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                        Yoga Narasimhar                            Yoga Narasimhar Amirthavalli Thayar                         Yoga Anjineyar  Thirukadigai or Sholingur is a village in Vellore district of Tamilnadu. The Lord here is Sri Narasimhar in Yoga posture . It is also known as kadikachalam. It is believed that Moksha is certain for those who stays for just 1 kadigai (24 minutes) at this place. Saptarishis desirous of having darshan of Narisimha performed tapas here and were rewarded moksha within one kadigai (24 minutes). Khatikachalam – Thirukadigai (Sholingur) is one of the 108 Divya Desams of Lord Vishnu situated in Sholingur, near Arakonam . This sacred temple of historical importance comprises three shrines two at the hilltop and one at th...

Sri Neervannaperumal Temple, Thiruneermalai is one among the 108 Divyadesams found in Chennai near Tambaram (Thondai Nadu). In this Sthalam, the Perumal is found in various positions as Nindraan, Irunthaan, Kidanthaan and Nadanthaan Thirukkolam. This Sthalam is situated in Tamil Nadu, Chengulpet District. We can reach the temple by travelling around 4 Kms from Pallavaram Railway Station, which is about 7 Kms from Chennai. This Thiruneermalai Kshetram is also called as “Thoyagiri Kshetram” and also as “Thothadri”. Thoya means “Water” and Adhiri means “Mountain” (malai). Since the mountain is surrounded by water, this sthalam is named as “Thiru Neermalai”. Specials : The Perumal shows his 4 sevas in this temple (ie) – Nindra, Iruntha, Kidantha and Nadantha Thirukkolmas. It is said that once Thirumangai Alwar came here to get the Dharshan of the Perumal. At that time, the mountain was fully surrounded by water and he waited for six months to worship the Perumal. After all the wat...

This place is 55 kms from chennai and 5kms north of crocodile bank . This is one among the Thondanadu divyadeshams and near to Sthala sayana Perumal temple. As per legends Kaalava Maharishi did deep penance worshipping Lord Vishnu . Lord Vishnu gave dharshan to him in this place and married his 360 daughters each day one in a year hence the urtsavar is known as NITYA KALYANA PERUMAL . This place is also called Nithya Kalyana Puri, Sri Puri and Varaaha Puri. As the Lord merged 360 girls into one and appeared with the Goddess on his left on the last day, this place is called Thiru- Idanthai (Thiru-Goddess, Idanthai-left side), which in course of time became ThiruVidanthai. Those having problems in getting married offer garlands to this temple priests he prays to this Lord and gives them the garland , wearing this garland they have to come around the Perumal along with Goddess Komalavalli and Andal sannidhi 9 times , doing this ritual is believed that they will get married soon . The main...

This temple is about 55 kms from Chennai in Mahabalipuram. This temple is one among the 22 Thondanadu divyadeshams . It is a small temple with 2 major shrines Lord Sthala sayana Perumal and Goddess Nilamangai Thayar .There is a seperate shrine for Lord Narasimhar also . It is the avatara sthalam of Boodathalwar . Both Boodathalwar and Thirumangai alwar has sung praising this Lord . It is believed as most of the temples in Mahabalipuram has been submerged in sea , this temple is built within the city . Sthalapuranam : Once Pundarika Maharishi collected 1000 lotuses from a pond and he desired to dedicate these lotuses on to the feet of Lord Vishnu on the way he tried to drained out the ocean water with his hands and became tired and prayed to Lord Vishnu without knowing how to reach him . Lord Vishnu disguised as a old man comes and says he is hungry , keeping the lotus aside Pundarika Maharishi goes to fetch food for the old man . On his arrival with food he sees the ocean drained out L...

Thiru Ninravur(திருநின்றவூர்)- Sri Bakthavatsala Perumal Sri Baktavatsala Perumal temple is in the suburbs of Chennai, in a small town called Thiruninravur. It is one among the 108 divyadesams. The place derives its name from Goddess Mahalakshmi – Thiru means Lakshmi and Ninravur is the place where she stands forever. The moolavar of this temple is Sri Baktavatsala Perumal and the Goddess lakshmi here is known as ‘Ennai Petra Thayar’ According to the legend, Lord Samudrarajan (King of the Ocean) was longing for a child and his desire was that Goddess Mahalakshmi should be born as his daughter. He prayed to her for many years after which the Goddess appeared before him and granted his wish. One day, he found a beautiful girl child in the middle of a lotus flower in the ocean. Thanking the Goddess Lakshmi he exclaimed ” Ennai Petra Thaaye” (Mother who gave birth to me ) naming the child as Ennai Petra Thaayar. The little girl grew up into a beautiful young lady and it was time to get her...

