Sri: Srimathe Ramanujaya nama: Srimad Vara Vara Munaye nama: The sthalas in India are categorised as follows: (1)swayamvyaktha: God,on His own,manifests Himself in the form of an icon(Eg.,Srirangam,Tirumalai,BadarikAshrama) (2)Archa/caiddha:God,in response to the great penance(tapas) done by the rshis/sages,manifests in the form of idols and these are consecrated by the sages. (3)dhaiva:the idols are consecrated by the divine beings like Brahma etc and God,in response to the prayers offered and sacrifices performed by these divine beings,descends on earth in the form of an image(Eg.,Sri Varadharaja temple of kancheepuram) (4)mAnuSha:an opportunity given to the people to offer worship and these idols are consecrated by the people as per the Agama shAstras. (5)AbhimAna:these are consecrated by AcArya puruShas (Eg.,SriperumpudhUr) (6)paurANika:the idols are consecrated according to the details given in the purANAs(Eg.,TirunArAyaNapuram) When the sthala falls under one of the above mentioned category or something different from the above and has been blessed by AzhvArs (mangaLAshAsanam),then it becomes the "dhivya sthala" and the Lord ever lives in those places. Thirumanthram is made up of eight strands (aShtAkshara-8 letters). These dhivya sthalas, along with saptha puNyas and AzhvArs mangaLAshAsanam,gains the power of Thirumanthram and grants the phala/result that the Thirumanthram gives. The seven puNyAs are shEthram vanam nadhi sinDhu puram puShkariNi thathA vimAnam saptha puNyanca yathra dhEsha AzhvArs have sung mangaLAshAsanam for 108 dhivya dhEshas. In these 108 dhivya dhEshas,98 types of vimAnAs have been constructed as per Agama shAstras. SOme of the important ones are listed below: 1. praNa vAkrthi 2. vimalAkrthi 3. shudhDhasthva 4. DhAraka 5. sukhanAkrthi 6. vaidhIka 7. uthbalA 8. saunDharya 9. puShkalAvarththa 10. vEdhacakra 11. sanjIvi vigraha 12. aShtAnga 13. puNyakOti 14. SrIkara 15. ramya 16. mukudha 17. vijayakOti 18. simhAkkara 19. thaptha kAncana 20. hEmakUTa aShtAnga vimAna is exactly similar in structure to the one in paramapadha(vaikuNta) and praNavAkrthi vimAna is similar to the one that is built and worshipped by dhEvAs in dhivya sthalas. Among the 108 dhivya dhEshas, two(paramapadha and vaikuNta) are out of bhUlOka and can not be seen. Out of 106,95 are in south india and 11 are in north india(infact TiruvEnkatam and SingavELkunRam can also be considered as part of south as they are on the south of vinDhya). The count of dhivya dhEshas/Thiruppathis are given below: chozha nAdu - 40 pANdya nAdu - 18 thoNdai nAdu - 22 malai nAdu - 13 nadu nAdu - 2 vada nAdu - 11 not in bhUlOka - 2 PS:Sriman A. Ethirajan(Reference book) has classified thiruppARkkadal as part of north india based on some old song(the author name is not given)! He has given the count of dhivya dhEshas in north india as 12. "IrirupadhAnc chOzham IroNpathAm pANdi OrpadhinmUnRAm malainAdu OriraNdAm - sIrnadunAdu AROdIrettuth thoNdaai avvada nAdARIraNdu kURum thirunAdu onRAk koL" In the reference book some important information has been missed out. For example it was Sri PiLLai lOkAchAryar who carried the idol of NamperumAL to a safer place(as a safety measure) when he heard that Malik Kafur had attacked Madhurai and was about to rob the Srirangam temple and Sri Ethirajan had not mentioned this fact at all. So,I don't follow this book in a strict sense and also do not have any other authentic sources on dhivya dhEsha,although I have some works of pUrvAcAryAs. I kindly request the readers, who have visited many dhivya dhEshas(or even otherwise), to share(and can correct)information freely if certain points are missed out or conveyed incorrectly. AzhvAr EmperumAnAr Jeeyar TiruvadigaLE saraNam NC Nappinnai [ moderators note: archA forms need not just occur as a result of tapas/penance. Our LOrd, upon his own will, can come wherever He wants to be with the bhaktAs He likes. Also, anything and everything that true bhaktAs think the Lord is present in, He is present there - This is also archa "thamar ugandhadhu evvuruvam avvuruvam thAnE".. "abhimAna sthala" refers to temples of importance that do not fall under the 108 divyadEsams category. i.e. the perumAL there can be svayam vyaktha or of any other origin. ]
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