Azhagar
Koil is a famous
Vishnu temple located
in Azhagar Hills
near Madurai. This
temple is dedicated
to Azhagar or Soundararaja
Perumal. The temple
has beautiful carvings
and sculptures engraved
on it. Moreover
it is placed in
a very picturesque
surrounding, with
groves flowers,
fountains and also
amidst the ruins
of an old town.
 The
deity here is known
as Kallazhagar.
The legend goes
that Yama in the
form of Vrisha meditated
here. Lord Vishnu
blessed him with
salvation. Then
Yama requested him
to stay here and
bless humanity.
Vishnu agreed and
Viswakarma built
a Vimana here in
which Narayana stayed
with Sri Devi and
Bhoo Devi and blessed
humanity. The famous
Silambar river flows
near the temple.
The river is said
to be very sacred
and could match
the holiness of
the Ganga. The sthalapuranam
states that this
temple was built
with a lot of Gopurams,
halls and prakarams
by King Malayadhwaja.
The twelve Alwars
were supposed to
have visited here.
The place is also
known as the South
Tirupati. The place
used to be a very
sacred place in
ancient times. Now
the temple has lost
most of the wealth
that was given by
kings. The processional
deity is Sundararaja
or Azhagar and the
image is made of
a special type of
costly gold called
Aparanji gold. There
are many shrines
here including that
of Vinayaka, Siva,
Bhairava and Subrahmania.
The temple is guarded
by the Tamil deity
known as Karuppanaswami.
Many festivals are
conducted here of
which the most famous
is the Chitra Pournami
festival. The Peepal
tree is the sthala
Vriksham. Rakkayi
Amman is another
important deity
here.
As the temple is
located near Madurai,
the place is very
accessible. Pilgrims
can reach here via
rail or road.
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