Country India District Chittoor district Time zone IST (UTC+5:30) | State Andhra Pradesh Talukas Nagari PIN AP-517592 | |
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Therani is a village in Chittoor district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The village is home to a 500-year-old Vaikuntanatha temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Located amidst the hills of Nagari, it offers a view of the jagged peaks of the famous Nagari Nose of the southernmost portions of the Eastern Ghats.
Contents
Map of Therani, Andhra Pradesh
Origins and history
Sri Vaikuntanatha Swamy Temple and the village of Therani ("near to a river") came into existence late in the 15th Century – around 1490s CE, on the banks of Kushasthali River, near Nagari. It was offered as a Srothriyam ( grants for the keepers of the Vedas ( srutis )) Grant temple in favor of Shri Nadathur Srinivasachari - from the familial lineage of Nadathur Ammal. The theo-philosophical affiliation is with Sri Vaishnavism - also known as Sri Sampradaya.
The formation of the village – Therani, a temple for the personal deity – "Vaikuntanatha Swamy" and associated grants of land and material effects, were enunciated in a HukumNama ( royal order ) from the Adil Shahi dynasty – through Shri KrishnaDevaRaya's royal kingdom and his subordinate KarvetiNagaram Raja.
The temple (Pancaratra Agama) remained under the aegis of the Therani Nadathur family (Munitraya SwayamAcarya Paramapara) for worship, aradhana and religious studies of the hereditary family members involved in Shastraic and Vedic pursuits.
Though the family tree of the Therani Nadathurs is large, very few of them have maintained affiliations with the village and the temple. The pressures of economics coupled with the allure and entrapment of modern lifestyles has lured most of its descendants away from their origins.
The Vaikuntanatha Swamy temple has recently been renovated (2010) and a traditional Samprokshanam - Punasvartam - (purificatory and re-consecration rite) has been performed.
Village
The village of Therani as it is today is mostly settled by recent migrants from in and around the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.As Therani lies on the border between the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh - both Tamil and Telugu are spoken. The village has a Government run Telugu medium school.There are also schools in nearby villages and towns of Ekambara kuppam and Nagari. Tiruttani - a major pilgrimage centre with its temple dedicated to Lord Murugan - is also located nearby across the border in Tamil Nadu - around 25 km. Ekambara kuppam, Nagari and Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta (the distinction of having the longest name among all stations on the Indian Railway system) are the nearest rail-heads (all within 5 km) on the Renigunta-Arakkonam section of the Southern Railway. The village has temples dedicated to Lord Ganesha (Pillayar) and to Amman (Mother Goddess) in addition to the Vaikuntanatha swamy temple.