This sthalam is situated in Triplicane, Chennai , Tamil Nadu . This Kshetram is considered to be more divine in Thondai Naadu divyadesham temples . Specials : The great seven Munis (Saptha Rishis) – Brighu , Atthiri , Mareeshi , Markandeyar, Sumathi , Jaabali and Saptharomar performed Tapas (thavam) here and as a result of this , the sthalam is also called as ” Brindaranyasthalam “. This sthalam is also known as ” Pancha Veerathalam”. Lord Vishnu appeared here as ” Sri Parthasarathy ” for King Thondaimaan . The Lord is installed by Vyasar and Devoted by Aathreyar . Thirumazhisai Alwar met first Three Alwars (Poigai, Pei and Bhutham) in this sthalam. The Deities : The Moolavar of this sthalam is Sri Venkata Krishnan . Along with Rukmani Piratiyar , he holds sword in one hand , Varadha Muthirai on the other hand and his brother Balaraman on his right , Sathaki on his left , son Prathyumnan , Grand son Aniruthan are also found near the Moolavar. This is one of the Sthalam where the Peruma...

                  Entrance of the temple                            Thiruputkuzhi                         Sri Andal Sannidhi                Ulpragharam of the temple  It’s one of the Thondanadu divyadeshams. This temple is 75 kms from chennai on the chennai ‐ vellore highway . The Lord Vishnu here is known as Vijaya raghava Perumal .Thirumangai alwar has sung song on this Perumal. Though this temple is near Kanchipuram we dint have time and we went separately to this temple and Sri Narasingapuram near by , will be writing in my future post . It’s a Jatayu moksha sthalam. Sthalapuranam When Rama and Lakshmana were searching for Seetha after Seetha was abducted by Ravana the Jatayu (a huge eagle ) fought against Ravana t...

This temple is located on the Chennai to thirupathi highway . The temple is one among the 108 divya desams of vaishnavas and a part of tondai naadu divyadesams. Amavasya days are believed to be auspicious for visiting this temple . People flock on Amavasai day (new moon)to give Sradham (a ritual done for dead ancestors) to this temple . The presiding deity Veera raghava perumal is in a reclining position in the temple. The lord’s right hand is positioned on Salihothra Munivar’s head while the left hand is in the Gnana Mudra position indicating the teaching of the four Vedas to the Lord Brahma. A sage named Salihotra had his hermitage in this place. He used to grind rice for a living and offered half of the flour to the seekers and used to consume the rest himself. He was an ardent devotee of Vishnu. To test his devotion, Vishnu appeared as a guest to him one day. He requested Salihotra to offer him food, which the sage did. The guest felt hungry and requested the sage to offer more foo...

                     Azhaghiya singar                        inside the temple    This temple is one of Thondanadu divyadesham in Kanchipuram near Sri Astabhujakarathan Perumal temple . Vel means wish irukai means seat . Since Lord Vishnu himself desired to sit in this place to help his devotees he is named as Thiruvellukai . Brighu Maharishi wished to see Lord Vishnu in Narasimhar avatar as he gave dharshan to Prahlad to fulfill his wish Lord Vishnu gave dharshan as Lord Narasimhar here . Sthalapuranam when Asuras became rampant and started troubling mankind , Lord Vishnu in his Narasimhar avatar chased them away and settled down here . Moolavar is Lord Azhaghiya Singar in yoga posture . Thayar name is Amirthavalli Thayar . Peialwar and Thirumangai alwar has sung praising this Lord .

             Sri Vilakoli Perumal temple  This temple is in Kanchipuram and one among the Thondanadu divyadeshams. Once this place was with dense grass (dharbha) hence known as Thoopul . Thirumangai alwar has sung praising this Lord. This is the birth place of Vaishnava acharya Sri Vedanta desikan . He was a son of a childless couple and was born to them praying to Lord Venkatachalapathy of Thirupathy . God blessed them with His divine bell to be born as their son . It is said till date there’s no bell ringing ritual in Lord Venkatachalapathy temple in Thirupathi . He was a out standing scholar and authored ” Adaikala pathu ” on Lord Varadaraja Perumal of Kanchipuram . There is a seperate sannidhi for Sri Vedanta desikan in this temple. Lord Lakshmi Hayagriva idol worshipped by Sri Vedanta desikan is still in the  temple  . The completion of this temple construction work was done by Nayina Varadacharya   (son of Sri...

