Perarulalan Perumal Temple, Thirusemponsei Koil
Thiru Sempon Sei Kovil
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
One of the eleven Nangur Divya Desams.
Sthala Purāṇam
Thiru Sempon Sei Kovil is one of the eleven Thirunangur Divya Desams near Sirkazhi, sung by Thirumangai Alvar. The Lord is worshipped as Perarulalan, the one of abundant grace, with alternate names Hema Rangar (Hemaranganatha), Sem Pon Arangar and Damodaran, reflecting his form akin to Lord Ranganatha bestowing wealth on devotees. The distinctive sthala puranam tells how Lord Rama, after slaying Ravana, sought relief from brahmahatya dosham. After visiting Rameswaram he came to this site and stayed at the ashram of Thrida Nethra Maharishi; following the sage's counsel, Rama fashioned a cow of pure gold, remained upon it, and after the prescribed days donated it to a Brahmin. The Brahmin sold the gold and built this temple with the proceeds, making it celebrated as the Divya Desam where the Perumal himself, in effect, provided the means to construct his own shrine. From this Sem Pon (pure gold) gift the place took the name Sempon Sei Kovil, the temple made of pure gold. The shrine also embodies the shared Thirunangur legend in which Lord Shiva performed the Ekadasa Rudra worship and Narayana manifested in eleven forms to bless him. The Moolavar, Sri Perarulalan, stands facing east, with the Thayaar Allimaamalar Naachiyar and the Utsavar Hema Rangar. The sacred tank is the Nithya Pushkarani, and the vimana over the sanctum is the Kanaka Valli Vimaanam.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Perarulalan (Hemaranganatha) with Allimaamalar Nachiyar of Thiru Sempon Sei Kovil is glorified by:
Thiru Sempon Sei Kovil (Perarulalan Perumal Temple, Thirusemponsei Koil) at Thirunangur near Sirkazhi, Mayiladuthurai district, is one of the eleven Thirunangur Divya Desams and is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham exclusively by Thirumangai Alvar. He sang one complete thirumozhi (decad of ten pasurams) on this shrine: Periya Thirumozhi 4.3, which opens with the line "pEraNindhu" and is named for the presiding deity Perarulalan (Tamil "pEraruLALan," the Lord of abundant grace; also called Hema Ranga / Sempon Arangar / Damodaran). Throughout the decad each pasuram closes with the refrain locating the Lord "Thirunangai nannaduvuL sembonsey kOyilin uLLE" — within the Semponsey Koil in the auspicious centre of Thirunangur, the town of eminent Vedic brahmins. The Alvar describes the Lord standing east-facing with Sri Mahalakshmi (the lotus-born goddess) and Bhudevi, likens him to a dark rain-bearing cloud, and praises him as the boundless flood of bliss, the great purport of the Vedas, and the Lord of the celestials (vAnavar kOn); in pasuram after pasuram he declares that by beholding this Lord he was redeemed and his life made fulfilled. A distinctive tradition holds that among all eleven Thirunangur Divya Desams, this is the only one where Thirumangai Alvar offered mangalasasanam specifically to the Thayar, Allimaamalar Nachiyar. The closing phalashruti (4.3.10, "thEnamar sOlai") promises that those who master the ten verses will rule the earth and then attain the eternal abode of the celestials. The decad is honoured each year in the Thirumangai Alvar Mangalasasana Utsavam (Thai month) and the grand Thirunangur Garuda Sevai.
Verses & references (3)
- The Lord Perarulalan (pEraruLALan), of boundless grace, whom all the people of the world worship and extol, stands together with Sri Mahalakshmi (the goddess born of the lotus) and Bhudevi within the Semponsey Koil set in the auspicious centre of Thirunangur, a town rich with beautiful mansions. Beholding this Lord who resembles a dark rain-laden cloud, I was redeemed and uplifted. — Thirumangai Alvar, Periya Thirumozhi 4.3.1 · source ↗
- He who is free of birth and old age, the undiminishing flood of bliss, who is past, future and present alike, who is the sweetness of the seven musical notes, the great purport of the Vedas, the Lord of the celestials — Him I beheld within the Semponsey Koil in the good centre of Thirunangur, the abode of eminent Vedic brahmins, and so my life was made fulfilled. — Thirumangai Alvar, Periya Thirumozhi 4.3.2 · source ↗
- This is the phalashruti (benediction) verse. Kaliyan (Thirumangai Alvar), lord of Thirumangai, sings of having beheld the Lord of the celestials within the Semponsey Koil in the good centre of honey-filled, grove-rich Thirunangur. Those who master all ten of these flawless verses without omission shall rule the earth beneath the great white royal parasol and thereafter joyously attain the company of the eternal celestials. — Thirumangai Alvar, Periya Thirumozhi 4.3.10 · source ↗
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