Thirumangaiazhwar and Kumudavalli Thayar
Born in the year nala, on a karigai mAsam, kritigai nakshathram, full moon day and was an incarnation of the Lord's SArngam (Divine bow).



TRAVELLOGUE
VISIT TO DISVYADESAMS IN & AROUND
SEERGAZHI MAYAVARAM AND CHIDAMBARAM
OCTOBER 2010












Vidya’s (my daughter in law) cousin Smt. Jayashree and her husband Mr. Ravi had the courtesy to extend their invitation to me and my wife Mythili to accompany them to Annan Koil where they have arranged to celebrate his Sashtiapthapoorthy (completion of 60th Birthday). They have made enormous arrangements for the Boarding and lodging of all their guests numbering over 50 adults and travel from Chennai in AC coaches. We were forced to deprive ourselves the pleasure of participation in this function as I have assured to accompany my brother in law Parthasarathy and his wife to the divyadesams in Thirunangoor. Mrs. Pankajam, wife of another brother in law Desikan was insisting upon Mythili to join her for the visit to these shrines during the month of Tamil Thai and get the grace of Almighty Narayana in the Garuda Sevai of all the eleven shrines at one place. However we wished to make the visit, it was postponed for one reason or other.

We ( myself, Mythili, Parthasarathy and Bhanu) have hence decided to visit these shrines and left Chennai on Wednesday the 27th October by Road in the afternoon and reached Vaitheeswaran Koil for overnight stay at Hotel Sadabishekam ( phone 91436 4279223) on the main road to Mayiladuthurai. The stay in this hotel has been quite comfortable. Spacious and well maintained rooms with clean linens and tasteful food etc., makes most of the people to choose this place for their stay. We were not the exception.

We contacted Mr. Madhava Bhatachariar at Annan Koil (mobile 94898 56554) and as per his advise, we visited the shrine at Seergazhi called THADALAN SANNADHI. The sthalam puraanam of this temple is quite interesting to know by the devotees.


Lord Srirama Vinnakara Thadalan, i.e. Sri Rama poses Lord Thiruvikrama as he did in Thiru uragam of Kanchipuram. In Thirukovilur he has Changu and Chakram, in Thiru uragam of Kanchi he is unarmed and lift's his left and right lies up in order to scale the whole world by his foot, respectively. But here in Seerkazhi, Lord Narayana poses as Thirivikrama with all his five weapons with his left hand extending up to the left foot, which is folded upwards.

Once Kanva Maharishi was doing a very hard penance and Lord Indra sent a beautiful girl Parama losay of the Gandarvaloga to disturb him. She did so and became pregnant. The rishi then came to know the plan hatched by Indra. Fearing the Maharishi's anger, Indra shook away the baby from her stomach. Lord Vayu (Air) gathered the fetus and put it in the womb of Maarishay and in due course she gave birth to Ashta Kona Maharishi.

It's also been said, Ashta Kona Maharishi is the son of Anaka Patha Maharishi.

Once Anaka patha Maharishi scolded his student for sleeping instead of reading Veda. The child in the mother Susadhu's womb advised his father to treat his student softly. So the father became angry and cursed the child to be born in a zig zag structure. Thus he was born zig zag and could not stand straight and was named Ashta Kona Maharishi later.

After many years, he saved his father who was defeated in a debate with Buddhist monks and was in a mood to suicide. His father was happy in the unison and made his son to take bath in the River Samangam and corrected a large percent of his Zig zagity..

The Sangu which yields Paramapatham and Chakram which gives all wealth lays here as Sangu Pushkarani and Chakra Theertham. The Thayar here is known as Mattavizhi kuzhali where Kuzhal means hair.


The term Rama is equivalent to number one for he had one wife, one arrow, one word, one rule and one dharma. As the perumal of this place too is the only ruler of the whole world this place is called See Rama Vinnagaram.

Unison between the Shaivam and Vainaram has been brought into practice here long years ago itself.

Once Thirugyana Sambandar, one of the four Shaivakuravar was staying here at his mutt. Thirumangai alwar came by that side. He was surrounded by lots of his followers and was making a huge noise. His men were shouting loudly the title's their leader had won. The followers of Thirugyana Sambandar asked the followers of Thirumangai alwar to maintain silence till they crossed the mutt. But Alwar became angry and went straight into the mutt.

Sambandar extended a warm welcome to him and requested him to sing a song on the Lord Vishnu. So did Alwar and he sang the "Oru Kuralai Iru Nila Moovadi Mann...." regarding the posture of the Lord and hearing this Sambandar was spell bound and tears came running out of his eyes hearing the sweet music containing intricate meaning.

He at once gave the spade (vel) which was given to him by Ambal Aadhiparashakti to Thirumangai Alwar and requested him to continue his humble service to god. And accepted that he was apt for his titles and announcing them loudly was correct.

Both of them hugged each other and bore good bye in a sad mood and paved way to the unity of Shaivam and Vaishnavism.

After worshipping the Thirivikrama at Seergazhi, we proceeded to Annan Koil where Sri Madhava Bhatachariar was waiting for us. One another party of four also came there to visit the divyadesams and Bhatachariar combined both the group and entrusted them to the care of one Mr. Madhya, a driver cum guide. He is quite conversant with the route to the divyadesams and also well acquainted with all the Bhatachariar of these temples. Before we proceed further, we had the darshan at Annan Koil.


The Background to the Thirunangoor Divya Desams

Angered at not being invited for the Yaagam conducted by Parvathy’s father Dakshan, Shiva is said to have performed the Rudra Thaandavam in a place called Ubaya Cauvery (between Cauvery in the South and Mani River in the North), situated few Kms South East of Seerkazhi.

