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Thiru Adhanur near Kumbakonam is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Lord Vishnu . Andalakkun ayyan temple here is one of the Vaishnava navagraha parihara sthalams around Kumbakonam. It is a Guru parihara sthalam. The main deity in this temple is Andalakkumayyan. He is present here facing East in Kidantha Kolam and Bujanga sayanam. He has been worshipped here by Brighu Maharishi, Kamadhenu, thirumangai Azhwar and Agni. His consort here is Ranganayaki Thayar also known as Kamalasini .The utsavar is Ranganathar. According to legend , there was an affluent devotee who also wished to partake in religious endeavour of serving Lord Ranganathar . Some of those who worked under him exploited his bhakti to their advantage and swindled all his money , making him penniless . Pleased with his devotion , Vishnu appeared in his dream and promised to help him out of the situation. He instructed the devotee to bring along a marakkal and his workers, who cheated him, to the...

Chidambaram is famous for its Lord Natarajar temple and it’s one of the pancha Sabha , known as kanaga Sabhai . This temple ranks among the 108 Divyadesams of Lord Perumal . The Temple follows Vaikanasa Agamam . As Lord Narayana poses as Nila Thingal Thundan Perumal having inside the Ekambareswar temple premises in Kanchipuram , here at Chidambaram Thillai Nataraja Temple , he poses as Govindaraja Perumal near Lord Natarajar Sannadhi . Presiding Deity is called as Govindaraja Perumal . Govindaraja Perumal’s shrine faces east , while Nataraja’s shrine faces south . Lord Govindaraja is in a separate temple with his flag post in the temple known as Chitra Sabha. Lord Vishnu’s shrine has its own circumambulatory passage and a set of towers . Standing in the front mandapam , the devotees can have the joint darshan of Lord Nataraja , Lord Govindaraja and Lord Brahmma on his naval chord simultaneously . This Shiva – Vishnu – Brahma darshan is available for the devotees in this temple only . L...

Valvil Ramar Kovil at Thiru Pullaboothangudi is one of the 108 Divya desams and one of the Vaishnava Navagraha Parihara kshetrams around Kumbakonam. The Moolavar is Valvilraman and the Utsavar is Raman at this temple. The thayar or the Lord’s consort at this temple is Hemambujavalli. The holy water is Jatayu theertham. The vimanam is Shobana Vimanam. He is facing East and present in Kidantha kolam or a lying posture. This divyadesam is situated in Tanjore district Tamil Nadu . 3 miles away from Swami Malai (where another famous temple for Lord Muruga is found) . Lord Rama takes rest after doing the final rituals for Jatayu (a bird that lost life by trying to rescue Goddess Seetha from Lanka King Ravana) . He gives dharshan to his devotees in that Thirukolam in this place . Here the Lord Valvil Raman , after Goddess Seetha is lost is holding only his Kothandam , the Bow in this sthalam . This is the only support he has inspite of loosing his wife. Bhumidevi , who helped Lord Rama in the...

Kolavalvil Ramar Temple is a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu located 19 km away from Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India on the Kumbakonam-Chennai highway . It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Kola Valvill Ramar and his consort Lakshmi as Maragathavalli . The great King Bali, was donating 3 steps to Lord Vamana (who was in the guise of a brahmana boy) , Shukra , King Bali’s guru , identified that the dwarf brahmana was none than the Lord Vishnu and instructed King Bali to not donate. Inspite of that instruction , King Bali was greatly happy to donate to the Lord Himself . Hence , Shukra , immediately took a from of a small bee , blocks the kettle mouth (Kamandalam) of King Bali while donating 3 steps . At that time , Lord Vamana pierces the bee’s eye with His darbha (kusha grass), so that the donating process is completed (by letting the water fall three times) . For this act of the Lord , S...

