NINDRANARAYANA PERUMAL TEMPLE, THIRUTHANGAL, NEAR SIVAKASI VIRUDUNAGAR DISTRICT-TAMILNADU -COMPILED
Dear friends, Nindra Narayana Perumal temple in Thiruthangal, a town in the outskirts ofSivakasi in the Virudhunagar District inTamil Nadu, is dedicated to the God Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian styleof architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the earlymedieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 DivyaDesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Nindra Narayana and his consortLakshmi as Arunakamala Mahadevi. The temple in its present form was believed to have beenbuilt by Devendra Vallabha, a Pandya king. The temple has three inscriptions inits two rock-cut caves, two dating from the period of 8th century. The temple is built on agranite hill 100 ft(30 m) tall and a granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrinesand bodies of water. Unlikeother temples, this temple does not have a Raja gopuram, the temple's gateway tower. Thelater Pandya kings, Vijayanagar and Nayak kings in the region made significantadditions to the temple. The temple is located on the other side ofKarunellinathar temple, a famous Shiva temple and can be reached from thattemple on the hillock. Nindra Narayana isbelieved to have appeared to Sridevi and Bhoomadevi. Four daily rituals and many yearly festivals are held at thetemple, of which the Vaikasi Vasanthothsavam, Pillai Lokacharyar festival andKurathalvar festival, each celebrated for ten days, being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the HinduReligious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Today is Yajurvedi upakarma day and most appropriate to postabout Lord Vishnu. Kayena Vacha, manasendriya,….Karomayenjethu,sakalam samarpi, Sriman Narayenathusamarpayami. Gopalakrishnan 9-8-2025 Legends According to the temple's Sthala Purana, there was a competition among the consorts of Vishnu, Sridevi,Bhudevi, and Niladevi, on the degree of their devotion to Vishnu. Sridevi descended down to earth and repaired a sequestratedspot surrounded by paddy fields. She sat in devotion and influenced by herpower of worship, all sages started worshipping her at the place. Realisingthat living alone would be improper, she engendered a tirtha (water body) andpropitiated Vishnu. Pleased byher devotion, Vishnu appeared at the spot. Bhudevi and Niladevi followed her footsteps andacceded that Sridevi was the most devoted among them. Vishnu desired and stayed (thangal in Tamil) along with his consortsin the place. As per another legend, Krishna's grandson, Aniruddha, gotmarried at this place. As per another legend,Ranganatha from Srirangan Ranganatha Swamy temple was enamoured by the devotionof Andal. He starteda journey to Srivilliputhur Divya Desam to seek her hand for marriage. While reaching the place, it becamedark and he decided to spend the night in the place. Since he stayedat this place, it came to be known as Thiruthangal and the hillock came to beknown as Thala Giri. The temple finds mention in the eighth chapter ofBrahmanda Purana that deals with the story of king Puroora Chakravarthy.Puroora was a righteousking of Bharathavarsha and when he became old, he gave his kingdom to his sons.He approached to sages todirect him to the right place to do penance, who directed him to Thiruthangal.After performing austere penance, Mahavishnu appeared to him. Devendra Vallabha, a scion of Pandyadynasty was once hunting a tiger and reached Thiruthangal. While firingan arrow at the tiger, a divine voice explained the history of the tiger. Inits previous birth, the tiger was a ruler by name Chandraketu, who did notadhere to the principles of doing penance. He was hence made to be reborn as atiger. Mahavishnu appearedto both Devendra and the tiger. In commemoration of the event, therock near the temple is named Puliparai (puli means tiger and parai indicateshill). There was once an argument between banyan tree andAdishesha as to who would be closer to Vishnu. Brahma, the Hindu god of creation was asked tomediate and he judged in favour of Adishesha, who went onto become the serpent bed of Vishnu. Banyan tree was highly dissatisfied and he starteddoing intense penance praying to Vishnu at Thiruthangal. Vishnu appeared to thebanyan tree and gave him a boon that he would sit over him at Thiruthangal. The rock is thus believed to be thebanyan tree and thus came to be known as Thangalgiri. Based on the legend, thereis a common belief that the temple provides relief to