So aggressive was his performance that for every hair that fell down on the ground, a new form of Shiva emerged. And very quickly 11 forms of Shiva were each performing the Rudra Thaandavam. Sensing a possible damage to the world as a result of Shiva’s fury, Lord Vishnu appeared here before Shiva as Paramapatha Naathan.

Softened by the presence of Lord Vishnu, Rudra requested Vishnu to appear in just as many forms. Lord Vishnu is said to have acceded to this request and provided darshan to Rudra in 11 different forms here in Thiru Nangur, having taken one form each from 11 different Divya Desams. These together constitute the 11 Divya Desams in and around Thiru Nangur.


In the Tamil calendar month of Thai (mid Jan-mid February), the deities from these Divya Desams go out on a street procession in the Garuda Vaahanam and congregate at the Mandapam in the Narayana Perumal Mani Maada Koil in Thirunangoor. At the Mani Maada Koil, Thiru Mangai Ahvaz sings praise of each of the 11 forms of Vishnu.


It is best to visit the Thiru Nangur Divya Desams in the first half of the day. One can start with Kazhi Cheerama Vinnagaram in Seerkazhi at 7am.

Thiru Vellankulam Annan Koil


Only Divya Desam where Ahvaz praises the Lord as ‘Annan’ (Brother)
Sincere prayers at this temple will provide devotees with life security

Located away from the hustle and bustle of towns and cities, Annan Koil Divya Desam is located in the middle of a village, 8 Kms South East of Seerkazhi off the Poompuhar- Thirukadaiyur road.

Looked at as the elder brother of Tirupathi Srinivasa, it is believed that those who cannot go to Tirupathi can come here and ‘Annan’ is said to fulfill their wishes. Lord here is seen together with the Goddess (Alar Mel Mangai) unlike in Tirupathi where he is seen alone. This is the only Divya Desam where the deity and Goddess have the same names as in Tirupathi.

Thiru Mangai Mannan wanted to marry Kumudha Valli who belonged to the generation of the Devas. Mangai Mannan is said to have worked with utmost sincerity towards fulfilling each of Kumuda Valli’s conditions to marry him. It is believed that Mangai Mannan finally married Kumudavalli at this place. Hence, there is a separate sannidhi for Kumudha Valli at this temple.

The Story
King Dhundhu Maaran, who belonged to the Surya dynasty, had a son Swethan who was destined to die at the tender age of 9. Swethan came here to undertake penance to increase his lifetime. Lord Vishnu is said to have appeared before him as Srinivasa and fulfilled his prayers. Hence, this is said to be a place when one’s sincere prayers will prevent untimely death.

Thirumangai Ahvaz came here, had darshan of the Lord and praised him here as if he has seen Lord Srinivasa himself. His Paasurams also reflect the fact that the Lord is the elder brother of Tirupathi Srinivasa.

“ Kaliyan Sonna Maalai Vallaaravar Vaanaraguvai Thaamey” shows this Lord as the elder brother.




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THIRUVANPURUSHOTHAM

(Dressed in white and grey)- palanquin covered with green cloth (Note: All the palanquins were covered with cloth with sankhu, Chakram and Thiruman embedded on it) Located 3 Kms East of Annan Koil is Purushothaman Koil in Thiru Nangur, near Seerkazhi. The story goes that Sage Vyagra Paadha was busy collecting flowers as part of his daily process of making a garland for the Lord. It is believed that Purushothaman brought Thiru Paarkadal to this place and gave milk to the hungry child of the sage.The Ayodhya Lord is said to have appeared here as Purushothaman.

3. Thiru Sempon Sei Koil



Located under ½ km East of Purushothaman Divya Desam is Sempon Sei Arangar Divya Desam in Thirunangur. Sempon Arangar is said to have come from Uraiyur. Hence the Lord here has 2 Goddesses similar to Azhagiya Manavaalan of Uraiyur.

In the Ramayana time, Rama killed Ravana who was a Brahmin. So he was caught by the sin of killing a Brahmin. To get rid of this sin, he came to Rameswaram to worship the Sivalingam made by Sita devi.
Then he came to this place and stayed in the Thrida Nethra Maharishi's Ashram.
According to his advice, he made a golden cow and stayed upon it for 4 days. Later he donated it to a Brahmin.
The Brahmin sold the gold and constructed this temple. As the gold got from Sri Rama was the reason behind the formation of this temple, this place is called as "Sem Ponn Sei Kovil" where Sem Ponn means pure gold.
Lord Shiva in order to get rid of his Brahmagarthi dhosam performed the Ekadasa Rudhra Ashvametha yagam. When the Yagna was about to complete, Lord shiva had the dharsan of Lord Narayana along with his wives Periya Piratti, Bhoomi Piratti and Nela devi, Lord Brahma and all the devas.



4. Arimeya Vinnagaram Kudamaadu Koothan Koil




Legend has it that Hari who lifted the Govardhana Mountain himself came and resided here with the intention of destroying the evil forces. It is believed that Lord Vishnu appeared as Gopala Kannan, pleased with the penance of Sage Uthanga.

