Vadalur is a small town in Tamil Nadu, about 200 km south of Chennai, where Vallalar (Ramalinga Swamigal, 1823β1874) opened a free kitchen in 1867 and built the Sathya Gnana Sabai, the Hall of True Wisdom, in 1872. The kitchen still feeds anyone who comes, every day, and once a year, on Thai Poosam, tens of thousands gather to see the light inside the Hall.
Most visitors come for one of the two. Many leave seeing that they belong together. The Hall shows where Vallalarβs path leads; the kitchen shows where it starts.
Why is Vadalur sacred?
Vallalar was born in Marudur, a village near Chidambaram, and spent much of his early life in Chennai. From 1858 he lived in the villages around Vadalur, first at Karunguzhi. In 1865 he gathered his followers in a fellowship that later took the name Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga Sathya Sangam. In Vadalur he built the two places where his teaching can still be seen at work.
That teaching rests on two things. The door to Godβs grace is Jeeva Karunyam, compassion for every living being. And God is one, the Vast Grace Light, Arut Perum Jyoti, open to every human being of any caste, creed or nation. The kitchen is the first made visible; the Hall is the second.
What is the Sathya Dharma Salai?
The Sathya Dharma Salai (the House of True Charity) is the free kitchen Vallalar opened in 1867. He lit its stove himself, and devotees say the fire has never gone out. Anyone who is hungry is fed. Nobody is asked their caste, their religion or their name. It has served meals every day for more than 150 years.
For Vallalar this was the heart of spiritual life, and he wrote why in Compassionate Conduct to Life (Jeeva Karunya Ozhukkam):
βWhen the fire called hunger catches and burns within the bodies of the poor, extinguishing it with food is Jeevakarunya (soul-compassion).β
(ΒΆ1.48)
The stove at Vadalur has been answering that other fire since he lit it.
Visitors are welcome to eat there. Gifts of rice, vegetables or money help feed the next person who comes.
What is the Sathya Gnana Sabai?
The Sathya Gnana Sabai, the Hall of True Wisdom, is the building Vallalar designed and opened on 25 January 1872, the day of the Poosam star. Many people call it the Vallalar temple, but there is no idol inside. It has eight sides. At its centre a lamp burns on an altar, behind seven coloured screens that stand for the veils hiding the light of God within the soul. Around it runs a chain fence of 21,600 links, which followers explain as the number of breaths a person takes in a day.
The sign over the entrance asks that only those who have given up killing and eating meat enter the inner hall. Everyone else is welcome to pray from outside. (Wikipedia has a photo of the sign.)
The Hall was meant to point beyond itself, to the light within each person. In 1873, saddened that people were treating it as one more building to look at, Vallalar locked it and took the key with him. His followers reopened it after 1874, and it has been open to visitors since. Many visitors recite his long hymn to the Grace Light, the Arutperunjothi Agaval, when they come.
What is the Jothi Darshan on Thai Poosam?
Once a year, on Thai Poosam, all seven screens are drawn back and the light is shown to the crowd. This is the Jothi Darshan, βthe sight of the Lightβ. Thai Poosam is the day of the Poosam star in the Tamil month of Thai, in January or February, so the date changes every year. The light is shown several times over that day and the following dawn. The times are announced at the Sabai before the festival.
On the Poosam day of every other month there is a smaller darshan. Thai Poosam is the busiest time of the year in Vadalur: the town fills with pilgrims and the kitchen feeds far more people than usual.
What happened at Mettukuppam?
A few kilometres from Vadalur is Mettukuppam, where Vallalar spent his last years in a small house called Siddhi Valagam. On the night of 30 January 1874 he went into his room there and asked that the door be locked. When it was later opened, the room was empty. His followers understand that his body passed into the Grace Light, the deathless life he had taught about. Our page on overcoming the fear of death explains that teaching. Siddhi Valagam can be visited, and many pilgrims go there after the Sabai.
How do you visit Vadalur?
- Getting there. Vadalur has its own railway station (code VLU), about 1 km from the bus stand. Buses run from Chennai, Puducherry, Cuddalore, Chidambaram and Neyveli. By road it is about 4 to 5 hours from Chennai. Chennai has the nearest large airport.
- Opening hours. The Hall and the kitchen are open every day, but published hours disagree, so check locally before you set out.
- What to wear. Modest clothes; shoes are left outside. Ask before taking photographs inside the Hall.
- Eating. Eat at the Dharma Salai with everyone else, and leave a gift if you can.
- Thai Poosam. If you come for the Jothi Darshan, book a room weeks ahead and expect very large crowds.
- Mettukuppam. Leave time for Siddhi Valagam, a short ride away.
The inner hall is for those who have given up meat. If you have been thinking about a plant-based diet, Vadalur is a gentle place to begin: every meal at the Dharma Salai is vegetarian, cooked and served with care.
Questions people ask
Where is Vadalur?
In Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, about 200 km south of Chennai (Wikipedia), between Neyveli and Cuddalore.
What is Vadalur famous for?
Vallalarβs free kitchen, the Sathya Dharma Salai, which has fed people since 1867, and the Sathya Gnana Sabai, the Hall of True Wisdom, where the Jothi Darshan is shown on Thai Poosam.
Can anyone visit the Vallalar temple?
Yes. People of every faith, caste and nation are welcome. The inner hall is for those who have given up killing and eating meat; others pray from outside.
Is there an idol in the Sathya Gnana Sabai?
No. A lamp burns at the centre, for God as the Vast Grace Light, Arut Perum Jyoti.
Is the food at Vadalur free?
Yes. The Dharma Salai feeds anyone who comes, and gifts from visitors keep it going.
When is Thai Poosam at Vadalur?
On the day of the Poosam star in the Tamil month of Thai, in January or February. The date changes each year.
How far is Mettukuppam from Vadalur?
A few kilometres. Siddhi Valagam, where Vallalar was last seen in 1874, is there.
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