Panchavati Anjaneya Temple

Introduction to Panchavati Anjaneya Temple

One of the many Hanuman temples in South India, Panchavati Anjaneya Temple is quite famous, and is located in Pappanchavadi village, Vanur Taluk, Villupuram district. It is 9 km from Pondicherry. The main deity, Hanuman, blesses his devotees in the name Panchavati Jayamangala Panchamukha Sri Anjaneyaswamy. Pilgrims visit the temple to get Hanuman's abundant blessings and enjoy their time in the place's tranquil and beautiful setting. An exciting feature of the temple is that people can worship the world's second-largest Anjaneya idol here.

Legend of Panchavati Anjaneya Temple

An interesting legend behind the temple says that Santhanam Iyyangar, who donated the temple land, asked Parama Sri Ramani Anna to visit his land on the way to Chennai. He accepted the invitation and went there accordingly. After keeping his foot on the land, he experienced the divine vibes of Hanuman, and the deity asked him to build a temple for him there.

Mr. Santhanam came forward and donated a piece of land to build the Panchavati Anjaneya Temple. As per the great epic Ramayana, Panchavati was a forest where Rama and Sita spent some years in exile from Ayodhya.

The Architecture of Panchavati Anjaneya Temple

The Panchavati Anjaneya temple sprawls over 12 acres of land. The work of the temple was started on June 24, 1999, and the Panchamukha Sri Anjaneyaswamy's statue was installed on June 11, 2003. On January 31, 2007, the consecration (Maha Kumbabishekam) was performed.

Panchavati Kshetram is another name for the temple. The deity stands at a height of 36 feet on the lotus base. Hanuman graces the temple with five faces in a Vishwaroopam image. A 64 feet Vimanam is there over the sanctum sanctorum.

His face is shown in the center, with the others in the forms of Hayagriva (horse-faced incarnation), Garuda (Vehicle of Vishnu), Varaha (boar-faced incarnation), and Narasimha (lion-faced incarnation). His arms hold Suvadi, Ankusam, Sword, Shield, Amrita Kalasam, Snake, Mountain, and a tree.

A 3 feet Panchamukha Hanumantha Yantra is installed on the Peedam. The significance of each face is as follows; Sri Panchamukha Hanuman faces east, grants success, and gives purity of mind. Garuda faces west; he removes black magic and poisonous effects. Varaha faces the north and showers prosperity on his devotees, and Narasimha faces the south. He destroys unnecessary fears.

Besides the main temple, there are two other big temples. The first temple is dedicated to Jayamangala Valampuri Maha Ganapathy, and the second is to Rama. Here, Rama blesses his devotees in Pattabisheka Thirukkolam. Idols of Rama, Sita, Hanuman, Angada, Garuda, Lakshmana, Bharat, Shatruga, and Vibhishana are in the temple of Rama.

Detailed paintings of essential incidents in the Ramayana story are depicted on the top of the walls and the sides of Panchamukha Sri Anjaneyaswamy Sanctum. Panchamukha Sri Jayamurti Seva Trust, under Parama Sri Ramani Anna, runs the Panchavati Anjaneya Temple.

As only four faces of the deity are visible on the front side, pilgrims can see his fifth face from the rear wall through a small glass window. When pilgrims perform circumambulation, they can see it. A water-filled vessel with a floating stone is before the deity's sanctum. Temple priests say it was used during the construction of a bridge to Lanka by Rama's Vanara Sena.

Festivals in Panchavati Anjaneya Temple

Krishna Jayanti, Vaikunta Ekadasi, and Hanuman Jayanti are grandly celebrated in the Panchavati Anjaneya Temple. Every Saturday, the temple welcomes the devotees.

Benefits of Worshipping at Panchavati Anjaneya Temple

Devotees offer Ulundu Vada mala (Black gram) to the deity on Saturdays to get relief from the affliction of Saturn, Rahu, and Ketu. On the other hand, Black gram has a cooling property. Devotees offer the Black gram Vada mala to Hanuman to decrease the ugra bhavam (fierceness) of the deity and make him kindly disposed toward them.