Thiru arimEya viNNagaram: The Lord in thiru arimEya viNNagaram is known
as kudamaadu kooththan. The moolavar is in thailak kaappu thirumEni and
is in sitting posture facing east. The ursavar is gOpalan with chathur bujams. (Sri. Vijay Srinivasan, please note). Thayaar is amrutha "kada"valli and the theerththam are kOdi theerththam, and "amrutha" theerththam. The vimaanam is utasa shrunga vimaanam. Uththanga muni did penance here and had the darshan of this Lord as gOpalan. Though this is documented as arimEya viNNagaram it is popularly known in this neighborhood as kudamaadu kooththan only. This is one of the 11
temples that are grouped in a select way and the garuda sErvai that is conducted together for all these 11 kShethrams are popularly known as 11 aruda sErvai. Sri PD had presented details of this sEvai earlier and touched upon "manchu virattu" (PD, pl correct me if this word is wrong) festival celebrated every year during
this garuda sErvai signaling the arrival of thirumangai in the paddy fields of this area. In marking this vijayam of aazhwaar they believe that it is going to bring them good monsoon and harvest ahead for the subsequent seasons and hence they dance in joy, inturn this dancing is also dubbed as "kooththaadal" by local people.
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5. Vaikunta Vinnagaram




Located 100 yards North of Purushothaman Divya Desam, the Lord here at Vaikunta Vinnagaram is said to be the one who came from Vaikuntam to cool Shiva’s Rudra Thaandavam. Hence, he appears here in the same way as in Paramapatham. It is said that Ubarisavasu and Uthanga rishi attained Moksham after praying to this Lord.
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The above is the view of Sri Vaikuntavalli sametha Sri Vaikunta Nathan of Thiru Vaikunta Vinnagaram dhivyadesam . Here emperuman is giving darshan in amarntha (iruntha) thirukolam as He is at Sri Vaikuntam or Paramapadham and was prathyaksham to Udhanga maharishi and Uparisaravasu. The other name for moolavar is "thamarai kannudaiya piran". The eyes of moolavar perumal, runs from nose to ears. It was a delightful experience for the devotees to have had this wonderful sevai. An another unique is the style in the sitting posture of emperuman. Here emperuman (both moolavar and Uthsavar) sits as in Vaikunta lokam. One hand resting on knees, another on the floor. Since here emperuman is giving darshan as like in Vaikuntam, there is no Dwajasthambam, separate GarudAzhwar, thAyAr and other sannidhi's. Only one sannithi that houses Sri Devi, Bhoo Devi, NeelA devi samEtha Sri Vaikunta Natha perumal. Infront of the temple, you can watch a small sannidhi along the walls that houses Suryanarayana Perumal
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6. Thiru Thetriyambalam Palli Konda Perumal







Located ½ km South East of Purushothaman Koil, this is the only Divya Desam in Tamil Nadu to be called Ambalam. Palli Konda Perumal at Thetriyambalam is said to grant the wishes of ‘power’. This is a form of Srirangam Lord Ranganatha and is seen in a Sayana Kolam with the Serpant King Adiseshan on top of him. This Divya Desam along with Mani Maada Koil and Arimeya Vinnagaram is taken care by the same Bhatachariar who despite his age performs the puja in the most devoted manner.
7. Mani Maada Koil Naarayana Perumal




It is the fervent wish of every devout Hindu to visit Badrinath in his/her lifetime and have the darshan of Badrinarayana. A visit to Badrinath in ancient days used to be very tedious as the journey by foot in the Himalayas is very dangerous. However now a visit to Badrinath is accomplished more easily, thanks to modern means of efficient hill transportation. Notwithstanding this, only very few from the South can undertake a pilgrimage to Badrinath even today. Especially the elderly who, one feels, hear the call of the divine more acutely than the young and whose yearning to see the lord is arguably and generally more. Here is great news. Lord Badrinarayanan is very much a resident in Tamil Nadu, in similar majesty as in his snowy abode.
It is said that Vishnu appeared here as Badri Narayanan, as in Badrinath . The huge sized deity Narayana in sitting posture as seen in Badrinath is made of Salagram stone. One another significance of this divyadesams is where the Garuda Sevai of all the perumals of the divyadesams in Thirunangoor can be worshipped by the devotees o the pradamai day of Thai Amavasya every year It is here that the 10 different forms of Vishnu from the Divya Desams in and around Thirunangur come together to be praised by Thiru Mangai Ahvaz. This is the most important festival in Thiru Nangur. We are told that all the residents of this place treat that day as a festival in their own homes and entertains all the pilgrims in their house with food and shelter. The garuda seva will take place throughout the night and devotees from all the parts of Tamilanu and elsewhere assembles here for the special darshan of all the eleven perumals at one place.




8. Thiru Mani Koodam



Varadaraja Perumal Mani Koodam Koil is located in Thiru Nangur and the Lord here, one of the 11 forms of Vishnu who came to Thiru Nangur as per the request of Shiva, is said to be from Kanchipuram. Like Kanchi Varadar, the Lord here is said to grant all wishes of devotees.
Lord Shiva has river Ganges and Lord Chandra, the Lord of this place too has the same Lord chandra and Lord Garuda instead of river Ganges and poses as Lord Varadharaja. He gave special dharsan to Lord Chandra and Garuda here. This an act of Illustrating the unity between the Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. As the Lord Shiva gave plae to Lord Moon who had been cursed, Lord Vishnu too saved Lord Chandra from Curse and hence the Pushkarani is named as Chandra Pushkarani. The Lord Varadharaja is known for his act of testowing abundant wealth to his devotees and this act brings the name of the Vimaanam as Kanaka - gold Vimaanam. The rays of Lord Chandra are as soft as light rays emerging out of Pearls, Crystals etc. Which are known as manigal and as Lord Varadharaja gave dharsan to Lord Moon here? This place is called "Thiru Mani Koodam






