Adikesava Perumal Temple, Thiruvattaru
Thiruvattaru
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Known as the 'Srirangam of the Chera kingdom' for its riverine setting and reclining deity.
Sthala Purāṇam
The Adikesava Perumal Temple at Thiruvattar in Kanyakumari district enshrines Adikesava Perumal, Vishnu in a vast reclining posture, and is revered as a Dakshina Vaikuntham and a Parasurama sthalam. According to the sthala puranam, two asuras, Kesan (Kesi) and his companion, arose to torment the three worlds. The Devas appealed to Vishnu, who as Kesava engaged the demon in a mighty battle and slew him; the Lord then reclined upon the demon's body, while Adisesha coiled around to secure him. Because Kesi was able to touch the Lord's body even while fighting, he attained mukti upon being touched. The demon's wife, grieving, prayed to the rivers to rush forth and destroy the resting Lord; but the Perumal commanded Bhudevi to raise the ground so the waters could not flood it, and the rivers instead encircled him in worship. The rivers flowing in a circle around the shrine gave the place its name Thiruvattaru ('vattam', encircling water). The Lord is called Adikesava, 'the foremost Kesava.' The temple is held to have been consecrated by Parasurama and is mentioned in the Padma Purana; the Travancore ruler Marthanda Varma worshipped here. A Divya Desam, it was glorified by Nammalvar, who sang eleven pasurams in his Tiruvaymoli.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Adikesava Perumal with Maragathavalli of Thiruvattaru is glorified in 11 pāsurams by:
Thiruvattaru (Adikesava Perumal temple, near Marthandam, Kanyakumari district, counted among the Malai Nadu / Kerala Divya Desams) had its Mangalasasanam sung solely by Nammalvar. He devoted the entire eleven-verse decade Thiruvaaymozhi 10.6 (beginning 'aruL peRuvaar') to Adikesava Perumal. The decade is a great outpouring of prapatti (surrender): the Alvar resolves to give up the confusion of samsara and cling to the feet of the discus-bearing Lord of Thiruvattaru, who graciously refuses to let His devotee go. Several temple sources note the verses also allude to the rivers encircling the shrine.
Verses & references (2)
- Opening verse of Nammalvar's Thiruvattaru decade. The Alvar reflects that the Lord who holds the discus (chakra/aazhi) is preparing to bestow His grace upon him, the servant of His devotees who receive His mercy; and that this grace coming to him is by 'our own command' / our destiny. He resolves to reject the cycle of rebirth that breeds ignorance, tells his heart to abandon confusion, and to worship the divine feet of the Lord who stands at Thiruvattaru (thiruvAttARu). — Nammalvar, Thiruvaaymozhi 10.6.1 · source ↗
- The entire tenth-hundred sixth decade (Thiruvaaymozhi 10.6, beginning 'aruL peRuvaar'), of eleven pasurams, is Nammalvar's Mangalasasanam for Adikesava Perumal of Thiruvattaru. The recurring note is total surrender at the feet of the Lord who, the Alvar says, 'will not let go of me in any way', the Lord present at Thiruvattaru encircled by sacred waters. — Nammalvar, Thiruvaaymozhi 10.6 · source ↗
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