Ranjus travel blog

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 prayers and accepted her as his bride . Delighted at this , King Nanda Chozhan built a temple at Uraiyur to celebrate the (home) coming of Lord Ranganatha to Uraiyur to take the hand of his daughter .

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 head 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 Brahma was born in a lotus from the navel of Lord Vishnu . Due to Brahmas deep penance Lord Vishnu appeared before him in Pranavakrithi Vimanam in a reclining position (swamvaktha sthethram) . To do the daily pooja rituals to the Lord Sriranganathar Brahma appointed Suriyan . Later Suriyakulam King Itchvaghu brought Lord Sriranganathar along with the pranavakrithi Vimana to Ayodhya . King Itchvaghu being the ancestor of Lord Rama . Lord Rama after his return from Lanka killing King Ravana gifted this idol of Lord Sriranganathar along with the Pranavakrithi Vimana to Vibhishanan . Vibhishanan carried this Vimana to Lanka on the way he took rest in the banks of river Cauvery . After taking rest when he lifted the Vimana he couldn’t lift , feeling sad he tried for many days . One day Lord Sriranganathar comes in his dreams and says he likes to stay in Srirangam permanently and will show his grace upon Vibhishanan facing at Lanka . That’s how the Lord Sriranganathar came to Srirangam .

There are 7 nachiyars in Srirangam
1 . Sridevi
2 . Bhumidevi
3 . Thuluka nachiyar
4 . Chera kula valli nachiyar
5 . Kamalavalli nachiyar
6 . Kothai
7 . Ranganayaki

11 alwars has sung the glory of Lord Sriranganathar.

Kamba Ramayanam was first recited by kambar in Srirangam temple complex .

Goddess Andal got merged to the Lord here .

Lord Ramanujar attains Mukthi in this place. Lord Ramanujar has a seperate sannidhi and is believed his physical body is preserved in sitting posture in the temple complex as the Lord Sriranganathar himself has ordered this . All Vaishnavaites believes he is still alive and is looking after this temple nirman ( rituals ) .

This temple is in Thirunageswaram near Kumbakonam. This temple is also known as Thiruvinnagar of Venkatachalapathy temple . Oppiliappan means none is equal to this Lord . It’s also avatara sthalam of Bhumi devi .

This is one among the Cholanadu divyadeshams.

Sthalapuranam : legends says Lord Vishnu comes in disguise as a old man and asks Markandeya Maharishi ‘s young daughter ( Bhumi devi ) to get married to him , on a panguni ( march to april ) thiruvonam (star) day . Markandeya Maharishi refuses saying shes a small child not used with household works dont know cooking too . The Lord Vishnu says that he will accept even if its served without salt . Markandeya Maharishi prays to Thirumala Venkatesha Perumal and finds out the old man is the Lord Vishnu himself and agrees to get them married . On aipasi ( sept to oct ) thiruvonam day the wedding took place . Some say upu means salt as he mentioned he will accept without upu the name to this Lord is Uppiliapan .Till date the prasadham here are offered to the Lord without salt .

Both panguni n aipasi thiruvonam festival are celebrated and aganda deepa ( big lights ) are kept , Goddess Lakshmi graces us from this deepa dharshan . One having this deepa dharshan is considered to be lucky .

Poygai alwar Pei alwar Nammalwar and Thirumangai alwar has sung pasurams on this Lord and got his anugrahas

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 into the chest of Vishnu . Vishnu was impressed by the penance of Nandi and got his curse relieved . It is also believed that king Sibi worshiped Vishnu at this place .

As per another legend, Lakshmi did penance at this place to seek a place in Vishnu’s chest. Vishnu was impressed by her devotion and took Lakshmi her in his chest. The image of Lakshmi in the form of Shenbagavalli faces west indicating the legend. Devotees worship Shenbagavalli of the temple during the Tamil month of Aipasi and believe that their wishes will be fulfilled .

From Mayavaram it is 40 kms to Nagapattinam .

This temple is one among the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Lord Vishnu and one among Cholanadu divyadeshams . Lord Vishnu is worshiped as Soundararaja Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Soundaravalli .
Lord Soundararaja Perumal is believed to have appeared for sage Markandeya , Dhuruva , Saleesan and the Hindu god Bhoomadevi .
The present day Nagapattinam is believed to have been a forest , historically named Sundararinyam .
It is believed that two eunuchs , Kandan and Sukandan , attained physical fitness after having a holy dip in Sara Pushkarani , the temple tank . Lord Brahma , started worshiping Vishnu at this place . Lord Vishnu is believed to have appeared on the auspicious day of Masi Maham on the banks of Sarapushkarani . On account of the glow emanating from Masi Maham, Vishnu at this place was called “Azhagiyan”. Since he had a glittering skin , he was called “Soundara Rajan”, meaning the most beautiful and his consort was called Soundaravalli . Since the king of Nagars (snakes) , Adhiseshan  worshipped Lord Vishnu at this place , the place was called Nagar Pattinam , the place of Nagars .

