Kshetra for this Month (April)

Srinivasa perumal installed by PeriyavachanPillai

Chenganoor or Thiruchanganallur is called Shankapuram in Sanskrit. It is a serene village near Kumbakonam on the banks of the river Manniar. It is known to the world because of Krishnasuri. Krishnasuri is none other than Periyavachanpillai, who has commented on 4,000 Divyaprabandhams and important verses of Srimad ValmikiRamayana. He was a highly intelligent person, extremely devoted to the lord. Incidentally Chenganoor is his birth place. Once he set on a pilgrimage to Tirupathi along with his wife. There he had the most beautiful Darshan of the loving Lord Srinivasa. He was encaptured by the lord's ecstatic beauty and was insatiated by it. Hence he wanted to have the lord's darshan everyday. He could not bear the pangs of seperation from the lord even for a single day. He decided thus to stay at Tirupathi.

One day the lord himself appeared as a VAISHNAVITE and handed him the Salagrama of the lord vishnu. He conveyed to him that his parents at Chenganoor were aggrieved at his seperation. He asked him hence to go over to Chenganoor, render services to his parents and carry on the pooja of the salagrama. Krishnasuri hence returned to chenaganoor with the salagramam to serve his parents. On his return he placed the salagramam safely on the banks of the river coleroon(North Cauvery) and took bath in the river.After his bath he came back to collect the salagramam to find it disappear. Nowhere could he find it. A desperate and broken Krishnasuri returned to his parents and narrated to them his entire tour. But being deeply afflicted by the pangs of seperation from Tirupathi Srinivasa, Krishnasuri forsake food and sleep. The lord appeared in his dream and informed him that he was present at the same place where he lost HIM - at the banks of cauvery. Krishnasuri atonce reached the place to astonishingly find lord Srinivasa emerge from the salagrama presenting HIMSELF in the ravishing beautiful form. Krishnasuri's joy knew no bounds. He then erected a temple for the Lord and installed Lord Srinivasa at the temple which stands even today as a testimony to Periyavachanpillai's devotion. This Periyavachanpillai is none other than the forefather of SriKrishnapremi swamigal fondly called Anna.

Incidentally Chenganoor is also a ShivaKshetra in that, it is the birth place of the famous Chandikeswarar. Right now the most famous temples at Chenganoor are Lord Srinivasa temple, the Shivan temple and a small Pandurangan temple(built by SriAnna)