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Home , AlwarThirunagari Temple, Alwarthirunagiri, Navagraha temples, Nava Tirupathi, Perungulam, Thenthiruperai

Shanti from Taittriya Upanishad reads

ॐ सह ।

सह ।

सह ह ।

ह ।

ॐ ॥

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Om Saha Nau-Avatu |

Saha Nau Bhunaktu |

Saha Viiryam Karavaavahai |

Tejasvi Nau-Adhiitam-Astu Maa Vidvissaavahai |

Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Meaning:

1: Om, May Protect us Both (the Teacher and the Student),

2: May God Nourish us Both,

3: May we Work Together with Energy and Vigour,

4: May our Study be Enlightening and not give rise to Hostility,

5: Om, Peace, Peace, Peace.

NAVA TIRUPATHI

Nava Tirupathi Kshetras are nine temples dedicated to , located on the either side of Thamiraparani River in to route in Tamilnadu.

The Nava Tirupathi is considered as (the nine planets) Temples. Devotees worship in these temples for relief from the adverse effects of the planets in their life. There are no separate Navagraha shrine here since Lord Vishnu is controlling the planets in the respective temples.

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The Nava Tirupathi temples are included in the “Divya Desams”, the 108 temples of Lord Vishnu which are revered by the 12 Azhvars (Tamil Vaishnava poet- lived over 2500 years ago).

The festival of ‘Vaikasi Utsav’, also named by ‘9 Sevai Utsavam’ celebrated in a grand manner every year in the Tamil month of Vaikasi (May-June). The festival idols of from all the Nava Tirupathi temples are brought on ‘Garuda ’.

Utsavar (An idol) of Nammazhvar (prominent among 12 Azhvars) is also brought in a palanquin and taken to each of the Nava Tirupathi temples and then the selective ‘Paasurams’ (poems which are dedicated to each of the 9 temples) are chanted respectively.

List of Nava Tirupathi Temples and its related Grahas (Planets)

Srivaikuntanathan Perumal Temple – ()

ThiruvaragunaMangai Perumal Temple – ()

Thirukolur Perumal Temple – ()

Thirupulingudi Perumal Temple — ()

Alwarthirunagari Perumal Temple – ()

ThenThiruperai Perumal Temple – – ()

ThiruKuzhandhai() Perumal Temple – ()

Erettai Tirupathi Perumal Temple – RAHU (North node)

Erettai Tirupathi Perumal Temple – (South node)

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Srivaikuntanathar - 1 of 9 Nava Tirupathis

Srivaikuntanathan Perumal Temple (also called Kallapiran temple) is in Srivaikuntam, in , Tamilnadu. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Vaikuntanathar and his consort as Vaikuntavalli.

The temple is one of the in , associated with Surya, the Sun god.

As per the legend, Somuka, a demon, defeated and stole the four from him. Brahma was helpless and he did severe penance in the banks of Tamiraparani River seeking favour from Vishnu in the form of Vaikuntanathan. Pleased by the penance, Vishnu appeared to Brahma and promised to retrieve the Vedas. He killed the demon Somuka and restored the Vedas to Brahma. He also wished to set his abode as Srivakuntam and resided there as Vaikuntanathar.

As per another legend, the image of Vaikunatha, over the period of several ages, had no patrons and was left submerged under the earth. A cow from a herd of the king, which used to graze at the place, did ablution at the place with its where Vaikuntanatha lay buried.

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The king was displeased to see that a particular cow alone was not yielding milk and thought it might have been the trick of the herdsman. He deployed his men to monitor the cow, who reported the events to the king.

The king realised that the cow would lead him to divinity and he dug up the region around the place. He reinstated the image of Vaikuntanathar and expanded the temple. Since Vaikuntanathar was revealed by the cow, the presiding got the name Pal Pandian (pal in Tamil indicates milk).

Kaladushana was a head of robbers in the region, but also was a staunch devotee of Vaikuntanathar. He stole from the rich and distributed the wealth to the poor people in the region. The ruling Pandya king wanted to arrest him, but his attempts were futile. During one of the encounters, he could arrest everyone except Kaladushana. Kaladushana prayed to Srivaikuntanathar to save him and his troop from the king. Vaikuntanathar appeared as Kaladushana and surrendered before the king.Later, he appeared in the dreams of the king to narrate the events and also informed him that he wanted the king and the people to learn that large accumulation of ill-gotten wealth would be stolen and would reach the right hands.The king was enlightened and he released Kaladushana and his troop. Since Vaikuntanathar appeared for thieves (called kalla in Tamil), he came to be known as Kallapiran.