As we stayed in Mayavaram , we started early and saw Vishwaroopa dharshan in this temple .

Thirumangai Alwar has sung imagining himself as a lady and Lord Soundaraja Perumsl as his lover .

Located about 15 kms South of Mayavaram is the Kripa Samudran(Arumakadal) Divya Desam in Sirupuliyur where the Lord is seen as a small kid in sleeping posture (Bala Sayanam).

This is one among the 40 cholanadu divyadeshams.

Moolavar: Kripasamudra Perumal in a south-facing Bhujanga Sayana posture

Thaayar: Thirumaa Magal Nachiyar

It is believed that that the Lord originally gave darshan to the Rishis as Lord Ranganatha (like in Srirangam) in his full form. Because of their old age, the rishis could not see, clearly, the big image of the Lord and hence the Lord gave darshan in a smaller form known as ‘Bala Sayanam’. The Lord Kripa Samudran can be seen as a small kid in sleeping posture. Being the Lord in small form, this place is called Siru (small) Puliyur.

A special feature of this temple is that this is one of the only two Divya Desams where the Lord in sayana kolam (sleeping posture) is facing the Southern direction, the other being Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam.

Sthalapuranam:
Gauthama Maharishi was the son of Madhiya Nandhana Maharishi. He was a devotee of Lord Shiva. To offer pure and sweet fruits and fine flowers he requested Lord Shiva to grant him eyes in his hand finger tips and claws like tiger. And he got the name Viyakirapadha rishi.
Then he married Vashits Maharishi’s sister and bore upamanyu Maharishi as his son.
Once Padanjali, the son of Aadhishesha came to Chidambaram and joined the Maharishi to enjoy the graceful dance of Lord Shiva and attained the eternal happiness in the process.
Lord Shiva ordered Vyakrapadha rishi to do penance at Srirangam requesting Lord Vishnu to give him place in Sri Vaigundam.
Because of their poor eyesight, the Rishis instead went southward, lost their way and reached Krupa Samudram (present name Sirupuliyur). Here, they prayed to Lord Vishnu saying that they were to come to Srirangam to invoke his blessings but have now lost their way and that he grant them Moksham.
It is believed that the Lord originally gave dharshan to the Rishis as Lord Ranganatha (like in Srirangam) in his full form. Because of their old age, the rishis could not able to see the big image of the Lord clearly and hence the Lord gave dharshan in a smaller form known as ‘Bala Sayanam’.
The Lord Krupa Samudran (means Ocean of Grace) can be seen as a small kid in sleeping posture. Being the Lord in small form and the saint who worshipped was in the form of a Tiger; hence this place is called Siru (small) Puli (Tiger) yur (Living place).
He has also got a place under the lotus feet of the Lord in the Moolavar Sannathi. It’s been said the perumal of this place gave protection to the snake Aadhiseshan from his enemy Garuda. The Lord here is small in size. Thirumangaialwar worried about this. So, Perumal asked him to come to Thirukannamangai to view his very big statue.
A special feature of this temple is that this is one of the only two Divya Desams where the Lord in sayana kolam (sleeping posture) is facing the Southern direction, the other being Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam.
Garuda does not fly over this place because of an interesting story:


Fight between Garuda and Adhiseshan


Once Garuda(the Vehicle of the Lord) and Adiseshan (on whom rests the Lord) got into an argument as to who was more powerful and devoted to the Lord. Seeing Garuda a little arrogant, Lord Vishnu went in favour of the Serpant God.
Worried that Garuda might be angered at this, Adiseshan seeks Lord’s protection, upon which Lord asks him to roll himself and lie under him. It is said that as a result of this anger, Garuda never flies over this place.
There is another story that that Adiseshan won the argument and since snakes were sworn enemies of garuda, Adiseshan hid himself under the waters of the temple tank. There is since been a temple for Adisesha.
A separate shrine for Sri Adhiseshan is present near to the pushkarani – known as Ananthalwar Temple.
It is said that one will be relieved of Naaga Dosham if one visits this place. Unmarried people and childless couple can also visit this temple for solution.

Sri Jagath Rakshaka Perumal temple, Thirukudalur, Tamil Nadu .

Jagath Rakshaka Perumal Temple or Thirukudalur (locally called Aduthurai Perumal Temple) is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi as Padmasanavalli.

The temple is believed to have been built by the Medieval Cholas of the late 8th century AD, with later contributions from Vijayanagar kings and Madurai Nayaks. A brick wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines and bodies of water.

