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Sri Rajagopala Temple @ Mannargudi

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Mukund Srinivasan • April 8, 1996 


Hi,
        I am trying to collect sthala puranams and general descriptions of temples etc. in the South.  I wish to thank the individuals that sent me
the stories of the Sholingapuram temple.

There are three current temples that I would like to have information
disseminated:

Sri Vidya Rajagopala temple in Mannargudi.  

This temple is very famous as a pilgrimage place for people
desiring artistry in the fine arts/music etc.  The deity - Rajagopala or
Krishna is supposed to possess feminine features (but not in the Ardhanariswaram
sense) - The Sri in the title is supposedly representative of the Shakti in
the feminine sense.  Muthuswamy Dikshitar has penned 2 songs, one of whom
is pretty much lost - Sri Vidya Rajagopala in Saveri and Sri Vidya Rajagopalam
in Jaganmohanam (not Jaganmohini).

The Namakkal Narasimha Temple - 
This is a cave temple and is of 
particular interest to me since my grandfather hails from this area.  I
believe that there is a temple to Thayar also in the same area.

The Sankaranarayana Temple in Nagarcoil which has one side with Vishnu and
one side with Shiva - a unique icon perhaps outside the pale of srivaishnava
centers but of interest nevertheless.  There is a poem by Adi Sankara (perhaps
not on this deity) which has alternate stanzas addressed to each deity - I
wonder if anyone knows this or has this poem.

Thanks
Mukund Srinivasan