Sathyamurthi Perumal Temple, Thirumeyyam
Thirumeyyam (Thirumayam)
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Features one of the largest reclining Vishnu rock-cut sculptures in India; an ancient Pallava-period cave temple.
Sthala Purāṇam
Thirumeyyam (Thirumayam), in Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu, is a rock-cut cave temple carved into the southern face of the Satyagiri (Meyyam) hill; the name Thirumeyyam derives from 'a land of truth.' The presiding deity is Sathyamurthi Perumal, with the consort Ujeevana Thayar (Lakshmi). Its most celebrated feature is a colossal monolithic reclining form of Vishnu Anantasayana - Vishnu resting on the serpent Adishesha carved into the rear wall of the sanctum - reputed to be the largest such Anantasayi sculpture in India, also lovingly called Azhagiya Neyyar, 'the one who enchants by his beauty.' The sthala puranam relates that Adishesha performed penance here to transform his nature from darkness (tamas) toward purity, his path forming the Pamapar river, and Vishnu appeared to him as Hayagriva. In another account a sage named Satya did penance, whereupon Vishnu turned the river into the temple tank and the rock into Meyyam hill, appeared as the boar (Varaha) to grant the sage liberation, and directed King Pururava to build the temple. The sacred tirtham is the Pamapar, and a pushkarani lies within the premises. As a Divya Desam, Thirumeyyam was hymned by Thirumangai Alvar in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham. The temple displays early Dravidian rock-cut (kudavarai) architecture comparable to Mahendravarman-era cave shrines, has a five-tiered rajagopuram, carries some thirty inscriptions, and sits beside the 1687 CE Thirumayam fort; it is a monument protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Sathyamurthi Perumal (Sathyagirinathar) with Ujeevana Thayar of Thirumeyyam (Thirumayam) is glorified in 9 pāsurams by:
Thirumeyyam (Thirumayam, Pudukkottai district), the rock-cut shrine of Sathyamurthi Perumal / Sathyagirinathar on the southern face of Satyagiri hill, was sung exclusively by Thirumangai Alvar. He performed mangalasasanam to this Divya Desam in 9 pasurams scattered across his works rather than in a single dedicated decade: Periya Thirumozhi (verses 2.5.3, 3.6.9, 8.2.3, 8.8.7, 9.2.3, 10.2.5 and 11.8.5), Thirukkurunthandakam (verse 19), and Periya Thirumadal. The verses praise the Lord who reclines/stands in the truth-hill (Sathyagiri) as the embodiment of truth (Sathyamurthi).
Verses & references (1)
- Thirumangai Alvar glorifies the Lord enshrined on Sathyagiri ('the hill of truth') at Thirumeyyam, the abode where the Lord reveals himself as Sathyamurthi, the very form of truth. Across these verses the Alvar invokes Thirumeyyam among the sacred hill-shrines of the Pandya country where he longs to take refuge. — Thirumangai Alvar, Periya Thirumozhi (references including 3.6.9, 8.2.3, 9.2.3); Thirukkurunthandakam 19; Periya Thirumadal Periya Thirumozhi 2.5.3, 3.6.9, 8.2.3, 8.8.7, 9.2.3, 10.2.5, 11.8.5; Thirukkurunthandakam 19 · source ↗
Plan your visit
📍 10.24695, 78.75200
Routes, distances, hotels and restaurants open in Google Maps with live data. Build a phased pilgrimage plan →