ThiruvanparisAram divya dEsam

[Click on photos to enlarge]

Also called as Thirupathi sAram, this divya dEsam is one of the 13 malai nAdu divya dEsams. Eleven of the thirteen malai nAdu divya dEsams are located in the South Indian state of kEraLA. ThiruvanparisAram is one of the remaining two that are located in the state of Tamil nAdu.

Location and Access:

ThiruvanparisAram is located 4 km from the town of nAgarkOil. It is located off the highway connecting nAgarkOil and the larger town of tirunelvEli. nAgarkOil is located close to the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. A visit to TiruvanparisAram may be done as part of a package tour to the malai nAdu divya dEsams or combined with a visit to the AzhwAr nava thirupathis of TirunelvEli. Another divya dEsam – ThiruvattAru is located nearby. ThiruvanparisAram itself is not a big town and has very limited facilities for boarding and lodging.

[Click here for more photos of this divyadEsam]

The Temple:

The temple is not very big and all sannidhis can be covered in a leisurely manner in about 45 minutes. The main sanctum sanctorum has perumAL in a sitting position facing east. The perumAL goes by the name of ThiruvAzh mArban (He whose chest is the abode of Lakshmi) also called as thirukkuraLappan. The thAyAr here is Sri kamalavaLLi. There is no separate sannidhi for thAyAr. The temple tank here brims with water and is called the sOmalakshmi theertham. Behind the temple we see a small separate sannidhi for SrI nammAzhwAr. Also, there is a sannidhi for Sri rAmA, sItA, lakshmNA and vibhIshaNA at this Divya dEsam.

Legends and History:

-          This Divya Desam is the birthplace of Sri udayanangai, mother of Sri nammAzhwAr. This pious lady worshipped the Lord at this Divya Desam for 41 days and was blessed with a son (nammAzhwAr).

-          According to legend, HanumAn requested sage agastyA to retell the story of rAmAyanA at this place.

-          During the incarnation of the Lord as narasimhA, Lakshmi was frightened by His fierce appearance and left Him to perform penance at this Divya Desam. The Lord was pacified by PrahalAdA and resumed His usual, gentle form and visited this Divya Desam, where Lakshmi resumed Her rightful place on the Lord’s chest. Hence the Lord got the name ThiruvAzh mArban (He whose chest is the abode of Lakshmi).

-          According to another legend, the saptha rishis wished to have a vision of the Lord and meditated on Him. Their efforts fructified at this Divya Desam.

-          The construction of the temple gOpuram and corridors was done by King KulasEkara (not sure if this is the same as Sri kulasEkara AzhwAr)

AzhwAr mangaLAsAsanams:

nammAzhwAr 3475

[Note: The numbering convention for the pAsurams seems to differ in various Divya Prabandham books. In some Divya Prabandham books, the same pAsuram by nammAzhwAr is listed as # 2882]

AzhwAr pAsuram:

வருவார் செல்வார் வண்பரிசாரத்து இருந்த என்

திருவாழ்மார்பற்கு என்திறம் சொல்லார் செய்வது என் ?

உருஆர் சக்கரம் சங்கு சுமந்து இங்கு உம்மோடு

ஒருபாடு உழல்வான் ஓர் அடியானும் உளம் என்றே !

In this pAsuram nammAzhwAr laments: Many devotees visit this divya dEsam. But none conveys my plight to the Lord of ThiruvanparisAram who has Lakshmi on His chest.  Nobody tells Him that there is a devotee waiting out there (refers to AzhwAr) for His Grace.

SrI thiruvAzhmArban thiruvadigaLAe saraNam