This temple is a cluster of 3 temples together making a divyadeshams . 1. Manikundra Perumal 2. Nela Megha Perumal 3. Sri Narasimhar The 3 temples are near each other and is known as Thanjai Mamani koil . Mangalasasanam was done by Thirumangai alwar, Nammalwar and Bhoodhathalwar. In ancient days this place was called as Manikundram. Moolavar : Sri Manikundra Perumal Thayar    : Sri Ambujavalli Some of the important features of this temple are…. The temple was built like a madakoil , little above the ground level . It was told that this temple was built on a small hill ( Kundru). Dwajasthambam, Palipedam and Garudalwar are immediately after the entrance arch . The sanctum sanctorum consists of Sanctum , Antarala and arthamandapam. Moolavar Sri Manikundra Perumal is in sitting posture with Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi . Thayar Ambujavalli is facing east in a separate sannadhi with a small vimana . Garudalwar and  Anjaneyar are at the entrance of the sanctum arthamandapa...

Srirangam is also known as Bhoologa Vaikundam . Here the Lord Vishnu is known as Sriranganathar . This is the first and foremost of all the divyadeshams comes under Cholanadu divyadeshams . From Trichy it is 8 kms . It is the largest temple in Asia and occupies about 156 acres and has the highest gopuram too . Srirangam is surrounded by river Cauvery and kollidam is a sacred place for all Vaisnavites . The Lord here is Sriranganathar in a sleeping posture ( Ananda sayanam ) . The temple has 7 praharas ,4 praharas within the temple complex and 3 outside occupied by shops and houses . This massive complex have 21 gopurams and 53 upasannidhis . Sriranganathar is in ananda sayanam on a five headed Adiseshan , stretching his leg in the east direction and watching demon King Yaman . The Lords right hand is kept under his under as a pillow and his left hands on his lap pointing his feet , which denotes all souls gets terminated in his feet finally . Sthalapuranam as per legends say Lord Brahm...

Located about 8kms West of Nagapattinam, off the Nagapattinam- Thiruvarur Highway, is Damodara Narayanan Divya Desam in Thiru Kannangudi, which is also part of the Pancha Krishna Kshetram. This is the final point of Krishnaranya Kshetram, which begins at Naachiyar Koil in Thiru Naraiyur and passes through Thiru Cherai, Kannamangai and Kannapuram. Sage Vashishta and Lord Krishna The story goes that, Lord Krishna, pleased with Vashishta’s penance, appeared before the sage in the form of a kid. While the Sage was immersed in thoughts of the Lord, Kannan picked up the butter, swallowed it in one go and gave Vashishta the run. With Vashishta giving him a chase, young Kannan runs through the Krishnaranya Kshetram until he came upon the rishis, who were undergoing penance here. Thrilled to see Kannan come their way, the rishis blocked him. Explaining his hurry, Kannan wanted them to ask for one wish. By this time, Vashishta too had caught up with the Lord and he fell at his feet. The rishis w...

Kovil means temple and Adi means old or first and hence the Koviladi. The Moolavar is Appakudathan and the Urchavar is Appala Ranganathar. His Consort (Thayar) is known by the names Indira Devi and Kamalavalli. The sthala vriksham is Purasa tree or Vilva maram. The holy water or theertham is Indira Pushkarni or Mrityu Vinasini Theertham. Periazhwar, Tirumazhisai Azhwar and Tirumangai Azhwar have sung in praise of the Lord here. The lord faces the west and is in the lying down posture with his hand on the appa kudam raised to bless King Ubarishravas  who is seated below. Bhumadevi thayar is found kneeling  near his foot .The utsava vigraham has a balakrishnan and people pray here for begetting children . Appam is prepared as a daily offering to the deity here. There is a separate shrine for Kamalavalli Thaayar The thayar is in an east facing sanctum which is in the first praharam itself.. There are also shrines for Ganesha, Nammazhwar, Ramanujar, Lakshmi Narayanar and Venugopal...