               Yathokthagari Perumal  This temple is situated in Chinna Kanchi just 1km away from Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple . This is said to one of the oldest temple in Kanchipuram . The Lord Vishnu is known as Yathokthagari (sonna vanam seitha Perumal ) and is in reclining position on the opposite side (maaru sayanam). Thayar name is Goddess Komalavalli . The first and foremost of the alwars Poygai alwar has sung praising only about this Lord . Manavalamamunigal explained Sri Bhasyam to the world in this sthalam . Sthalapuranam once Lord Brahma Goddess Saraswathy and Goddess Lakshmi had an argument within themselves about their superiority so they went to Lord Indra , he judged as Goddess Lakshmi has the supreme power of all . Goddess Saraswathy asked Lord Brahma he too said the same . Goddess Saraswathy got annoyed by this and left Lord Brahma . Meanwhile Lord Brahma did Aswamedha yagam for Universal welfare Goddess Saraswa...

      The main deity of Astabhujakarathan      The arch of Astabhujakarathan temple  This is also one of the divyadesham temples in Kanchipuram . The Lord Vishnu here is in standing position with 8 hands along with weapons . The Lord Vishnu is named here as Adhikesava Perumal , Gajendravaradan or Astabhujakarathan ( which means eight hands ) as astam means 8 in sanskrit . The Thayar name is Goddess Alarmelvalli , Padmasini or Pushpavalli . Pei alwar and Thirumangai alwar has sung praising this Lord . As per legends once Lord Brahma performed a big yagam without calling his consort Goddess Saraswathy , to disturb the yagam Goddess Saraswathy sent Nakkarrar ( asuras ) in order to perform the yagam successfully Lord Brahma pleaded Lord Vishnu for help , answering to his prayers Lord Vishnu appeared as Astabhujakarathan ( 8 hands with weapons ) and killed the Nakkarrars sent by Goddess Saraswathy . Hence the Lord here gets the name ...

             Sri Pandavathootha Perumal  This temple is 2.6km from Kanchi Kamakshi Amman temple and walkable distance from Sri Ekambhareswarar temple . This place is also called as Padagam . The Lord Vishnu here is in Lord Krishna’s form huge and 25 feet height in sitting position . As per legends during Mahabharata period when Sri Krishna visited as an Ambassador to Kaurava’s court to establish peace within Kauravas and Pandavas , the Kaurava’s tried to humiliate Lord Krishna (digged a pit and spread it with bamboo sticks and covered with flowers and decorated the seat such that Lord Krishna would fall in to the pit ) and kill him . Lord Krishna took a magnificent form ( Vishwaroopam ) . Even blind Dhrutharastrashan was able to see the divine form . After hearing this King Janamejaya ( great grandson of Arjuna ) did penance worshipping Lord Krishna for this divine dharshan . Lord Krishna appeared before him once again as Pandava thoothan ...

     In front of Varadaraja Perumal temple           Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple  This temple is in kanchipuram and covers a area of 3 acres . It’s one of the Thondanadu divyadeshams . This temple is also called as mummudha koil . The Lord Vishnu in this temple is known as Lord Vaikunda Perumal or Paramapathanathan . Thayar name is Goddess Vaikunthavalli . Sthalapuranam : This region was once ruled by King Virocha due to the curse in his last birth , he had no heir being a staunch Lord Shiva devote , he prayed to Lord Kailasha (Shiva) of Kailashanathar temple in Kanchipuram . Lord Shiva granted him 2 sons Pallavan and Villavan who are the dwarakapalakas of Lord Vishnu’s temple .These 2 prince’s were Lord Vishnus devotees .They did aswamedha yagam and Lord gave dharshan to them as in Vaikundam . This is a 3 tier temple and the main deity is in sitting posture and 2nd tier is reclining posture which can be seen tw...

