Saint poets Azhvaars, there were 12 of them, visited
Vishnu temples, sung praises of the Lord and composed verses in Tamil.
They revitalized the religious spirit sparking off a renewal of
devotional worship referred to as the 'Bhakti movement'. Such temples have
come to be known as Divya Desams. The compilation of the verses ,known as
Paasurams, is the revered Naalayira Divya Prabandham (4000 verses).
There are 108 Divya Desams in all. In each of these temples,
Vishnu is represented usually in one of three postures – reclining,
seated or standing posture.
We
take you on a trip to cover 12 temples around Tirunelveli. Iruttu Kadai
Halwa (Dark Shop Halwa) opposite Nellaiappar temple is the best halwa you
can taste in Tamil Nadu. The famous Courtallam (Spa of the South)
waterfalls, with medicinal powers, is just over an hour's drive from
Tirunelveli.
Sea Shore Lord Subramanya Temple at Tiruchendur is 60
kms east of Tirunelveli. Tirunelveli is famous for late night road side
eateries offering hot idlies and dosas.
Nava Tirupathi
temples
These are nine Vishnu temples on either side of
Tamaraibarani river off the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur state highway.
Nammazhvar is the only Azhvaar to have sung at the Nava Tirupathi temples.
At each of these nine temples, one can find a display board with temple
timings and route map to reach the other Divya Desams in this region.
One can start the Nava Tirupathi trip from SriVaikuntam and end
with Azhvaar Tirunagari. From SriVaikuntam, one can take an auto/taxi to
go around the other eight temples. This will cost around Rs 250-300 and
will take about five hours.
SriVaikuntam is about 30 kms from
Tirunelveli on the Tiruchendur road. The story goes that the Lord,
disguised as a thief, presented himself before the King to save the (real)
thief.
Hence, the Lord here is also known as KallarPiran (Kalla
meaning thief). In Vishnu temples, Adisesh, the Serpent God unfurls his
hood over Vishnu in a reclining posture. A unique feature of the Lord here
is that Adisesh has his hood above the Lord in standing posture, one of
its kind in the 108 Divya Desams.
Another feature of the temple is
that the sun's rays falls directly on Lord Vaikuntanathan on two days
(April-May and October-November period) every year.
It is believed
that this temple was used as a fort in the fight between the legendary
freedom fighter Veerapandiya Kattabomman and the British in the 1800s.
Buses ply every 10 minutes on this route from Tirunelveli's new bus
stand. For details contact A K Vaikunta Natha Bhattar @ 98656 28681
Thiruvaraguna Mangai temple
Thiruvaraguna
Mangai temple is about two kms east of Sri Vaikuntam and is known to many
as the Vishnu temple at Natham.
True to his name, Lord Vijayaasanar
is seen to be sitting majestically like a victorious king on the throne.
It is believed that a visit to this temple will help one attain moksha.
This place is said to be a Chandran Kshetram.You can contact Narasimha
Bhattar @ 04630 256476
One km east of Natham is the Lord
KaasinaVenthar temple at Thirupulingkudi. The east-facing Lord is seen in
a reclining posture with a lotus stalk from his navel terminating in a
flower on Brahma's image on the wall of the sanctum.
The story
goes that Vishnu, along with Goddess Sridevi, came down to visit this
place. Angered at being ignored for the trip,Goddess Bhoodevi hid herself
in the netherworld.
After Vishnu pacified her, it is believed that
the two goddesses came back together and gave darshan here with the Lord.
An interesting feature of the temple is that Vishnu's feet can be viewed
through a small window in the passage.For details, contact Gopalan Bhattar
at 04630 256476
Irettai Tirupathi or twin temples that lie within a
100 yards of each other in the middle of a jungle. The first of the two
temples has Lord Devapiran in a standing posture facing east.
Sage
Suprabhar who performed a yagna at this place relieved a man and a woman
from Kubera's curse, which had turned them into a measuring scale (tulai)
and a bow (villi). Hence this place is called Tulai Villi Mangalam.
At the second temple, one finds Lord Aravindalochanar in a seated
posture facing east. Legend has it that Lord Vishnu was impressed with
Sage Suprabhar's daily lotus pooja and gave darshan to the sage on the
northern banks of Tamaraibarani. Hence, it is believed that one who does
special 'Lotus Flower' pooja at this temple will be relieved of all sins.
For details contact: Seshamani Bhattar@04630
256372
Maayakoothan temple
The Maayakoothan
temple at Thirukuzhandhai is about 10 kms east of SriVaikuntam. Legend has
it that Vishnu went on his Garuda Vaahan to rescue Goddess Lakshmi from an
Asura. Hence, one finds Garuda as the Utsav deity here.