This temple is one of the Cholanadu divyadeshams near Thiruvayaru in Thanjavur . Moolavar is Hara saabha vimochana Perumal in standing posture . Thayar Kamalavalli and Thirumangai alwar has sung praising this Lord The Lord gave dharshan to Lord Brahma Lord Shiva and King Mahabali . As per Hindu legend , Brahma, the Lord of creation and Lord Shiva , the god of destruction , had originally five heads . Parvathi , the wife of Lord Shiva once got confused and performed Patha pooja (ablution of feet, considered an act of respect) to Lord Brahma instead of Shiva . Shiva got enraged and cut off one of the heads of Lord Brahma . The cut head got stuck in his hand of Shiva on account of a curse of Brahma . To get rid off this sin , Lord Shiva worshipped Lord Vishnu at Thirukarambanur as Bhikshadanar , where a part of his sin was relieved . He got his curse fully relieved after visiting Lord Vishnu at Thirukandiyur and taking a holy dip in the temple tank , Kama...

This is a Cholanadu divyadeshams in Trichy and near to Srirangam .This place is also known as Thirukarambanoor . Moolavar name is Purushothamar and Thayar is Poorvadevi . Plantain tree being the sthalam vritcham . As per mythological story , to kill Brahma’s ego Lord Shiva had plugged off his fifth head . As he removed one head from Brahma Lord Shiva got a Brahmahati Dosha and the skull of the Brahma’s head got attached to Shiva’s hand .Lord Shiva came in the form of beggar and Sri Maha Laxmi offered food for that beggar. As Maha Laxmi offered a food on the skull , Shiva got cured from his Dosha in this place . Lord Brahma did Thirumanjanam ( a pooja ritual ) to Lord Vishnu who was in the form of kadamba tree . Lords Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu also grace from their respective shrines with their consorts. This is the only temple where all the three Lords grace devotees together.  Thirumangai alwar has sung praising this Lord .

This temple is 22 kms from Trichy and it’s one among the Cholanadu divyadeshams . Moolavar is Sundaraja Perumal Thayar name is Sundaravalli . Once Lord Brahma ( the creator) thought that he is the sole reason for the world living beings being beautiful. Lord Vishnu advised to  Lord Brahma but still his ego didn’t go. So Lord Vishnu cursed him to go to earth and take a birth of a normal human being. Lord Brahma who born as a human at earth went to many temples and worshipped to get rid of his curse. At that time he saw a very handsome man who crossed him. Lord Brahma thought that he never saw such a beauty. Later he realized that man was none other than Lord Vishnu, who came down to show him that the beauty is not stable and ego will demolish one’s life. As Lord Vishnu showed mercy on Brahma and showed his full form at this place, it is called as Anbil (Anbu means love in Tamil). As per Hindu legend, sage Suthaba was doing penance at this place. He had to powers to reside both in wa...

Nathan Kovil or Thiru Nandipura Vinnagaram Temple in Nathan Kovil, a village in the outskirts of Kumbakonam . This is one among the 40 Cholanadu divyadeshams . Moolavar is Jaganatha Perumal in sitting posture. Thayar Shenbhagavalli . Thirumangai alwar has sung praising this Lord. Nandi, the sacred bull of Shiva , is believed to have got his curses relieved by worshipping Lord Vishnu here and hence the place is called Nandipuram. All the shrines and water bodies associated with the temple are named after Nandi . Shrines in the temple As per Hindu legend , Nandi , the sacred bull of Shiva , did not respect the Dwarapalakas, the gatekeepers of Vishnu . They cursed Nandi that his body would suffer oppressive heat . Nandi informed it to his lord Shiva, who advised him to do penance in Shenbakaranyam ( also called Nadhivanam ), a forest near modern-day Kumbakonam . It is the place where Lakshmi , the consort of Vishnu was doing penance to get ...

