(All Part of Thirunangur Eleven Divya Desam)
Location: As can be seen from the map, all three places Thirumanikkoodam & Thiruvellakulam & Thiruparthanpalli are within a few km of Thirunangur which itself is a few km away from Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu.
Thirumanikkoodam
Sthalapuranam
This divya desam is like that of Kanchi Varadaraja perumal. He is renowned for his ability to grant devotee’s requests. The Lord also participates amongst the eleven Garuda sevais on Thai Amavasya Day every year.
Special features
He closely resembles Kanchi Sri Varadarajaswamy and is known as Gajendra Varadhan. The universal mother is known as Thirumamagal Natchiyar. The temple pond is Chandra pushkarni and the Vimana is Kanaka Vimana.
Mangalasasanam
This temple is sung about only by Thirumangai Alwar in Peria Thirumozhi (1288-1297). He speaks of the Lord as the one who ended the tribulations of Gajendra and was later born as Krishna. During this avatar, the Lord picked the Govardhan hill filled with deep-rooted bamboo to protect the people of Gokula. At Thirunangur which is along the Kaveri river, the same Lord resides at Thirumanikkoodam temple.
He also refers to the Lord as one who cut off the nose and ears of Surpanaka. He says the Lord who eternally resides with Periya Piratti and Bhumi Devi is the one who resides in Thirumanikkoodam temple. He also refers to the Lord of Thirumanikkoodam as the one out of the three (Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra).
Thiruvellakulam (Annan Koil)
Sthalapuranam
A Solar dynasty King had a son by the name Sweta who was predicted to have a short life span. As a young boy, Sweta prayed to Sri Vishnu who granted him a long life. Thus, the temple pond became Sweta Pushkarni and the town got the name Thiruvellakulam (sweta in Tamil is Vellai or white).
Thirumangai Alwar refers to the Lord of Tirumala as the younger brother of the Lord of this temple. Hence the name Annan (elder brother) Koil.
Sri Annan Perumal Temple Srinivasan Padmavathi – Divya Desam; Click here for the Google Maps Location
Special features
The Lord is known as Annan Perumal or Srinivasa. And in the same vein as the association with Srinivasa, the universal mother is known as Alarmelmangai or Padmavati. The Vimana is Tatvathyothaka Vimana and the temple pond, as mentioned, is Sweta pushkarni.
Of the 108 Divya Desams, this is the only place where the Lord and the Mother have names identical to Tirumala deities. It is said that this is where Kumudavalli consort of Thirumangai Alwar originated.
It is here that she laid the many conditions, fulfilling which helped Thirumangai become a SriVaishnavaite and an alwar. When Manavala Maamuni searched for the Lord and the Lord searched for Manavala Maamuni, both were said to have met each other here. The area is known as Palasavanam.
Mangalasasanam
Thirumangai Alwar is the only Alwar who has sung about this Divya Desam in Peria Thirumozhi (1308 – 1317).
He refers to the Lord as one with the complexion of the dark ocean residing in this temple. He says that brave warriors live in Thirunangur where Thiruvellakulam temple with tall walls can be found. He further refers to the lord as one who broke the tusks of the wild elephant Kuvalayapeedamu.
The Lord is resident in Thirunangur where only good people reside. The Lord is also like an elephant in the Thiruvellakulam temple surrounded by garden-like surroundings where bees collect plenty of honey. He finally appeals to the consort of Mahalakshmi who is ever resident in his heart.
He says only wise brahmins reside in Thirunangur where the Lord resides in the Thiruvellakulam temple. He requests the lord to end his suffering in this world.
Thiruparthanpalli
Sthalapuranam
It is said that Arjuna became thirsty during his wanderings and approached Sage Agasthya for water to drink. The sage looked at his Kamandalu to offer water which immediately went dry. He pointed out to Arjuna his mistake and asked him to pray to Krishna.
The Lord appeared as Parthsarathy, gave Arjuna a sword and began Arjuna’s education. Arjuna drew a line on the ground with the sword out of which water sprang. Hence the name of the Divya desam.
Special Features
The Lord here is amongst the eleven who participate in combined brahmotsavam garuda seva on Thai Amavasya day. The Lord is known as Thamaraiyallkelvan or Parthasarathy. The universal mother is known as Thamarainayaki. The pond is known as Ketka (sword) theertham. The vimana is Narayana Vimana. There is a shrine for Arjuna in this temple. Sage Agastya is said to have walked followed by Kaveri.
Along the river’s route, there are a few shrines to the sage. However, this is last as the sage stayed here as the end point of his travels. Since Poigai Alwar refers to the universal mother here specifically by name, it could be assumed that he has also sung about this Divya Desam. The Lord here is considered to be the same as the one in Thiruvallikeni.
Mangalasasanam
Thirumangai Alwar has sung about this divya desam in Peria Thirumozhi (1318- 1327). He refers to the Lord as the one who broke the tusks of the wild elephant. He refers to the Lord of Parthanpalli as Thamaraiyallkelvan of Thirunangur.
Resorting to Nayaka-nayaki bhava, he says (as a mother) his daughter sings the praise of the lord of Parthanpalli. He refers to his daughter (as a mother) who has lost all the qualities of a woman because of her love of the Lord of Parthan palli and who against all expectations has walked out of the house.
The mother says her daughter is after the Lord with Sudarshana. His fame is known worldwide. He always cares for his devotees. He is the prime cause of all seven worlds. Poigai Alwar in his Mudhal Thiruvandhadhi (2148) says that the river looks to the sea, the Lotus always looks to the sun, non-Vaishnava’s life reaches Dharmaraja. The same way Jnana looks for Thamaraiyallkelvan.