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ThiruvaragunaMangai - 2 of 9 Nava Tirupathis

ThiruvaragunaMangai Perumal temple is situated in Tirunelveli district, in . It is 1 1/2 miles away from Sri Vaikundam on the East. This place is otherwise known as "Nattham".

Legend says, that a named Vedvith who lived in this place, was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu and he had maintained great respect towards his parents and elders. He did penance to attain here, the Lord was pleased by his devotion and Vedvith was blessed and attained salvation in this holy land ThiruVaragunamangai.

This temple explains the importance of Sathyam and Dharmam, the right path to live. It is known as the ‘Chandra ‘, and is believed that the devotees who visit this temple will get the blessings of the Lord Vishnu to attain moksha.

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THIRUKOLUR - 3 of 9 Nava Tirupathis

Sri Vaithamanidhi Perumal Temple is located in Thirukolur, 4 kms from Alwarthirunagari, on the Tiruchendur to Tirunelveli route in Tamilnadu. This Nava Tirupathi temple is for Mars (Mangal/Sevvai) and is also called as Kuberasthalam.

Kubera, the lord of wealth lost his prominence due to the curse of Lord for 's evil glance on Parvathi. When he repented for his sin and sought from Shiva and Parvathi, they advised him to do penance at Thirukolur. After his penance at Thirukolur, Vaithamanithi perumal (Lord Vishnu, presiding deity in this temple) blessed him with his original position with all the wealth.

Vaithamanithi perumal is in reclining pose with the wooden measurement tool (Marakkal) as his pillow to measure the wealth and looking at the palm of his left hand to watch over location of the wealth. It is believed that people who pray here are blessed with all kinds of wealth.

Madhurakavi alwar was born here and later became the sishya of Nammalwar. Madhurakavi Alwar is known as the 'Gnana Nidhi'.

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Thirupulingudi - 4 of 9 Nava Tirupathis

Thirupulingudi temple is at one km distance from Thiruvaragunamangai, on the Tiruchendur to Tirunelveli route in Tamilnadu. The temple represents the Budha (Mercury) sthalam of the Navagraha among Nava Tirupathis.

Once Lord Vishnu accompanied Lakshmi to this place on the banks of Tamiraparani river. Lord Vishnu's another consort Bhooma thought that Lord had ignored her and went to the 'Pathala Lokam". Due to which, Earth became dry and dark. The Devas worshipped the Lord to restore the normalcy on the earth.

Maha Vishnu and Lakshmi Devi went to Pathala Lokam, consoled Bhooma Devi, assured her that she and Lakshmi Devi were both equal to him and came back to this place accompanied by both of them. Earth was thus protected and the Lord came to be known as ‘Bhoomi Palakar‘. The presiding deity is Bhoomipalaka perumal in Bhujanga sayanam and the utsavar is called Kaichina Vendhar perumal.

Lord is said to have been relieved from Brahma hatya dosham at this sthalam. To see both the thirupaadam (Holy feet) of the Lord, we have to see through a small window in the outer prakaram.

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Alwar Thirunagari - 5 of 9 Nava Tirupathis

Alwarthirunagari temple is about 5kms from Srivaikuntam in the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur route in Tamilnadu. This is the birthplace of (prominent among 12 Azhvars). Lord Vishnu is believed to have incarnated as Nammalvar.

The presiding deity Lord Aathippiraan is swayambu (self manifested) and the Lord's feet are covered under the ground. The temple represents the Guru (Jupiter) sthalam of the Navagraha among Nava Tirupathis.

This place is also known as Thirukkurukoor because Lord Brahma received mantropadesam (mantra teaching) from Lord Vishnu in appreciation of his tapasya (penance). Since the Lord became Guru (Kuru), the place is called Thirukkurukoor.

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There is a legend related to and subsequently to Nammalvar, because of whom this holy place is called Alwarthirunagari. Three days before the cessation of , Lord (God of Death) came to see Lord , who instructed his brother not to allow anybody thereafter.

Sage Dhurvaasa came desiring to see Lord Rama before the completion of and Lakshmana, afraid of incurring his wrath and curse, did not stop him. But this displeased Rama who cursed his brother to become a tree, as he did not respect his order.

Lakshmana cried and asked pardon that he could not live without him. Rama then said that he himself had to be like a statue for 16 years, for committing the sin of sending to the forest and that he would sit in the hole of the tree at that time. Lakshmana would become a tree at the Kshetram.

As said by the Lord, Sage and his wife, born as Kaari and Utaya Nangai came to Kurukoor praying for a child. The Lord was born as Maran (Nammalvar) to them and as a baby he crawled to the hole in the tamarind tree and sat motionless for 16 years.

