Prasanna Venkatachalapathy Temple, Tallakulam

Arulmigu Prasanna Venkatachalapathy Temple in Tallakulam, Madurai, is a Vishnu temple said to have been built by Thirumalai Nayak about 600 years ago. It is administered by the Kallalagar temple at Azhagar Koil. The main deity faces south, whereas in Vaishnava temples the god usually faces east. Sridevi and Bhudevi accompany him, the festival image is Srinivasar, and an angry-looking Hanuman faces Chakkarathazhwar.

The story goes that the king, a devotee of Venkatachalapathy of Tirupati, would only eat breakfast after his morning puja, which followed the puja at Tirupati. He had bell mandapams built all the way to Madurai so that a chain of bells could signal when worship began there. One day the bells were silent, and as he hurried to the mandapam near his palace he stumbled on an image of an angry Anjaneya, where Venkatachalapathy then appeared to him. He built the temple on that spot. Vaikunta Ekadasi, Chitra Pournami, the Purattasi Brahmotsavam and Pongal are among its festivals.