Srivaikuntanathan Perumal Temple
Thiruvaikuntam
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
One of the Nava Tirupati, associated with Surya (the Sun).
Sthala Purāṇam
Srivaikuntam, the chief of the Nava Tirupati, enshrines Vishnu as Vaikunthanathan (Vaikuntanathar) with his consort Vaikunthavalli, on the banks of the Thamiraparani river in Thoothukudi district. Several sthala puranas attach to this kshetram. In one, the demon Somukasura defeated Brahma and stole the Vedas; Brahma performed penance on the Thamiraparani bank, and Vishnu took the Matsya (fish) avatar to slay the demon, recover the Vedas and take up abode here as Vaikunthanathan. The most celebrated account explains the festival deity's name Kallapiran (from the Tamil 'kalla', thief). A robber chief, Kaladushana, who shared his stolen wealth with devotees, prayed for protection from the pursuing Pandya king; the Lord himself took the robber's form, surrendered to the king in his place, and later revealed in a dream the lesson that even ill-gotten wealth given in devotion reaches righteous hands. Another legend tells of a long-buried image discovered when a cow daily emptied its milk over the spot, giving the king the title 'Pal Pandian' (milk Pandya). A distinctive feature tied to the legend is that Adishesha guards the standing Vishnu in a standing posture, said to be unique to this temple. In the Navagraha scheme that overlays the Nava Tirupati, Srivaikuntam is the Surya (Sun) sthalam. Nammalvar sang this Divya Desam in his Tiruvaymoli; during the Vaikasi (May-June) Garuda Sevai festival of the Nava Tirupati, an idol of Nammalvar is brought on the Anna Vahanam and his pasurams for each of the nine Thamiraparani temples are recited. Pandya kings such as Jatavarman Kulasekara and Maravarman Sundara Pandyan endowed the temple.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Vaikunthanathan (Kallapiran) with Vaikunthavalli Thayar of Thiruvaikuntam is glorified by:
Thiruvaikuntam (Srivaikuntanathan / Kallapiran), the first and head shrine of the Nava Tirupati on the Thamiraparani, is glorified by Nammalvar in his Thiruvaymozhi. The standing Lord Kallapiran is celebrated in the famous triad verse of Thiruvaymozhi 9.2 ('paNdai nALAl' decade), in which Nammalvar links three neighbouring Nava Tirupati shrines by the Lord's posture: reclining at Thiruppulingudi, seated at Thiruvaragunamangai, and STANDING at Srivaikuntam. Later acharyas including Manavala Mamunigal also performed mangalasasanam here.
புளிங்குடிக் கிடந்து வரகுணமங்கை இருந்து வைகுந்தத்துள் நின்று தெளிந்த என் சிந்தை அகங்கழியாதே என்னை ஆள்வாய்! எனக்கருளி நளிர்ந்த சீர் உலகம் மூன்றுடன் வியப்ப நாங்கள் கூத்தாடி நின்றார்ப்ப பளிங்கு நீர் முகிலின் பவளம்போல் கனிவாய் சிவப்ப நீ காண வாராயே
puLingudik kidandhu varaguNamangai irundhu vaigundhaththuL ninRu / theLindha en sindhai agangazhiyAdhE ennai ALvAy! enakkaruLi / naLirndha sIr ulagam mUnRudan viyappa nAngaL kUththAdi ninRArppa / paLingu nIr mugilin pavaLampOl kanivAy sivappa nI kANa vArAyE
'O Lord who enslaved me by reclining at Thiruppulingudi, sitting at Thiruvaragunamangai and STANDING at Srivaikuntam, do not leave my now-clarified heart. Granting me your grace, so that the three cool glorious worlds marvel and we dance and cry out in joy, with your coral-like fruit-red lips reddening, please come walking forth that I may see you.' The standing posture references Srivaikuntam (Kallapiran).
Tamil text & meaning sourced from divyaprabandham.koyil.org and other Śrī Vaiṣṇava authorities — please cross-check the linked source for the canonical reading.
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