Lakshmana, the incarnation of Adisesha stands as the tamarind tree in this holy temple. So the place is appropriately called Sesha Kshetram.

Nammalvar has rendered in tamil, Thiruvaaymoli - considered to be the essence of Vedas. He had not visited any Divyadesam and remaining in the Tamarind tree-hole, he sang on all the deities in the different Divyadesams.

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Thiruperai - 6 of 9 Nava Tirupathis

Thiruperai temple is about 7kms from Srivaikuntam in the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur route in Tamilnadu. The temple represents the Sukra (Venus) sthalam of the Navagraha among Nava Tirupathis.

Legend says that Goddess Bhoodevi did penance here by chanting the Ashtakshara Mantra — "Om Namo Narayanaya", taught to her by Sage , to come out of her curse. She found two shaped ear rings in Tamaraparani river and offered it to Lord Vishnu. Hence Lord Vishnu, the main deity in this temple came to be known as Nedunkuzhai Kaadhan. Since Goddess Bhoodevi is named by ‘Sri Perai‘, this place is called as ‘Thiruperai‘.

It is believed that Lord (God of Rains ) performed penance on Perumal here to cleanse himself of his disrespectful behaviour against Jupiter-Guru, got relieved out of his curse. Lord Vishnu blesses with enough rain to all devotees who pray for rain at this temple.

The uniqueness about this temple is that Garudan (divine vehicle of Lord Vishnu) is on the front left instead of straight in front of the main deity (as in most of the temples). This is because the Lord wanted to see the children playing and singing, hence this arrangement.

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ThiruKuzhandhai - 7 of 9 Nava Tirupathis

ThiruKuzhandhai temple is about 12 kms from Srivaikuntam on the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur route in Tamilnadu. The temple represents the Shani (Saturn) sthalam of the Navagraha among Nava Tirupathis.

Legend says Lord Vishnu's devotee Vedhacharan and his wife Kumudavalli were childless. They bathed in the river here and undertook penance. Pleased with their , Lord Vishnu blessed them with a daughter.

The daughter, Kamalavathi, turned out to be no ordinary girl. She desired to marry the Lord himself and to this end, she relentlessly pursued the Lord offering daily prayers. Moved by her sincerity, the Lord appeared before her and asked for her wishes. Delighted at having the darshan of the Lord, she said that her mind had not changed and HE was the one that she wanted. Granting her wishes, he accepted her and took her in his chest.

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Another legend says that Lord Vishnu came on his Garuda Vaahanam to defeat Asmachaaran. Having defeated the asura, Lord Vishnu is said to have performed his victory dance standing on the asura’s body. The Devas who watched this wanted the Lord to provide darshan here as ‘Maaya’ ‘Koothan’ (Dancer).

Since this temple has a big lake, this holy place is also popularly called as ‘Perungulam‘ in Tamil for "big lake".

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Thulai Villi Mangalam - 8 of 9 Nava Tirupathis

Thulai Villi Mangalam temple is about 12 kms from Srivaikuntam on the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur route in Tamilnadu.

Legend has it that a man and a woman who had been cursed by Kuberan to assume the forms of a measuring scale (Thulai) and a bow (Villi), were relieved of their curse by a sage Atreya Suprabhar here, hence the name Thulaivillimangalam.

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There are two temples, one in the north direction and the other in the south direction within a distance of 100 mtrs from each other. These are otherwise called as Rettai Tirupathi. These two temples represents the Rahu and Kethu sthalams of the Navagraha among Nava Tirupathis.

Devapiran Temple represents Rahu sthalam. The presiding deity Lord Vishnu known as Devapiran Perumal is believed to have appeared to slay the demon Somuka who abducted the four Vedas.

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Thulai Villi Mangalam - 9 of 9 Nava Tirupathis

Thulai Villi Mangalam temple is about 12 kms from Srivaikuntam on the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur route in Tamilnadu.

Legend has it that a man and a woman who had been cursed by Kuberan to assume the forms of a measuring scale (Thulai) and a bow (Villi), were relieved of their curse by a sage Atreya Suprabhar here, hence the name Thulaivillimangalam.

There are two temples, one in the north direction and the other in the south direction within a distance of 100 mtrs from each other. These are otherwise called as Rettai Tirupathi. These two temples represents the Rahu and Kethu sthalams of the Navagraha among Nava Tirupathis.

Aravindalochanar temple represents Kethu sthalam. The presiding deity Lord Vishnu known as Aravindalochana Perumal got impressed and gave dharshan to Sage Subrabhar who did Lotus pooja every day on the banks of Tamaraparani river.

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