9. Devanar Thogai Madhava Perumal koil

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It's been said that Lord Narayana married Goddess Lakshmi Devi who emerged out of the Thiruparkadal at this place. As the Deva's (celestial persons) came in a group (Thogai in Tamil) this place is called Thiru Devanar Thogai. It is situated on the South bank of river Manni. It is believed that, after having dharsan of this perumal, unmarried persons get married and childless couples got the boon of child birth. As this place was graced by the Celestial persons, the shadow of the Vimaanam falls within the range of the Vimaanam (temple tower) itself. The term Madhavan, Emperumaan are common for both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. Henceforth to represent this unison, though the temple is a Vishnu temple, there is a burial ground the favorite place of Lord Shiva in the backyard of this temple. The Vimaanam of this temple consists of two stories and is of a magnificent structure. As the Lord is in the Marriage pose, the Vimaanam and Pushkarani are named Shobana Vimaanam and Shobana Pushkarani respectively. And in order of homage to the celestial persons, the pushkarani also named as Devashaba Pushkarani. Among the Saptha rishis (7 great saints) Vashista is considered as the top most person. He is the son of Lord Brahma (i.e.) he was born by the mental thought of Lord Brahma. The term Vashista means "Best Rishi among all others". So Lord Deiva Nayagan gave dharsan to this great Rishi as young married couple. The idols of Thayar and perumal are of small size only.





10. Thiru Paarthaan Palli





Off the Karaikal-Seerkazhi road is the Parthasarathy koil in Thiru Paarthaan Palli. Kurushetra Lord is said to have come here as Parthasarathy. As the Rain God, Varuna, had darshan of Lord Vishnu in the form of Parthasarathy, this place came to be called Parthasarathy Palli and over time became Paarthaan Palli. There is a separate Sannidhi for Arjuna. Sage Agastya is said to have finished his trip across the Cauvery at this place. There is a Sannidhi for him as well here.

A special feature at this temple is that both Moolavar and Utsavar deities have 3 Goddesses (Sri Devi, Bhoo Devi and Neela Devi) alongside, the only Divya Desam to have so.




11. Thiru Kaavalampaadi


Located quite close to Thirumangai Ahvaz’s birth place of Kuraiyalur and off the Seerkazhi-Poompuhar road is the Gopalakrishnan Divya Desam in Thiru Kaavalampaadi. Dwaraka Lord is seen here as Gopalakrishnan. This place is said to have powers equivalent to a visit to Dwaraka itself.




From the above narrations, we come to know that in order to please Lord Siva, Vishnu gave darshan to him in different forms like Gopalakrishnan, Varadarajan, Srinivasan, Narasimhan Purushothaman etc., as seen in the temples delegated for these deities elsewhere. One more admiring factor is that the deities were sculptured out of Salagrama Stones brought from Nepal, where only it is available near the Gandaki River. All the deities at Thirunangoor divyadesams are in large sizes whether they are in standing or sitting and lying postures. How these stones weighing more than 30 tons were brought from Nepal to Thirunangoor is itself a wonder and in the absence of any logistic facilities as we see today. It should have been a marvelous task few hundred Years back and says the devotion of the creators of these temples. Unless for Thirumangaiazhwar, who did mangalasanam of all these divyadesams, one would not have come to know of the existence of these temples.

Let me reproduce hereunder, with my pranams to the author Mr. Madhava Dasan. The story of Thirumangaiazhwar as narrated in his blog.

Thiruvallinadu where he was born belonged to Chozha Kingdom. His father Alinadar was a Thalapathy and was a devotee of Lord Narayana. His wife Vallithiru who was also a staunch devotee of Shriman Narayana made her sincere prayer for a child and the boon was granted. The child was named as Neelan. Neelan grew up a shrewd smart boy, learning Tamizh and Sanskrit and mastered them; became well versed in sword fight(vAL payiRchi), vil viddhai with, Horse riding, elephant riding, etc. He grew up a young, intelligent, smart, healthy,
Strong, handsome lad (and yet simple and modest with a religous mind like his parents) and not surprisingly, people liked him very much. When Neelan's father got old, the chOzhA king, having heard about Neelan, appointed Neelan as the Army General(ThaLapathi). He was agile, dynamic, young and was good at battle fields; and hence captured the neighbouring
states; The king was immensely pleased and presented him a small portion of his kingdom, a place called Thirumangai, as a tribute and made him a KING!
(He was thereafter called "Thirumangai mannan".) That was his first success. And that became the cause for his slipping from all bhakti, devotion, religion etc., etc., and the success of reaching the SimhAsanam at such a young age, (with no chance of becoming a king, otherwise) went to his head. He took to all vices; He was deeply caught in seeking sensual pleasures. The parent was helpless and could do nothing but pray to the Lord to correct their son. He Lord Sriman nArAyaNA did listen to them. He had organised such a situation that made a dEvamAdhu by name sumangalai(who was performing the kainkaryam of fanning(sAmaram)the Lord) to appear as the most beautiful daughter of a local doctor in Tirumangai, in the name "kumudhavalli" (based on a "sApam" given by kapila muni for her laughing at an ugly face and
coarse voice of his disciple). Being an incarnate of dEvamAdhu, she was exquisitely pretty and could attract even a recluse. Our "new" king, Thirumangai mannan heard of her alluringly feminine beauty and wished to see her immediately. When he saw her, he was so much cativated by her darting glance at him; he fell head over heels for her and proposed to
marry her. Kumudhavalli, through her father, stipulated two prerequisites for him to qualify for marrying her. They were 1. Her husband should be a (or become a) Sri Vaishnava, wear ThirunaNkAppu on his forehead, and be a true bhaktA of Sriman NarayaNan. (Sriman Narayanan Himself spoke through her) and 2. Her husband should feed daily 1000 (ONE THOUSAND!) Vaishnava bhakthALs. Our mannan, being intoxicated by her looks, agreed after
Listening to her conditions immediately. They got married. So there he was. With a bright ThirumaNkAppu, thuLasi mAlai, he paid obeisance to Sriman NarayaNa. He started the annadhAnam for 1000 Sri Vaishnava bhaktALs. Slowly day by day, our mannan was transfering into a true, sincere devotee of the Lord and was getting tremendous satisfaction
from feeding Sri vaishNavALs daily. The enjoyment of Bhakti and BhagavatOttamAL sEvai were really experienced by Thirumangai mannan. While this was going on, the entire "gajAnA" (treasury) was spent on the annadhAnam kainkaryam. So he could not even send the "tax" which he was supposed to send to the chOzhA king every year. So, chOzhA sent a message
to pay the tax; but since our mannan could not pay and sent back a reply saying that he will not be able to pay. ChOzhA king got wild and sent soldiers to bring him. Our hero sent them back effortlessly with his fighting skills. ChOzhA king himself came with a heavy army and attacked Thirumangai mannan. Even though Thirumangai mannan's army is small, he
fought with tremendous skills and he won the battle. His horse went near the chOzhA king and he got down from the horse. He said: "Oh pErarasE(Big king!), I did not send the tax- I don't deny. But did I spend the money on trivial matters? It was spent for Sri VaishNavALs. How can I stop when your soldiers came to imprison me?". Our chOzhA king was hurt due to his defeat
and did not listen to all this. He said,"I made you a king. I gave you all these luxuries. Now you are not even grateful. and you fought with me, too" Our mannan got hurt very badly by that "grateful" statement. He was very much grateful to chOzhA king for all that he had done. So Thirumangai mannan threw away his sword and bowed down before the king and said "
Chozha mannA! what a word you spoke about me! Am I ungrateful? You forgot all kingdoms which I captured for you. Now I am standing in front of you. Go ahead and do waht you wish to do with me".