                     Inside the temple                         Inside the temple      Entrance of Parameswara Vinnagaram  This temple is in kanchipuram and covers a area of 3 acres . It’s one of the Thondanadu divyadeshams . This temple is also called as mummudha koil . The Lord Vishnu in this temple is known as Lord Vaikunda Perumal or Paramapathanathan . Thayar name is Goddess Vaikunthavalli . Sthalapuranam : This region was once ruled by King Virocha due to the curse in his last birth , he had no heir being a staunch Lord Shiva devote , he prayed to Lord Kailasha (Shiva) of Kailashanathar temple in Kanchipuram . Lord Shiva granted him 2 sons Pallavan and Villavan who are the dwarakapalakas of Lord Vishnu’s temple .These 2 prince’s were Lord Vishnus devotees .They did aswamedha yagam and Lord gave dharshan to them a...

                      Inside the temple  This is one of the divyadesham Perumal    (Thondanadu) inside Lord Ekambareshwarar ( Lord Shiva ) temple in Kanchipuram .The moolavar is in standing position and also known as Chandra sooda Perumal . Thirumangai alwar has sung praising this Lord . Once in Kailasha Goddess Parvathi closes the eyes of Lord Shiva playfully , the whole universe becomes dark . Annoyed by this action Lord Shiva curses Goddess Parvathi . To get rid of this curse Goddess Parvathi comes to Earth. Goddess Parvathi creates a lingam with sand under a mango tree and performs deep penance worshipping Lord Shiva in this place .To test her Lord Shiva sends Suriyan ( sun ) . By the suns ray’s the mango tree gets fired Goddess Parvathi couldnot bear the heat , she prays to her brother Lord Vishnu . Lord Vishnu takes the moon from Lord Shiva’s head and sends to cool . Lord Shiva sends Ganges to spoil ...

Ulagalantha perumal,Kanchipuram is one of 108 divya desham of Lord Vishnu nearby the famous Kamakshi Amman temple . Here the lord is of a huge idol 35 feet height and his left feet is lifted to 28 feet high. The sthala purana says the King Mahabali promised to give 3 foot of land to Lord Vamanar(Vishnu’s fifth avatar who was like a dwarf) . Vamanar took vishwaroopam and measured with his 1st foot – the whole of pathalam was surrendered,Lord kept his next foot lifted high to measure the Mel logam(heavens) and when Lord asked where to measure the 3rd foot ?,the King Mahabali bowed his head infront of the Lord and asked Him to keep His foot on his head and surrendered himself before the Lord. Though the Moolavar of this temple is not a divyadesham deity , It is a divyadeshams sthalam consisting of 4 divyadesham Perumal in the ul-pragharam . Thiruneeragam Thiruooragam Thirukaragam Thirukarvanam THIRUOORAGAM Four divyadesham Perumal and is in the ulpragharam of Ulagalantha...

This temple of Lord Vishnu is inside the Goddess Kamakshi Amman temple in Kanchipuram . The Lord Vishnu is named here as Lord Adhivaragha Perumal and his consort as Goddess Anchilai Nachiyar . Though there is not a seperate shrine one could see this divyadesham Perumal in the pillars of Gayatri mandapam ( back side entrance of Kamakshi ) of Goddess Kamakshi temple . Thirumangai alwar has sung praising this Lord . Sthalapuranam : as per legends once Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Vishnu had a debate on beauty , Goddess Lakshmi teased Lord Vishnu for his dark complexion irritated by this Lord Vishnu cursed Goddess Lakshmi to loose her beauty and her beauty will be retained only by the grace of her devotees . Goddess Lakshmi did deep penance in this place to get rid of her curse . Later by realizing his mistake Lord Vishnu comes to take back Goddess Lakshmi sees Goddess Lakshmi hiding at the back of pillar who was glowing 100 times more than before seeing this , Goddess Parvathi calls h...

                           Pavalavannar                          Pachaivannar These 2 temples are opposite to each other in the same street of Kanchipuram and are very near to Kanchipuram railway station. Both together are considered as one divyadeshams of Thondanadu . PACHAIVANNAR Here the Lord Vishunu is green colour in sitting posture on Adhiseshan referred as Maragatha Vannar ( maragatham means emerald ) .This is a small temple . Its said Lord Rama appeared before Brighu Maharishi . Brighu Maharishi raised many questions regarding Rama avatar why Rama allowed Lanka King Ravana to abduct his wife Goddess Seetha and why he seeked others help as Lord Rama himself was capable of rescuing Goddess Seetha from Lanka King Ravana . Lord Rama explained to him that his RAM avatar was to make people understand how to lead a dharmic life ,...