This temple is located in Kumbakonam and along the coast of Cauvery. It’s one among the Pancha ranga sthethram . It’s one among the Cholanadu divyadeshams . The Moolavar of this temple is Sri Sarangapani. Aara Amudhan, Abayaryaapthamiruthan and Utthanasayi are the other names of Moolavar. Prathyaksham for Hema Maharishi. Moolavar is in Udhyoga sayana posture (ie) he appears as though is getting up from sleeping position. Thayaar: Sri Komalavalli Thayar. Also called as “Padi Thanda Pathini” ie thayaar would never (leave out) or leave away from her chamber. She has her own seperate sannadhi in this temple. Mangalasasanam: Sri Aandal – 1 Paasuram. Periyalwar – 3 Paasurams. Thirumizhisai Alwar – 7 Paasurams. Boothatalwar – 2 Paasurams. Peiyalwar – 2 Paasurams. Nammalwar – 11 Paasurams. Thirumangai – 25 Paasurams. Total – 51 Paasurams. Pushkarani: Hema Pushkarani (Potramarai Kulam). Cauvery Nadhi. Arasalaaru. Vimanam: Vaidega Vimaanam. As per Hindu legend, the main deity, Lord...

This temple is 7kms from Srirangam and it is also one of the divyadesham (Cholanadu) . It’s the birth place of Thiru Parthanpalli alwar . The only temple Thayar facing North . The moolavar name is Azhaghiya manavalan Thayar name is kamavalli Thirumangai alwar and Kulasekara alwar has sung praising this Lord. The story The Chozha King Nanda Chozhan had been childless. Pleased with his prayers , Lord Ranganathar asked Goddess Lakshmi to be born as the King’s daughter at Uraiyur . Being born out of the Lotus , the Goddess here is called Kamalavalli Nachiyar [Kamala means Lotus] . As years went by , Kamalavalli grew into a beautiful young girl. One day while she was out with her friends , her eyes fell on a handsome young man and instantly she fell in love with him. The man was none other than Lord Ranganathar of Srirangam . King Nanda Chozhan was in a fix as his daughter had fallen in love with the man , who had blessed the king with the child . Once again , the Lord accepted the king’s p...

Pundarikaksha perumal This is one among the cholanadu divyadesham , its said to be older than Srirangam and is a moksha sthalam , so those who visits Pundarikaksha perumal once in their life time will attain moksha . Periyalwar and Thirumangai alwar has sung praising this Lord .The Thayar name is Goddess Senbagavalli . Location : its 20kms from Srirangam ,Trichy Sthalapuranam says that once King Sibbi (fore father of lord Rama ) comes with his army to kill the Lanka King Ravana , a white pig distracts him and his armies. Annoyed by this the King orders His army men to kill the pig first. The pig hides in 5 places and finally enters into a anthill in which Markandeya Maharishi was in deep penance. Markandeya Maharishi disturbed by this pig  asks King Sibbi to pray Lord Vishnu . A invisible voice is then heard saying the time to kill Ravana has not come yet and asks King Sibbi to build a Vishnu temple over there and Goddess Lakshmi ( as Goddess Lakshmi was also in penance w...

It’s one of the Cholanadu divyadeshams. Thiru Kannamangai Bhaktavatsalam Divya Desam is located about 25kms South of Thirucherai Divya Desam on the Kumbakonam -Thiruvarur road between two rivers – OdamPokki in the South and Virutha Cauvery in the North. One can take a bus from Kumbakonam via Tirucherai. One can also reach Kannamangai from Thiruvarur (about 7 kms West of Thiruvarur). From Mayavaram, one can take the Tiruvarur road to reach Thiru Kannamangai . Sthalapuranam Goddess Lakshmi performed penance here to attain the Lord. It is believed that Thirupaarkadal Lord called in his security Vishwakshena and asked him to suggest a good day for their wedding. Legend has it that all the Devas congregated here to witness the wedding. They were so overwhelmed on seeing the Lord and Goddess Lakshmi together that they took the form of bees and decided to stay here ever after. To this day, one can find the bees in the Thaayar Sannidhi – a unique feature of this Divya Desam. Krishna Mangala Ks...