Saranatha Perumal Temple, Thirucherai
Thiruccherai
Photo: Wiele & Klein · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
Said to be the only Divya Desam where the Perumal grants darshan with five goddesses (Thayars).
Sthala Purāṇam
The Saranatha Perumal Temple at Thirucherai is bound to the cosmic deluge, the Maha Pralaya. When the universe faced dissolution, Vishnu instructed Brahma to safeguard the Vedas and the instruments of creation in a vessel. Having tested the soil of many places, Brahma found that only the firm sand of Thirucherai held fast, and from it he fashioned a strong pot in which he preserved the Vedas through the flood, enabling re-creation thereafter. From this saving saras (tank or vessel) the kshetra takes its name; it is celebrated as the Pancha Saara Kshetram, where five elements gave their support, the sthala, the Lord, the Goddess, the Pushkarani, and the vimana. A second legend tells of the river Cauvery, who performed severe penance desiring parity with the Ganga. Vishnu appeared as an infant whom she nursed; revealing his ten avatars and granting her a dip in the temple tank, he declared that in the month of Tula she would be regarded as holier even than the Ganga, and he is said to have crawled as a child in her hands, accepting her as his mother. Uniquely, the moolavar Saranathan stands here flanked by five consorts, Sridevi, Bhudevi, Neeladevi, Mahalakshmi, and Saranayaki. Sage Markandeya and the river Cauvery are enshrined beside the Lord, and Thirumangai Alvar sang pasurams in its praise.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Saranatha Perumal (Saaranathan) with Saranayaki of Thiruccherai is glorified by:
Thiruccherai (Saranatha Perumal temple, near Kumbakonam, Thiruvarur district) is a Chola Nadu Divya Desam glorified solely by Thirumangai Alvar in his Periya Thirumozhi, with the tradition counting 13 pasurams in his praise. The Lord Saranathan ('refuge-lord') is uniquely depicted here with five consorts. The pasurams extol Him as the ultimate refuge.
Verses & references (1)
- Thirumangai Alvar performs mangalasasanam on Saranatha Perumal of Thirucherai, glorifying the Lord who reclines/stands at this Cauvery-delta shrine. The temple is celebrated as the unique Divya Desam where the Lord is seen with five consorts (Sara Nayagi, Sridevi, Bhudevi, Mahalakshmi and Nila Devi). — Thirumangai Alvar, Periya Thirumozhi one decade of pasurams on Thirucherai (Saranathan) · source ↗
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