Purushothama Perumal Temple, Thiruvanpurushothamam
Thiru Vann Purushothamam
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
One of the eleven Nangur Divya Desams.
Sthala Purāṇam
Thiru Vann Purushothamam is one of the eleven Thirunangur Divya Desams near Sirkazhi, glorified by Thirumangai Alvar in ten pasurams of his Divya Prabandham. The Lord is worshipped as Purushottaman, the best among men, the supreme being who is foremost among bhaktas, muktas, nityas and all purushas, with his consort Lakshmi as Purushottama Nayaki (Purushottamavalli). The central legend concerns sage Vyaghrapadar (Vyaghrapada) and his infant son Upamanyu. When the child cried out of hunger, the Lord graciously created an ocean of milk at this place, the Thiruparkadal, and Mother Purushottama Nayaki fed the infant with that milk; sage Upamanyu is remembered as having worshipped the deity here. Because the Lord generously granted the milk ocean to Upamanyu Maharishi, the sacred tank is known as the Thiruparkadal Theertham. As with the other Thirunangur shrines, the temple is linked to the legend of Shiva's grief-stricken dance after the loss of his consort at Daksha's sacrifice, which Vishnu pacified by manifesting in eleven forms across Thirunangur. The Moolavar, Sri Purushottaman, stands facing east, with the Thayaar Purushottama Nayaki enshrined in her own sannidhi. The vimana over the sanctum is the Sanjeevi Vimaanam, and the temple celebrates an annual Garuda Sevai after Thai Amavasai, when the Lord gives darshan upon Garuda along with the other Thirunangur perumals.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Purushothaman (Thamaraikannan) with Purushottama Nayaki (Thamaraikkanni) of Thiru Vann Purushothamam is glorified by:
Thiruvanpurushothamam (Purushothama Perumal temple, Thirunangur, Mayiladuthurai district) is the 30th of the 108 Divya Desams and one of the eleven Thirunangur Tirupathis. It was sung exclusively by Thirumangai Alvar, who performed mangalasasanam in a single decade of 10 pasurams in his Periya Thirumozhi. The presiding deity Purushottaman stands with consort Purushottama Nayagi. Thirumangai Alvar's pasurams for this and the other Thirunangur shrines are recited during the annual Thirumangai Alvar Mangalasasana Utsavam in the Tamil month of Thai.
Verses & references (1)
- Thirumangai Alvar sings a decade (10 pasurams) glorifying the Lord Purushottaman who stands at Thiruvanpurushothamam, one of the eleven Thirunangur Tirupathi shrines near Sirkazhi. He praises the Lord as the Supreme Person (Purushottama) and offers his surrender, the pasurams being recited annually at the Thirumangai Alvar Mangalasasana Utsavam. — Thirumangai Alvar, Periya Thirumozhi one decade of 10 pasurams (Thirunangur Tirupathi group, 3rd pathu) · source ↗
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