from sight.
Rama temples connected with Jatayu, such as the Vijayaraghava Perumal temple in Thiruputkkuzhi, situated approximately ten kilometres from Kanchipuram are known, but Sampati’s association with a temple is rare to see. According to the lore of the Vijaya Kondandarama Swami temple, this shrine was constructed by a family whose association can be traced to Sampati. A person from this family, approximately three hundred years back, built a tank in this village and it came to be called Sampati Kulam. Kandhadai Sampati Narasimhachariar constructed the Vijaya Kodandarama Swami temple in 1917. In it were enshrined the images of Kodandarama, Lakshmana, Sita and Sampati.
The mandapa in front of the main sanctum has the stone and utsava images of Nammazhvar, Ramanujacharya and Vedanta Desika. In the niches (deva koshta) on the outer walls are enshrined Lakshmi Hayagriva, Lakshmi Narasimha and Lakshmi Varaha. The utsava images of these three deities are in the main sanctum. In front is the sanctum for Garuda and another for Vira Hanuman in the prakaram.
Know Your City
The Vijaya Kodandarama Svami temple is in Kodanagar, a part of Cheyyar town. Cheyyar is about 30 km from Kancheepuram.
