Sri Sthala Sayana Perumal Temple Location & Introduction:
This temple is located approximately seventy km due south of Chennai on the shores of the Bay of Bengal in a small town called Mahabalipuram.
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Sri Sthala Sayana Perumal Temple Sthalapuranam
According to legend, Pundarika Maharishi wished to have ‘darshan’ of Lord Narayana as Ksheerapthinatha. So, he gathered lotus flowers for His puja. The Lord came as an elder Brahmin and asked for food. The sage gave the flowers to the elderly Brahmin and went to fetch the food.
Upon his return, he found the Lord stretched out, wearing the flowers he had given. The sage asked for a place at the Lord’s feet which was granted. Because he rested on the floor here, the Lord is called Sthala Sayana Perumal.
Special features
The Lord here is known as Sthalasayana Perumal and the Universal Mother is Nilamangai Thayar. The theertham is Pundarika Pushkarani.The unusual aspect is that the Lord is resting on the floor and Adhisesha. This is the only shrine where the Lord rests directly on the floor.
Mangalasasanam
In Irandaam Thiruvandhadhi (2251), Bhoothath Alwar says Thanjai Mamani Koil, the main temple at Srirangam, Tiruthanka, Tirumala which devotees think as the Ultimate, the Ocean of Milk, the temple at Tiru-kadal-mallai, Tirukkovilur and the temple at Tirukkudanthai surrounded by walls are all places where the Lord who shot arrows so well decided to reside in.
In Peria Thirumozhi (1088-1097), Thirumangai alwar says that the Lord who ate all the worlds and kept it in His stomach to bring it back out, who is the support of this world like a strong choral pillar, the Lord who split the mouth of Kesi who came in the form of a horse, who broke the tusk of the elephant and killed it, He who resolved the troubles of Gajendra, whom one can see in one’s hour of distress is the one who is resting in Thirukkadalmallai.
Om Namo Narayanaya!
