Ghajendra Varadhan at Kabisthalam

Temple features:
Name of this place	Thiru-Kabisthalam
Deity in sanctum	Gajenra-Varadan ( East facing lying pose)
Consort of Vishnu in sanctum	Rama-manavalli
Deity for festivals	Gajenra-varadhan
Consort for festivals	Potramaraiyal
Tower is called	Gakanakrutha-vimanam
Holi tank	Gajendra-pushkarini and Kabila-threertham
Devotees who have seen the god here	Gajendran, Indirajumnan, and koohu
Devotional song sung on the deity by	Thondaradi-podi-alzhwar,and Thirumazhisei alzhwar
Legend: Once upon a time there was a king called Indhirajumnan.He was a devotee of Sri Mahavishnu. During his worship to god he never thought of any one and nobody could meet him.Sage doorvasar did not know about this. One day the sage came to meet the king. He was in deep worship to vishnu and he did not notice the arrival of the sage. The holy man was waiting for long but the king did not turn-up. The Sage lost his patience and went to the king's prayer-room. But the king closing his eyes was in deep prayer. The Sage was very sad about the kings attitude and cursed the king loudly. " you did not even see me. Your behaviour in the name of devotion is worst . Hence you will change to an elephant" As soon as the king heard the voice of the sage he realised his mistake and apologized to the sage asking for his pardon. The Sage was cooled down and told the king that even if he became an elephant he would be a follower of Vishnu . In the mean time there was a demon called Koohu. Whoever went to have a bath in the temple tank the demon would bite their legs and kill them. One day sage Akasthiya went to have a bath in that tank. As usual the demon caught the sage's legs and dragged him into the water. The Sage was very angry and he cursed the demon that he would be changed as an alligator. The demon cryied on hearing the sage's curse and pleaded with him to reverse the curse. The sage told the demon that an elephant would come to have some water in the tank. At that time he should get hold of its leg and with that the aligator would have its curse cured. Years passed and King Indra-jumnan who had become an elephant came to Kabisthalam tank to have some water. Immediatly the alligator caught hold of its leg and dragged it into the water. The elephant prayed loudly calling ' Aadhi-Moolame' repeatedly. Sri Vishnu who is the adhi-moolam appeared there on his eagle-mount and threw his disk on the alligator. With that the alligator who was the demon Koohu and the elephant who was the king Indra-jumnan both attained liberation. Om Namo Narayanaya Namaha Location: This Khetram is on the way from Thanjawoor and Thiruvaiyaru to Kumbakonam in Tamilnadu.                                         Home