page_title: Prasanna Venkatachalapathy Temple
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Prasanna Venkatachalapathy Temple / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Gunaseelam temple
context_page_description: Gunaseelam Vishnu Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu located 20 km from Trichy, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of river Kollidam. A visit temple is believed to be a curative to the mentally challenged people, who are taken to the temple and kept in the temple premises for 48 days. At the end of the 48 days it is believed that their illness is cured by the grace of the presiding deity, Prasanna Venkatachalapathi. The temple has set up a mental health rehabilitation centre that has the official stamp of the Tamil Nadu Government license, the first of its kind in Tamil Nadu.
  The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and three yearly festivals on its calendar. The annual Brahmotsavam is an eleven-day festival attended by thousands of devotees from far and near. The temple is maintained by a hereditary executive trustee.
context_section_description: The temple bears absolutely no resemblance to what it was a quarter of a century ago. With devotees’ contribution, the hereditary trustees have transformed the temple to reflect modern day architecture. New paintings and photographs adorn the  temple, with modern flooring. There is written documentation that the temple should be renovated in the 5000th year of Kaliyuga. The renovation was accordingly done. The temple has a shrine for Viganasar, the founder of Vaikanasa Aagamam. Legend says he was given Brahminhood by  Venkateshwara himself alongside Brahma, the god of creation.
  This temple constract and planned by R. Ranganathan Sthapathy. The central shrine of the temple houses the presiding deity Prasanna Venkatachalapathy in standing posture. The image is depicted with four hands - one showing Abhaya mudra, one carrying the weapon Gatha, one carrying conch and other carrying the Chakra. There are niches around the sanctum with the images of Narasimha, Navaneetha Krishna, Varaha, Sridevi and Bhudevi. The conical vimana above the central shrine is called Trinetra vimana as it has three tiers. There are stucco sculptures on the vimana depicting Narasimha on eagle vahana Garuda and an image of Vishnu with Shanka and Chakra. The temple has a shrine of Vikhasana Maharishi, after whom the Vaiganasa Agama of Vaishnavism is followed. There are delicate glasswork in the Palliari around the sanctum.
caption: Stucco image of the temple
exif: {"Image Tag 0x000B": "Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384", "Image ImageWidth": "1824", "Image ImageLength": "688", "Image Make": "samsung", "Image Model": "SM-J700F", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384", "Image DateTime": "2018:06:24 14:35:11", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "2372", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "96", "Thumbnail YResolution": "96", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4934", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9207", "EXIF FNumber": "19/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:06:16 17:25:42", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:06:16 17:25:42", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "227/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Average", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "37/10", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1824", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "688", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "28", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "4", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "0", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4294"}