The chOzhA king melted and was moved. He hugged thirumangaimannan and said "Don't worry. I know you. But we should pay respects to pErarasar-chitRarsar relation and hence, you are to send your tax within 3 days. Till then, you will be imprisoned in the perumAL temple." There was no way he could get any money and hence, he begged the Lord to help him. The Lord appeared in his dream and suggested him to go to the banks of
River vEdhavathi near Kanchi where he could find a big treasure of Gold coins and jewels. He narrated the dream to the chOzhA king and thirumangaimannan and few ministers went to Kanchi, vEdhavathi river banks and did find a BIG TREASURE. Having heard this news, chOzhA king got up from the throne and whole heartedly bowed down to Thirumangai mannan for his bhakti and thee Lord's mercy on him. He said" I have done a great mistake of taxing a great bhakthA for a small tax issue and caused a hindrance to BhagavathALs' anna dhAna kankaryam. Please take all this treasure and let me send you back with full Royal honours. You need not
insult me by paying the tax any more!". The mannan came back with more wealth and with great honours. The citizns of Thirumangai were greatly thrilled by their king and kumudhavalli was proud of her husband.

They revived their kainkaryam for 1000 Sri VaishNanvALs more aggressively and attained their happiness and satisfaction as usual. Again, they found themselves left with no wealth for the kainkaryam. With a view to keeping the promise to his beloved wife, he had to resort to highway robbery from rich people. With the booty, he continued the kainkaryam. One day The Lord Sriya: patih Sriman NarayaNan and Vishnu pathni Sri MahAlakshmi appeared on the highway as a"just married" couple with lots and lots of jewels adorned them. Our mannan turned robber heard of a new rich young couple's coming on the Highway and immediately rushed with his adiyALs. He was very happy to see Them with so many jewels and thanked God(!) for that. They also had a bag containing more ornaments. Our anti-hero demanded Them to surrender all they had. They did precisely waht was instructed to Them; all with Their katAksham on our hero. They put all their ornaments on a piece of cloth. When Thirumangai mannan tried to lift the bundle of ornaments he just could not even move it a bit! He was shocked and perplexed as to why it was so difficult to move it! He went near the Lord Sri mahAvishNu and with a fierce look into His eyes, asked Him " What is the manthram you have for lifting this bundle?. Tell me, else, I will kill you both." He threatened Them with a sword. The Lord and the Piratti smiled with a gentle mandhahAsam. He asked Thirumangai mannan to come near Him AND WHISPERED IN HIS RIGHT EAR "OM NAMO NARAYANAYA". Having heard those EIGHT SYALLABLES (AshtAksharam) right from none other than SRIYA: PATHI HIMSELF, his mind, heart became PURE!. All his dirt had disappeared! He was simply electrified by the AshtAksharam. He got goose pimples all over his body; He got indescribable blissful happiness! He prostrated full at Their Lotus feet With eyes full of tears at their mercy to bless him despite his shortcomings and negative qualities. They blessed him with Their KARUNAI KATAAKSHAM. Then they disappeared. He realised His ThiruviLaiyAdal and the purpose of his birth and poured out tamizh pAsurams on the Lords if it comes from just opened dam ("madai thirandha veLLam pOl"). He looked at the sky and kept on crying ceaselessly for Their dayA on his lowly self. His
hands and the legs were shivering with tremendous amount of Bhakti and love for the Lord.

