Thrippuliyoor Mahavishnu Temple, Thiruppuliyur
Thiruppuliyur
Photo: Richard Mortel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
One of the five Pancha Pandava Divya Desams; attributed to Bhima.
Sthala Purāṇam
Thrippuliyoor, at Puliyoor near Chengannur in Alappuzha district, is the Divya Desam where the Lord is worshipped as Mayapiran, also known as Thripuliyoorappan. The deity stands in Nindra Thirukkolam (standing posture), facing east, and the Thaayar is Porkodi Nachiyar. The Vimanam is the Purushasukta (Purushothama) Vimanam, and the sacred waters include the Poonsunai Theertham. This is one of the five Pancha Pandava temples of the Chengannur area, attributed to Bhima, the second Pandava, who is believed to have built the shrine and installed the image during the brothers' pilgrimage after the Mahabharata war. The principal sthala purana relates the Saptarishis (the seven great sages) who performed penance here; the legend tells that they had rejected a king's offerings until they witnessed the Lord's divine protection from a demon, after which they received the Lord's seva and attained mukti (liberation) at this place. The temple was sung by Nammalvar, who composed ten paasurams glorifying Mayapiran in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, and a reference also appears in Thirumangai Alvar's Siriya Thirumadal, securing the shrine among the 108 Divya Desams. It is constructed in the Kerala architectural style. Major festivals include the Aarattu in Margazhi and Kavadiyattam in Thai.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Mayapiran (Thripuliyoorappan) with Porkodi Nachiyar of Thiruppuliyur is glorified in 10 pāsurams by:
The Thripuliyoor Mahavishnu Temple (Thiruppuliyur; deity Mayapiran / Thripuliyoorappan) in Kuttanad, Kerala, is a Malai Nadu Divya Desam. Nammalvar sings its mangalasasanam in the Thiruvaimozhi 8.9 decade ('karumaanikka malai mel'), comparing the dark sapphire-hued Lord to a gem-mountain adorned with lotuses. Thirumangai Alvar additionally references the kshetra in his Siriya Thirumadal.
Verses & references (2)
- Nammalvar glorifies Mayapiran (Thripuliyoorappan) of Thiruppuliyur in the Thiruvaimozhi 8.9 decade, which opens 'karumaanikka malai mel' - likening the dark-hued Lord to a sapphire mountain crowned with groves of jewelled lotuses (His chest, mouth, eyes, hands, navel and feet shining like red lotuses upon a blue-gem hill). The decade, sung in the longing voice of the heroine's companions, celebrates the Lord's supreme beauty and His presence amid the fertile Kuttanad region. — Nammalvar, Thiruvaimozhi (Nalayira Divya Prabandham) 8.9 (decade), pasurams 8.9.1-8.9.11; Divya Prabandham serial ~3535-3545 · source ↗
- Thirumangai Alvar mentions Thiruppuliyur in one of his verses (in the Siriya Thirumadal), referencing the Lord of this Kerala kshetra; this is a passing mangalasasanam reference rather than a full dedicated decade. — Thirumangai Alvar, Siriya Thirumadal / Periya Thirumozhi reference (Nalayira Divya Prabandham) Siriya Thirumadal reference (Divya Prabandham ~2673/71) · source ↗
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