Jagath Rakshaka is believed to have appeared to sage Nandaka and King Ambarisha. In this temple v can see a sangu (conch) naturally formed in a jack tree.. during our visit to cholanadu divyadeshams we were lucky enough to see the aani thirumanjanam .

As per Hindu legend , King Ambarisha who immersed himself in the worship of Lord Vishnu , failed to strengthen his army and lost his kingdom . While worshipping , he also did not observe the sage Durvasa who went along that way . The sage got irritated and cursed the king . The king went to Lord Vishnu for rescue , who sent his discus to chase the sage. The sage surrendered to Lord Vishnu for forgiveness . The king Ambarishan is believed to have built the temple and hence the presiding deity is also called Ambarisha Varadhar at this place .

As per another legend , all rivers come to river Kaveri for cleansing themselves . Kaveri wanted to cleanse herself and approached Lord Brahma . She is believed to have worshipped Vishnu at this place and got relieved . A parrot which was devoted to Lord Vishnu was shot down in the nearby forest . Lord Vishnu rescued the parrot and appeased him of his previous birth . Thus it is believed that Vishnu descends here for all forms of life . Lord Vishnu is also believed to have appeared for sage Nandaka . Since all sages came here and prayed to Lord Vishnu , the place is called Koodalur ( Koodal means group ) .The temple is called Vaiyam Katha Perumal as the presiding deity is believed to have saved the world .

Thiru Saranathan Perumal temple  at Thirucherai , is a village in the outskirts of Kumbakonam in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu , is dedicated to the Lord Vishnu . Its one of the Cholanadu divyadeshams .
This temple is about 24 Km from Kumbakonam town on the way to Thiruvarur and is very near to Nachchiar Koil . Thirucherai – Sri Saranathan Perumal Temple, Kumbakonam is one of the temples, located near Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu, about 24 Km, from Kumbakonam on the way to Thiruvarur and 10 Km, from Nachiar Koil.

There was a dispute between Ganga and Cauvery as to who was superior . They approached Brahma for a solution . During the Thrivikkrama Incarnation, the feet of Perumal extended upto Sathyalogam . As Ganga performed Thirumanjanam to the feet of the Lord , it flooded into Ganges. Hence Ganga said that she was Holy . Cauvery, who became sorrowful hearing the account of Ganga , performed rigorous penance under a tree at Sarapushkarani. Lord Perumal on the day of the Poosam star in Thai , appeared as a baby and began to crawl . Cauvery looking at the incomparable brightness of one crore Suns , worshipped the baby calling it Perumal . Thirumal appeared equipped with the chakra and the conch flanked by Sri Devi , Bhoomadevi , Neeladevi , Mahalakshmi and Saranayagi. He blessed ‘Cauvery as holier than Ganges’. There is a separate shrine for Cauvery here. In this shrine Markandeya attained eternity.

Moolavar is Sri Saranatha Perumal

Thayar name Sri Saranayagi.

Moorthy : Saranathar.

Theertham : Sarapushkarani.

Temple Tree : Shenbagam.

Thirumangai alwar has sung praising this Lord .

This is a pancha sara kshetram: Kshetram – Sarakshetram; Temple tank – Sarapushkarni; Vimanam – Saravimanam; Lord – Saranatha; Goddess – Saranayaki. Saram in Tamil means “essence” or “concentrate”.

Located 20kms North West of Nagapatinam (20kms East of Tiruvarur, 30kms South of Kumbakonam and Mayavaram), this is one of the 5 Krishnaranya Kshetrams. Lord Narayana himself re-incarnated as Sowri Rajan at Kannapuram and it is one of the 108 Divya deshams (Cholanadu) .

The Moolavar of this sthalam is Sri Neelamega Perumal. Moolavar is in nindra (standing) thirukkolam facing the East. Utsavar Sowriraja perumal is decoared with false hair and taken out in procession during Brahmotsavam festival
The Lord gave dharshan for Kanva munivar, Garudan, Thandaka maharishi

The Thayaar in this sthalam is Kannapura Nayaki and has a separate sannadhi

Mangalasasanams The temple is revered by the verses of Tirumangai alwar,Perialwar,Aandaal,Kulasekara alwar,Nammalwar


History of Sowriraja Perumal Temple

This is the temple where the Lord showed Vibheeshana, brother of Ravana, his walking beauty. After seeing the sleeping beauty of Vishnu as Lord Ranganatha at Srirangam, Vibheeshna wanted to see the walking beauty of the Lord, upon which he was directed by the Lord to his “Keezh(akku) Veedu’ (Eastern Gateway of the Lord).

