Thiruppaarththan Palli Divya Desam, Thirunangur

Introduction

Thiruppaarththan Palli is a temple dedicated to Vishnu. The Lord is worshipped here as Taamaraiyaal Kelvan Perumal and his consort as Goddess Tamarai Nayagi. Also known as the Taamaraiyaal Kelvan Perumal Temple, this is situated close to Thirunangur, near Sirkazhi town in the Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu. This temple is also a Divya Desam, regarded as a particularly sacred abode of Vishnu that has come under praise in the hymns of the great Azhwar saints. This shrine also remains one of the Thirunangur Tirupathis, the 11 Vishnu temples of the Thirunangur belt, all associated with saint Thirumangai Azhwar. Sages Agastya, Bharathwaja, and Gautama, and Lord Varuna were said to have performed intense penance here. It is also believed that Ekadasa Rudra, an embodiment of Lord Shiva, worshipped Lord Vishnu in this shrine.

Temple Legends

Padma Purana narrates the significance of this place. Once, the Pandava prince Arjuna came here on a pilgrimage, when he felt very thirsty and asked sage Agastya, who was doing penance, for some water. But neither the sage had any water with him, nor Arjuna could find that anywhere. Realizing that it was the trick played by none other than Lord Krishna, Agastya asked Arjuna to pray to Krishna. Arjuna prayed to Krishna accordingly, and the pleased Krishna appeared before him and gave him a sword. Arjuna dug the earth with the sword and water gushed out of it in plenty, with which he quenched his thirst. This is believed to be the temple tank, Katka Pushkarini. True to the legend, Arjuna is depicted in the temple with a sword in his hand. Besides, Krishna is also said to have appeared as Parthasarathy, the charioteer of Partha, that is, Arjuna here, and initiated him into learning as to who he was, in reality. 'Palli' in Tamil means school, and the place where Partha began his education became Parthan Palli or Thiruppaarththan Palli.

Also, there is a common legend for all the 11 Thirunangur Tirupathi temples. The untimely death of his spouse Sati landed Lord Shiva in such a fit of anger and grief that he began dancing wildly at this place. Every time his disheveled hair touched the ground, 11 new Shiva aspects sprang up from there, posing a threat to all the life forms of the universe. The celestial beings became highly concerned, and on their pleading, Lord Vishnu appeared before Shiva, made him see reason and cooled him down. Then on Shiva's request, Vishnu, too, appeared in 11 forms here, and it is said that the 11 Vishnu temples of Thirunangur are only the abodes, housing these 11 Vishnu forms.

The Architecture of Thiruppaarththan Palli Divya Desam, Thirunangur

It is a small temple with one Prakaram, a single precinct. Lord Taamaraiyaal Kelvan Perumal can be worshipped in the sanctum, under the roof, Narayana Vimanam. Goddess Shenbagavalli Thayar or Taamarai Nayagi and Arjuna are housed in separate shrines. The festival deity can be worshipped with 4 consorts, Sridevi, Bhoodevi, Neeladevi, and Jambavathy. The processional images of Rama and Krishna are also in the sanctum, and this is perhaps the only temple that has the images of both Rama and Krishna under the same roof. There is also a separate shrine for sage Agastya, built recently in this temple. The temple complex is enclosed within a granite compound wall and has a Rajagopuram, the entrance tower. Katka Pushkarani or Katka Theertham is the temple tank.

Temple Festivals

Thirumangai Azhwar Mangalaasaasana Utsavam is the most famous festival celebrated across all the 11 Thirunangur Tirupathi temples. On this occasion, the festival deities of all these temples come in Garuda Sevai, that is, on their Garuda mounts, in grand processions to Thirunangur. Saint Thirumangai Azhwar also comes there, along with his consort Kumudavalli Naachiyar. Devotees recite the sacred hymns of the Azhwar composed in praise of all these deities and offer worship to the Lords and the Azhwar. This festival held during the Tamil month Thai (January-February), draws large crowds from far and wide. This apart, the Theertavari festival is celebrated in Aadi (July-August).

Benefits of worshipping the Lord of Thiruppaarththan Palli Divya Desam

It is believed that this Lord is very responsive to the devotees' prayers and helps them to overcome all the challenges of life and rise to newer levels of growth and success.