Sri Parimala Ranganathar temple Thiruinthaloor

This temple is in Mayiladuthurai and is 35 kms from Kumbakonam it is one among the pancha ranga sthethram and one among the 40 cholanadu divyadeshams .

Moolavar name is Parimala Ranganathar , Sugantha Vana Nathar .
Thayar name Parimala Ranganayaki , Chandras Shaba Vimochana Valli .
Theertham is Indu Pushkarini .

Indhu means moon . As perumal relieved Chandra ( Moon ) from his curse , this place is known as Indhaloor . Lord Narayana gave dharsan as Vennchudar perumal in the standing posture to the Moon god in Thalaisangaadu . But here at this place he is in reclining ” Veera Sayanam ” posture . There he was full of light being as Vyomajyothi piran . But here he is full of fragrance ( Parimalam ) and hence he is called as Parimala Rangan .

According to legend , King Ambarishan was due to complete his 100th Ekadasi – Dwadasi fasting . The Ekadasi fasting involves fasting and thinking only of the glory of the lord for 12 days , till the Dwadasi . The people of his kingdom were immensely happy that their ruler would be completing a century of this great deed . All preparations were made for a grand celebration in the empire .

But , the gods were unhappy as if the King managed to complete his 100th fast , he would be elevated to the status of a God and the Gods did not want to lose their importance in front of the humans . So , they approached Sage Durvasa for help , known for his cunning temperament . The Sage promised to help them , and went to King Ambarishan’s palace to visit him .

The King was about to consume his food and complete the fast , when Durvasa entered . Glad to have the Sage visit him , the King requested Durvasa to dine with him . Durvasa , cunningly told the king that he would eat after a bath in the river . The King waited for Durvasa , but the time to complete  the fast was nearing . The King then consulted his chief pandit who advised him to have a few drops of water and complete the fast as Durvasa was determined to come late and foil the fast .

Knowing the King’s plan with his powers , Durvasa conjured up a ghost and sent the ghost after the king . The King ran , praying to the Lord to protect him . The lord appeared , seeing whom the Ghost immediately backed away . Seeing the lord , Durvasa realized his fault and apologized to the Lord and to the King . The Lord then asked the King for a boon as he had completed 100 fasts . The King asked the Lord stay at his palace forever and bless the people of his empire. Pleased with his devotion , the Lord decided to stay at the palace .


The story goes that Lord Parimala Rangan shut the door on Thirumangai Alwar , who had come for his darshan , reasoning that he was late. Upset at this , Thirumangai Alwar gets into an argument with Lord Parimala Ranganathar .

When a friend keeps a thing that we want and does not want to share with us , we typically say ” keep it to yourself ” in jest . Similarly , here , with the Lord not allowing Thirumangai Alwar an entry into the temple , the Alwar asked Parimala Rangan to keep all his beauty to himself and to enjoy it on his own .

Thirumangai Alwar goes on to argue that the world will talk about the Lord in bad light as he shut the door on the Alwar . The Lord ignores this comment of the Alwar saying that he need not worry about it and that he will take care of any ill feelings.

Despite repeated attempts to impress the Lord to allow him an entry , Parimala Rangan maintains his silence . The dejected and frustrated Thirumangai Alwar decided that he would leave the place as the Lord was stubborn at not allowing Darshan to the Alwar.

Thiru Mangai Azhvaar in his Paasuram says meaning that ” I am leaving you , you , yourself live here and enjoy life “.

Sensing that Thiru Mangai Alwar may leave the place without praising him enough , Lord Parimala Rangan tries to prolong the argument and asks him to sing praise of him . Thiru Mangai Alwar replies saying “How can I shower praise on you when you do not allow me to see you”. Lord Parimala Ranga says ” You who have sung praises of other Lords , sitting in your place , do sing praise of me too so I can listen to your sweet songs .” Thirumangai Alwar finally falls for it and composes 10 Paasurams .

The pillars of this temple are carved beautifully with Krishna leelas .