devotees suffering frommental weariness and physical fatigue. History Nindra Narayana Perumal temple is believed to have been builtby Pandyas. There are a host of inscriptions in the temple indicatinginformation related to the gifts offered to the temple. One of the inscriptionsfrom 1032 CE indicates the temples as Paramaswamy who willingly chose thehillock as his abode. A lake by name of Vallabha Pereri existed by the side ofthe temple. During the reign of Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I (1308 - 23 CE),a shrine was erected for the image of Singha Perumal (Narasimha). The two sonsof Tiruvenkatanatha, an official in the Pandyan Empire constructed the westernprecinct. During 1220 CE, they constructed a mutt and endowed for therecitation of the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Puranas. During the reign ofMaravarman Sundara Pandyan (1216–1238 CE), special poojas were instituted. In 1227, Gurukulatharaiyan, theminister of Sundara Pandy an arranged for the construction of the sanctum,Mahamandapam and Ardhamandapam. In later periods, a lady namedTirumangai Andal installed the metal images of Karmachanai Emperuman and theDevis. The festival idols were taken out in procession during new moon day. Theinscription about these inscription was recopied as the rock contained theoriginal epigraph was shattered. In modern times, two philanthropist, named Ramanujadasa andNarayanadasa arranged for the construction of Kalyana Mantapa, Garuda Mandapaand other Mandapas (halls). During 1979, the northerncompound wall, 120 ft by 30 ft tall collapsed due to torrential rains, whichwas repaired with the help of local support. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered bythe Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. My note- From 1972 to 1974 I was in charge of SivakasiTelecom, as SG Junior engineer. Tiruthangal was under Sivakasi Telecom. Architecture Nindra Narayana Perumal temple is located in Thiruthangal, atown 2 km (1.2 mi) from Sivakasi, on the Madurai Road. The temple is built on agranite hill 100 ft (30 m) tall and a granite wall surrounds the temple,enclosing all its shrines and bodies of water. There is no Rajagopuram, the main gateway tower, but is a flat structure, compared to other SouthIndian temples that have a steep structure. My note- In Chennai East Tambaram, Dhenupureeswara templeat Madampakkam also has no Rajagopuram, but a structure. This temple is underArcheological Survey of India. Deities An image of the presiding deity, Nindra Narayana, is seen ina standing posture facing east on the third tier of the temple and sportingAbaya Mudra (right feet gesturing to devotees to surrender to his feet). He isbelieved to have appeared to Bhudevi and Sridevi, all of whose images are housedinside the sanctum. The tier also houses the Maha mandapam and the shrine ofGaruda, the eagle mount of Vishnu. Garuda is seen in a unique posture with a pot of Amrita on his righthand and a serpent in his left hand. His other two hands are seen withsupplicating pose. The sanctum is guarded by imposing images of Dvarapalakas,which are believed to be constructed during the rule of Sattur Kolarapatti. Bhudevi,Sridevi on the right and Niladevi, Usha, Aniruddha and Bhrigu to the left ofPerumal. The images of the deities are made of stucco and hence ablution is notperformed as in other temples Sub deities The sanctum houses as sub deities like Markendeya, Garuda, Aruna, Viswakarma. Theimages of Narthanakrishan, Andal, Durga, and Vinayaka are seen on the precinct around the sanctum,while the image of Alvars are housed in the hall leading to the sanctum. The festival metalimage of Thiruthangal Appan is placed in front of the images. The vimana, theroof over the sanctum is called Soma Chandra Vimana, is similar to the ones inSrirangam Ranganatha Swamy temple and Alagarkovil. The consort of NinraNarayana, Aruna Mahadevi (also called "Shenbagavalli") has a separateshrine in the second tier.The Utsavar (festival image) of Arunakamala Mahadevi is called Shenbagavalliand is housed inside the same shrine. Unlike other temples, theimage of Thayar is seen in standing posture. Poojas All poojas are first performed to Thayar before being donefor the presiding deity. The second tier houses the four-pillared hall, vehiclehall and mirror room. A cave temple on the lower tier, bearing the traces ofPandyan art, is located to the West of Kalyana Mandapa. The image of Pallikonda Perumalis housed in the cave, with Sridevi and Bhudevi serving his feet andsages