He came back galloping on his horse to narrate the ENTIRE EXCITING INCIDENT to the beloved kumudhavalli. Kumudhavalli, before he started even, asked him as to why his face looked so bright, serene, divine and beaming that day. He said "kumudhA, I have reached the purpose of my manushya janmam kumudhA. I have seen NARAYANA, kumudhA. (nAn kaNdu koNdEn NARAYANAnai). He was too excited to even complete his statements in a coherent manner. (After all, he has been initited by SarvEswaran Himself!). Kumudhavalli said, "Then, I have also reached the purpose of my deputation (by Lord through kapila muni)" and she narrated her story. Our Azhvaar became all the more blissful and happier to know that The Lord Sriya: pathih sent Kumudhavalli only to set him right from his wrong path and "ThadutthAkoLLified" him. He could not control his tears and sobbed heavily
at the Lord's mercy on him. Then he sang GREAT PASURAMS (on NARAYANAN's name) and visited almost about 80 temples (out of 108 Divya dEsams). He built the fort and kOttai (ramparts) of Srirangam without affecting ar spoiling ThoNdaradippodiAzhwAr's nandhavanam. ("pAdi pAdi paraparappAi thirinthAr") His compositions were : 1. Periya thirumozhi 2. Periya thirumadal 3. SiRiya thirumadal 4. Thiru nedunthANdakam (TNT) 5. Thiru urunthANdakam (TKT) 6. Thiru vezhuk kurrirukkai. His pAsurams are marvellous; excellent and have unsurpassed beauty in them. ParAsara Bhattar made use of his TNT to win over his counter part, a advaitin scholar in his arguments and later the advaitin became his disciple 'nam jeeyar'. Sri RanganAtha himself heard and was greatly pleased with that argument reenacted from Bhattar quoting from TNT (Please read excellent posts of Sri V. SadagOpan on TNT and TKT during Feb 96 from Bhakti Archives - a real feast to each one of you).

Thirumangai Ahvaz (a KING, a person who enjoyed the bhOgams so much) walked all the way and VISITED almost all temples. He is simply GREAT, my dearest brothers and sisters. He is JUST S U P E R B Ahvaz. His wordings Are his outpourings straight from his heart?


The first pasuram composed in which he concedes to the sins that he has committed so far and having realized it, surrendered to the feet of Narayana:

vAdinEn vAdi varundhinEn manatthaal/
perun thuyaridum idumbaiyil piRanNdhu/
koodinEn koodi iLaiyavar thammOdu/
avar tharum kalaviyE karudhi/
OdinEn Odi uyvadhOr poruLaal/
uNarvenum perumpadhan therindhu/
naadinEn nAdi nadi nAn kaNdukoNdEn/
nArAyaNA vennum nAmam.
]


I have no hesitation to concede that whatever has been said in this travelogue is the collection of information as found in various web sites devoted for divyadesams. My intention is that whoever reads this travelogue will get first hand information on these divyadesams and when they do visit the shrines, they will have rich knowledge and the sthalapuranams. They will enjoy their pilgrimage and get the satisfaction that they have fulfilled their desire. The Bhatachariar of all these divyadesams are not in the habit of narrating the significant of the temples except telling the names of the deities and the thayar. This has made me to search for the details in the web sites and reduce them into this travelogue. If this has come out good, all the credit goes to the authors of those web sites and not to me.

I will be failing in my duty if a mention is not made here about the yeoman service being rendered by one Sri Uppiliappan Sadogopachariar and his family, who are staunch followers and disciples of Ahobila Mutt for upkeep of Vaishnavism. Hundreds of E books have been published on various subjects in Vaishnavism and they are made available to everyone for free downloading. I have taken little information from their portal on these divyadesams and my deep sense of gratitude is conveyed through these columns. The first set of 108 e-books were created and released as a SamarpaNam to our most revered AchAryan Srimath Azhagiya Singar by the Sundarasimham team on the occasion of His SathAbishEkam Celebrations at Srirangam during November 2006. The 108 SrI Sookthis prepared especially for the SathAbhishEkam celebrations are available now under the e-books section of: www.sundarasimham.org This second set of series of 108 e-books were dedicated to the Divine Consort of Lord nrUsimhAm, Ahobilavalli ThAyAr and were released during this Sarvajith year under the title of Ahobilavalli. These Ahobilavalli series e-books have been housed at the web site: www.ahobilavalli.org An additional set of 108 e-books dedicated to Lord SrI HayagrIvan were planned and are being released under the title of Srihayagrivan. These Srihayagrivan series can be accessed at: www.srihayagrivan.org The likhitha kaimkaryam continues and we are releasing a special series of e-books on the SrI Lakshmi Sahasram in praise of SrI Padhmavathi ThAyAr of Thiruchanoor composed by SrI Venkatdhvari Kavi comprising of 25 stabakams. These are accompanied by most beautiful art work and graphics to enhance the divine experience. These special e-book series can be accessed at: www.alamelumanga.org
Having completed our pilgrimage to the divyadesams in Thirunangoor and the time was at our disposal, we visited Parimala Ranganathar temple at Mayiladuthurai, Srinivasa Perumal at Vanmutti, Govindaraja Perumal at Chidambaram and Denathan perumal at Thirivehemdipuram.
PARIMALA RANGANATHAR ( DIVYADESAM )
History:
Fasting on Ekadasi day is very devotionally followed in many places in India, a tradition followed through centuries both by kings and the common men and women. It is a fasting submitted to Lord Narayana chanting his glory in silence and it is the hope that the reward would be very rich. After the New Moon or Full Moon day, the eleventh day is Ekadasi meaning 11th day. King Ambarisha was following this Ekadasi fasting very sincerely. He was observing the 100th such fasting and there were elaborate arrangements for the Pujas in this connection. While people on earth were happy about the King’s observation of the fasting, which gave them a peaceful and happy life, the subjects of the celestial world were annoyed that king Ambarisha may be awarded even the rulership of their world too for his sincere fasting. The power of the fasting is such even now, if devotionally undertaken as per prescribed rules.
To protect themselves from the threat of losing their position and command and respect,. the Devas, the subjects of the celestial world approached Sage Durvasa to prevent the fasting of the King. As per rules, after complete fasting on the Ekadasi Day, the devotee should eat on the next day called Dwadasi (12th day) before a fixed time. The fasting would be considered complete only if this is done on the Dwadasi day. Failing would result in the loss of effects of the fasting. When the king was about to have his food on the Dwadasi day, sage Durvasa called on him. The king did not know the design of the sage. Receiving the sage with all respect due to him, King Ambarisha requested him to dine with him. The sage consented and said that he would be back after a dip in the river and asked him to wait till then. The intention of the sage was that if he returned late, the king could not complete the fasting by eating within the time and that he would lose the profit of the fasting. Only a little time was left to complete the fasting. Durvasa did not return. The king was hesitant to have his food, as he was afraid of the curse of Durvasa known for his hot temperament. The king consulted the pandits how to go ahead with the issue, as he was keen not to lose the fasting effect and also escape the fury of the sage in the meantime. They suggested that the King consumes a spoon of water with Tulsi leaf completing the fast and wait for the sage to dine with him. The sage understood the plan by his powers and flew into passion. The sage, in his fury, created a devil and ordered it to kill the king. King Ambarishan ran to the temple and surrendered at the feet of Parimalaranganatha Perumal for protection from the devil. The Lord drove the devil. Sage Durvasa, conceding his defeat apologized to the Lord. His pride disappeared. After the completion of the 100th fasting the Lord asked the King what he wanted. The King sought the blessing of the Perumal for all the devotees calling on him and makes them ever happy. He asked nothing for him.
Reputation:
Belonging to the 108 Divyadesa temples, this is one with a five-tier tower measuring 350 feet long and 230 feet wide. The Chandra Pushkarani spring is in front of the temple. Planet Moon had a dip in the spring and got relieved of his curse. Chandra the moon worships the face of the Lord; Sun the feet and the naval Brahma. Cauvery worships the head; Ganga, King Ambarisha and Yama the lord of death worship the feet of the Lord here. Cauvery is considered more holy in this place than Ganga.