Sowri Rajan – An extra growth of hair on the Lord
The legend behind the temple is that once an archahar, (bhattar,priest)called Ranga bhattar, due to poverty, was recycling used garlands to decorate the Lord. Once when the king visited, he noticed a strand of hair in the garland. The angered king asked the priest how a human hair could have got into the garland meant for Narayana. Flustered priest blabbered saying that it was the hair of the Lord Himself. The priest promised the king to show the Lord’s hair the next day. Fearing death penalty, the priest surrendered to the Lord. To save the poor priest Ranga bhattar, Lord appeared with thick hair and gave darshan to the king. Hence he is known as Sowriraja perumal ( Sowri – hair).

In another incident, a devotee named Munaitharaiyar wanted to offer the delicious pongal to the Lord before he would eat it. As it was late in the night, the temple was closed and he could not get in. He stood outside and sincerely imagined of he offering the Pongal to the Lord. Suddenly, there were chimes from the temple bell inside and a fragrance of hot ghee pongal came out of the temple, signifying that the Lord had accepted his offering. Till this day, pongal as nivethyam is offered during the Arthajama pooja ( night pooja) and is called “Muniyodharam Pongal” named after the devotee.

“Om Namo Narayana” is the Thirumandiram and Thirumangai Azhwar was taught by Lord Neelamega perumal itself. This sacred mandiram consists of eight syllables and here Sriman Narayanan is said to live in each syllable and hence this place is also called “Srimathasthakshara Maha Manthira Siddhi Kshetram”.

Here the deity appears as if seeking alms,signifying that He is receiving our hardships on Himself to keep the human kind happy. The Chakra in his hand is Prayoga chakra and appears ready to destroy the evil.

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 wanted the Lord to provide darshan to other devotees in this same standing posture at this place. Hence this place came to be called Kannankudi.

4 Interesting stories relating to ThiruMangai’s experience at Thiru Kannangudi

1. Thirumangai’s praise of the Tamarind tree
Thirumangai Azhvaar who was to build the huge walls of Srirangam temple came to Nagai to pick up the golden statue of Buddha. On his way back, a tired Thirumangai wanted rest and lay under a Tamarind tree at Thiru Kannankudi. Placing the gold in the pit there, Thirumangai asked the tree to wake him up if someone came there. The next morning when the owner of the plot arrived to resume work, the tamarind tree dropped its leaves on Thirumangai to wake up the Azhvaar.


2. Pending cases at Kannangudi
Thirumangai and the owner of the plot argued about its ownership. Thirumangai defended himself saying his papers were in Srirangam and that he would come back in a day or two with the papers. Thirumangai never came back and the case is said to have remained pending. Disputes in ThiruKannangudi don’t see a quick decision.


3. Dry Wells at Thiru Kannangudi
A thirsty Thirumangai is said to have walked up to the ladies near the well and asked for water. Having heard about his arguments regarding the ownership of the plot, they were worried that he would fight with them on the ownership of the well and hence refused him a pot of water. An angry Thiru Mangai Azhvaar pronounced a curse stating that the water would not fill up in the well. To this day, wells in Thiru Kannankudi are seen dried up. Even when it fills up, it tastes salty.


4. Lord quenches Thirumangai’s thirst
The Lord of Thiru Kannankudi is said to have come and presented a tired and thirsty Thiru Mangai with food and water. With Thiru Mangai finishing his food, the Lord is said to have disappeared.
Left wondering, Thirumangai, on his way back, met a man who seemed like one with conch and chakra but disappeared almost immediately. It is believed that Thirumangai had earlier answered the Lord’s enquiry about his background saying he was a vagabond. Hence, the Lord is believed to have given him just one quick glimpse of his full vision and then disappeared.

Pancha Krishna Kshetram
Thiru Kannangudi is part of the Pancha Krishna Kshetram, the others being Kapisthalam, ThiruKovilur, Thiru Kannamangai and Thiru Kannapuram.

Garuda’s Posture at ThiruKannangudi
Unlike in other Divya Desams where Garuda is seen with folded hands, he is seen here with his hands around his body.

Another unique feature at this temple is the similarity of the Moolavar and Utsavar idols of Goddess, not seen in any other Divya Desam.

Moolavar is Lord Loganathan East facing and in standing posture
Goddess Loganayaki
Utsavar Damodara Narayanan
Thirumangai Azhvaar (10 paasurams) has sung the glory of this Lord .

It’s one of the Cholanadu divyadeshams. Thiru Kannamangai Bhaktavatsalam Perumal 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 Kshetram

As Lakshmi’s wedding took place here at Thiru Kannamangai, this place is called Krishna Mangala Kshetram.
Special sculpture of Vaikuntanathan and ‘Vishnu on top of Garuda’ is a feature here. Chandran is said to have been relieved of his curse (by Devas) after his prayers to the Lord here.

The main diety is Lord Bhaktavatsalam -in standing Posture facing East
Goddess : Kannamangai Nayagi
Utsavar : Perum Pura Kadal
Utsav Goddess : Abhisheka Valli
Mangalasashanam by Thirumangai Alwar .

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 .