Markandeya and Bhrigu occupying prominent places on either side. Therectangular walls around the temple enclose all the shrines and water bodiesassociated with the temple. Religious significance The temple is revered in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, the7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Bhoothath Alvar in one hymns andThirumangai Alvar in four hymns. The temple is classified as a Divya Desam, oneof the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book. Some of the ancient Sanskrit books consider the temple as authamakshetram, meaning the place that gives the best to its devotees.Divyakavi Pillai Perumal Iyengar has also eulogized the presiding deity in oneof his verses. The temple finds mention in the eighth chapter ofBrahmanda Purana that deals with the story of king Puroora Chakravarthy. Festivals andreligious practices The temple follows vaikhānasāgama. The temple priests performthe puja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnutemples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Vaishnavaite community,belonging to the Brahmin community. The temple rituals are performed four timesa day: Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 p.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00p.m., and Ardha Jamam at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: alangaram(decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps)for both Ninra Narayana Perumal, Ranganathar and Arunakamala Mahadevi. Thereare weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple. The VaikasiVasanthothsavam, PillaiLokacharyar festival and Kurathalvar festival, each celebrated for ten days arethe most prominent festivals of the temple, and for the surrounding villages.Vaikasi Vasanthothsavam is celebrated during the Tamil month of Vaikasi(May–June) when devotees pull the chariot round the streets of Thiruthangal.Verses from Nalayira Divya Prabandham are recited by a group of temple priestsamidst music with nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussioninstrument). The other major festivals celebratedare Srijayanthi Uriyadi, Pavitrostavam, Garudotsavam, Navarathri, Karthigai,Thirumangai Alvar day, Vaikunta Ekadasi and Kalyana Utsavam. During Chitra Pournami,the festival image has a holy dip in Arujan River, decorated and mounted on a horse mount and takenaround ten villages around Thiruthangal. On the fifth day of Adi Pooram, thefestival image of the image is brought in Garuda mount and taken to Srivilliputhur Divya Desamalong with four other temples. Steps to reach thetemple The Presiding Deity is an incarnation of Maha Vishnu. TheTemple is situated in a slightly elevated place and Devoteesmay have to climb around 15 steps to reach there. It is one among the 108 Dhivya Desam and washighly praised and sung by the Alwars in Naalayira Divya Prabhandham. Specialty There is a Shrine for LordRanganathar who is seen in a reclined posture. Thereby the Temple becomes very unique since Perumal can be seen in allthe three Kolam here viz. Nindra Kolam, Sayana Kolam and Veetrirundha Kolam. Another speciality ofthis Temple is that Lord Garuda is found with four arms.He is found holding a Snake in one arm and his other armis found holding a Nectar Pot or Amirtha Kalasam. His other two arms are found folded. Many Devotees who are found to have Brahmahathi Dosham come here to get ridof it since it is a Brahmmahathi Dosha Parihaara Sthalam. Another speciality is the Thaayar is found in standingposture facing her thirumugam along East direction. In all the sthalams, the thaayar is found only insitting position, but only in this sthalam, she is found in standingposition. Mangalasasanam: Bhoodathalwar - 1 Paasuram Thirumangai Alwar - 4 Paasurams Total - 5 Paasurams. Pushkarani: Vimanam: Devachandra Vimaanam. Theerthams Bhaskara Theertham, Papanasa Theertham and Arjuna Nadi arethe Three Theerthams here. It is said that people who take bath in Papa Vinasa theertham can attain moksha after their death. Address of temple 114, Melamada veethi,Thiruthangal, Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu 626130.Phone: 097896 04628 Contact Details: 04652 232801 and Dr.VasudevaBhattachariar 99422 02668.G.RadhakrishnaIyengar 94864 61906 and 63748 13215 Temple Timings >From 6 AM to 12 Noon and from 4 PM to 8 PM Temple Location : Distance from Virudhunagar to Thiruthangal is 24 Kms. Sivakasito Tiruthangal 3 KMs. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1759128540.929088.1754745294413%40mail.yahoo.com.