Vanamutti Perumal Koil

This temple is situated very near to Mayiladuthurai in place called as’’’’ Kozhikutti, on Chazhampettai Post, which also leads to Kumbakonam. It is advised to visit this temple during the day light as the road is very narrow and there are no street lights and goes through agricultural lands. The deity is Srinivasa Perumal, made out of Atthi Maram to the height of 14 feet. Magnificent statue so beautifully carved that you will not like to leave your eyes from the perumal.
Sthalapuranam
Many years ago, a king got affected with a chronic skin disease. When all his efforts for recovery failed, he prayed to Lord Vishnu. The Lord appeared before him and told to travel along the banks of the Cauvery where Lord Margasagayeswarar (Lord Siva) would guide him to reach a holy place. There the disease will be cured and have the privilege of witnessing the VISHWAROOPA DARSHAN OF THE LORD. The Lord also told him that the skin disease which he got due to Hathi Dosham would be totally cured, if he takes bath in the Holy Viswaroopa Pushkarani for 48 days. He witnessed Viswaroopa Darshan of Lord in the fig tree. The disease was cured and the place was called KODIHATHI VIMOCHANAPURAM now known as Kozhikutti. The king became sage Pippalar. A Chola King sought the help and advice of sage Pippalar for coming out of the sins committed during war times. Pippalar advised him to worship Lord Sri Srinivasa Perumal and take dip in the Pushkarani for 48 days. He witnessed Lord Sri Srinivasa Perumal in the Fig Tree. He was astonished by the beauty of Lord Sri Srinivasa Perumal. The king with the help of great sculptors carved the Lord’s form in a single Athi Tree and constructed a beautiful temple with 7 Praharams.

The famous “Pippalar Maharishi Theertham” where a holy dip is claimed to cure skin diseases is located here. There is a Pippalar Sannathi in the Maragasgayeswarar temple at Moovalur.
There is a beautiful shrine for Lord Anjaneya. The unique feature of this Lord Anjaneyar is that the tail is coiled with a bell which lies over the head of Anjaneyar. Here Anjaneyar is called Sapthaswara Anjaneyar since Seven Music notes are produced (Sa re ga ma pa dha nee.) when it is touched in different places. Many musicians used to visit the temple regularly. Musicians and dancers who lit the Ghee lamp is assured of success in their profession
Next day morning we left early in order to visit the Govindaraja perumal at Chidambaram and Devanatha perumal at Tiruvehendipuram- both are among the 108 divyadesams.








