Sri Betrayaswamy Temple – Denkanikottai

 

Sri Betrayaswamy Temple is located in Denkanikottai town in Krishnagiri district of Tamilnadu.

It is one of the 108 Abhimana Kshetram of Lord Vishnu

Here Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Devaperumal and his consort Lakshmi Devi as Soundaryavalli

This temple was constructed in the Hoysala style of architecture.

This temple has a 5-tier Rajagopuram

As per Skanda Purana Devandagadagan, a yaksha and the relative of the famous king Kubera, once got a boon from Brahma that he would get endless powers. He was very proud of his powers and started troubling the devas, the celestial deities, and the sages doing penance in the region. He was once punished by sage Atri, who cursed him to roam in the forest and said that he would be relieved of his curse once Vishnu strikes him with a mace. Ages passed by and Kanvagada was troubling the sages in the forest. Once sage Kanva was finding it difficult to spot a place to do his penance when sage Atri advised him to go to a place on the banks of Cauvery close to Narayanagiri. Kanva started doing his penance and the yaksha started troubling the sage. A divine voice informed the sage to seek the help of Venkateswara. The sage did so and Venkateswara came to the place from his abode at Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. He transformed into a hunter with a bow called Sharanga and a mace called Denkani. An intense battle followed between the hunter and Devandagadaga, and eventually, the hunter slays the yaksha with Denkani. In memory of the event, the place came to be known as Denkanipuram, which ultimately became Denkanikottai. The sage and the yaksha were blessed with the auspicious vision of Venkateswara, who made the place his abode.

The sanctum contains an image of Betrayaswamy standing, like the Venkateswara seen at the Tirumala On either side of him are images of Sridevi and Bhudevi. 

Two dvarapalas stand on either side of the Ardha mandapa. The eastern gateway is situated next to the temple dedicated to Soundaravalli. 

The images of the Alvars, Ramanuja, Manavala Mamunigal, Vedanta Desikar, and the sage Kanva are kept in Mahamandapa.

There are separate shrines for Venugopala housing Satyabhama and Rukmini, and Rama housing Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman. There are several smaller shrines and halls in the precincts of the temple. 

Three temple tanks are associated with the temple: Chakra Tirtha, Sundari Tirtha, and Sanatkumara Tirtha.

15 days annual Kalyana Utsavam during the Tamil month of Chittirai(April – May), Brahmotsavam, Vaikunta Ekadasi, and Saturdays in Purattasi month are the important days celebrated here

Timings

6.00 am to 11.00 am

4.00 pm to 8.00 pm

How to reach the Temple

25 km from Hosur

65 km from Bengaluru

130 km from Salem