In the
battle that ensued, Vishnu is said to have performed his victory dance
standing on Asura's body and hence the name 'MaayaKoothan'.
Contact MaayaKoothar Bhattar @ 04630 256372
On the
South bank of Tamaraibarani, one finds the big Nigaril Mugilvannan temple
at ThenThiruperai, where the Lord is seen in a seated posture facing east.
Legend has it that Goddess Bhoodevi found two fish-shaped ear rings while
performing a penance to relieve herself of Sage Durvasa's curse and
offered it to the Lord.
Another story is that Varuna (the rain
god) performed a penance here to be relieved of his curse. As a mark of
this episode, it is believed that Varuna, visits this temple, every year,
on the full moon day in the month of Panguni (March-April) and worships
Vishnu. For details contact Anantha Padmanabha Bhattar @ 04639 273902
Vaitha Maa Nidhi temple
Three-km south
west of Thiruperai is the Vaitha Maa Nidhi temple at Thiru Kolur, where
the Lord is in a reclining posture facing east. This is the birth place of
MaduraKaviAzhvaar, the ardent devotee of Nammazhvaar.
Legend has
it that Kubera attained salvation from Goddess Parvati's curse at this
place and it was here that his Nava Nidhis were restored. It is said that
a visit to this temple will help one recover lost wealth. For details
contact Srinivasa Bhattar at 04630 291634
AadiNaathan
temple
Our last halt at the Nava Tirupathi temples is the
AadiNaathan temple. Lord Nambi of Thirukkurungkudi is believed to have
been born here as Nammazhvaar. When born, Nammazhvaar is said to have not
opened his eyes or cried.
He resided under a tamarind tree within
the temple for 16 years till he met Madurakavi (who was to later become
his disciple) who posed some interesting questions about life. So
impressed was MaduraKavi (Azhvaar) with Nammazhvaar's answers, that
he said, "I do not need god, Nammazhvaar is enough".
An important
festival at this temple is the Vaikasi Utsav, when the deities from all
the Nava Tirupathi temples congregate here to listen to the Paasurams with
Nammazhvaar seated on the Hamsa Vaahan.
This is one of the three
Divya Desams in TN where Araiyar Sevai, the visual song and dance
enactment of the Paasurams is still being performed. Most of the
inscriptions here date back to 1000 years. For details contact Appu
Sadagopachari 04639 273984.
At the end of Nava Tirupathi temples,
one can come back to Tirunelveli. From Tirunelveli, one can then visit
Vaanamaamalai and Thirukurungkudi and end the Divya Desam trip with
Srivilliputhur.
Situated about 30 km south of Tirunelveli, off the
Nagercoil NH7, is the Lord Vaanamaalai Thothadri Nathar temple.
A
speciality of this Divya Desam is that an oil pooja is performed daily for
the main deity and this oil is deposited in the 25 feet open well within
the temple. The oil is said to have medicinal values and is believed to
cure both internal and external illness, including ulcer and skin
diseases. For details contact Nambi Srinivasa Bhattar 04365 250119
Known as the South Badri, Azhagiya Nambi temple at
Thirukkurungkudi is about 15 km from Nanguneri. While the Lord lectures
Ramanuja at (North) Badri, the Lord here took the role of a disciple and
obtained Vaishnava initiation from Ramanuja.
Chola, Pandya and
Naayak Kings are said to have played a significant role in the
construction of this temple. Culverts show that this temple is at least
700-years-old. Eight kms from here is the Thirumalai Nambi temple, from
where Lord Hanuman is said to have taken the leap to Lanka.
The Araiyar Sevai originated from Thirukkurungkudi. Legend
has it that the Lord used to listen to Araiyar's Abhinaya hiding behind a
wall.Thirukkurungkudi is said to be the home to the Vaishnava
tradition of Kaisika Ekadesi. For details contact: Murali Bhattar@ 94432
05739
Located 90 kms from Tirunelveli, Srivilliputhur is among the
holiest of the Divya Desams as it is the birthplace of two Azhvaars and a
father-daughter, Peri-Azhvaar and Andal. The temple dates back to first
century AD.
The 196-ft high temple tower which is second only to
Srirangam's Rajagopuram, has the TN Government logo enshrined on it.
A tradition followed to this day at this temple is that Lord
Vadapatrasayi adorns every morning the garland worn the previous evening
by Andal.
Andal's Thiruppavai is one of the most beautifully
composed songs among the 4000 Paasurams. It is believed that singing these
30 verses will bring peace and prosperity as well as god's grace. A big
attraction at the temple is the Araiyar Sevai during Margazhi. For details
contact Bala Mukunda Araiyar @ 94438 67345