Govindaraja Perumal at Chidambaram

Chidambaram is one another place where you can have the darshan of both Vishnu and Siva in the same Praharams- of course in different sannidhi. As Lord Narayana poses as Nila Thingal Thundan perumal having inside the Ekambareswar temple premises in Kanchipuram, here at Chidambaram one of the very big Shiva temple he poses as Govindarajan near Lord Natarajar Sannadhi. The Mountain "Chitra Kooda Malai" was in North India near the Prayagai. In this very place only Lord Rama stayed while he was sent to the forest and left his pregnent wife Sita Devi. While he came searching for his wife who was taken away by Ravana, Lord Rama found this place in South India and compared it's beauty to Chitra Kooda in North India. Thus it got its name. As this place largely represents Sri Rama, Kulashekara Alwar considers Govinda rajan as Sri Kalyana Rama and composed all his 11 Paasurams posing Govindarajan as Sri Rama only.
Thirumangai alwar found Govindarajan to be still like a portrait or picture enchanting himself in the stunning dance of Lord Nataraja here at Ponnambalam - Chidambaram. So among the 32 Paasurams he composed, the first 10 are of the ("Shankarabaranam Ragam") "Raga: Shankarabaranam" the favorite raga of Lord Shiva. It's been said that the 3000 Brahmins of Thinai, Paanini, Padanjali and Vyakrapadha Maharishi had the vision of Lord Shiva's dance along with Lord Govindaraja and got both the lords blessings. As Parashakti (wife of Lord Shiva) danced with Lord Shiva transforming her as Thillai kaali, this place is known as Thillai Nagar.
Pundarekatchan means Vishnu, so his wife is called Pundaregavalli and the Pushkarani pundarega Pushkarani. As the perumal Govindarajan lays still and soft relishing the dance the Vimaanam is called "Sathivega Vimaanam" where Sathvigam literally means soft nature. Moolavar has Sangu and Chakaram in his hands. He's attended by his wives Periya Piratti, Bhoomi piratti and Neela Devi at his feet. The celestial persons i.e. devas surround him. And he is in the sleeping posture.
It's been said that while repairing the Nataraja temple, Aanapaya chozan also known as Second Kulothunga ordered his men to remove Govindaraja's idol and throw it into the sea. Late the great social reformer Aacharya Ramanuja took great effort in finding Govindaraja under the sea and found him and replaced him in his original place.
During the life time of Alwars, Govindaraja's Poojas was done by the thillai Brahmains i.e. Shaivities only. But during 1539 A.D, king Krishnadevaraya's brother Aachudharayar employed Bhatacharyas (Priests following Vaishnavam) and made them to render pooja's under the Vyganasa Aagamam (One type of rites and rituals).
I pray that I am wrong, but the fact as conveyed to me is that Samrokshanam of Govindaraja perumal sannidhi and the vimanam has not been performed for more than a century and the dikshadars doesn’t encourage this to happen despite efforts made by all our religious heads.




Devanathan Perumal at Thiruvahindipuram


In the last leg of our pilgrimage, we visited the Devanathan perumal koil at Thirivehemdipuram, situated at the 6th kilometer on the western side of Cuddalore Town. You will have to cross the railway gate and proceed straight to the temple.

Sthalapuranams

The Devas, considered to belong to the divine community in the celestial world became arrogant and proud because of the high position they were enjoying but were defeated by the demons and deprived of their positions. They came to Oushadachalam-Thiruvandipuram and appealed to Lord Narayana to help them and the Lord conceded. But Shiva stood on the Demons’ side and severely attacked the Devas. Lord Narayana sent his weapon the Chakra the wheel and killed the demons. Finally all surrendered to Lord Narayana. He gave darshan to all as Narayana, Shiva and Brahmma. As He was the Commander of the Devas, he came to be known as Devanathan. Knowing that the Lord intended to be present their, Adiseshan built town that came to be known as Thiru-Ahindee-puram meaning Adiseshapura.

Adiseshan, the snake bed of the Lord, constructed Thiruvahindipuram. Brahmma performed penance in the nearby hill and came to be known as Brahmmachalam. The Sanskrit Achalam means hill. The place and temple have the hymns of Thirumangai AzhwAr. Shiva, Indiran, Bhooma Devi, sage Bruhu, Sage Markandeya performed penance here. Noted Vaishnava Aacharya Nikamanda Mahadesikan had praised the Lord of Thiruvahindipuram in his hymns. The Garuda River brought by Garuda flows nearby. The water is reddish in colour due to a curse of a Rishi, it is said. As the river flows north south, it has the effect of a dip in river Ganga itself.

Sri Vedanta Desikan:
After reaching Thiruvendipuram, Swamy Desikan wanted to chant the Garuda mantra taught to him by his Guru AppuLLAr. Desikan climbed the small hill named Oushadagiri opposite to Narasimhan Sannidhi in Thiruvendipuram and began recitation of the mantra while meditating on the Lord. For many days, without food or sleep, he chanted the Garuda manthram to receive the blessings of the divine bird Garuda on which Sriman Narayana travels. It is said in the scriptures that Garudan is Veda Swaroop. . Garuda was pleased with the devotion of Swamy Desikan and he appeared before him. He blessed him with Sri HayagrIva manthram and instructed him to meditate on the Lord while chanting the HayagrIva mantra continuously in order to receive the blessings of Sri HayagrIva. Then Lord Hayagreeva appeared before Desikan and blessed him with the nectar flowing from His own mouth. Lord Hayagreeva took a seat on Swami Desikan's tongue tip as prayed for by Swami Desikan. Lord Hayagreeva also gave an idol of Himself for Swamy Desikan's daily worship. This idol or Vigraham is still preserved in the Devanathan temple in ThiruvahIndhrapuram.
Swami Desikan composed the famous Hayagreeva stotram, Devanayaka Panchaasath in Sanskrit and Achyutha Satakam in Prakrutham and Mumanikovai and Nava mani maalai in Tamil.


Hayagrivar sanndahi is situated on a small hill top and where Vedanta Desikar did penace and the tree under which he did the penace could be seen even today.
He authored a number of hymns from Thiruvahindipuram only. His addressing the Lord was in Madhura Bakthi style (considering the Lord as the Lover). He also sculpted his own idol, which can be seen even today.
Aarukaala Puja (6 times Puja) is followed in the temple in accordance with the Vaishnava Agamas. Those who are unable to visit Tirupathi will have equal benefit if they come to the shrine here.
We reached Chennai very safely with the grace of Narayana. I will be the happiest man if anyone reading this travelogue should decide to visit all these shrines and they can be rest assured that the choicest divine blessings of Lord Narayana will be showered on them.
OM NAMO NARAYANAYA NAMAHA