Thiru Vann Purshotthamam (30/108)
|
Name |
Thiru Vann Purshotthamam |
|---|---|
|
District |
Nagapattinam |
|
State |
Tamil Nadu |
|
Mangalasasanam |
Thirumangai Azhwar |
|
Position |
Chozha Naadu (30/108) |
|
Presiding deity |
Vishnu |
|
God |
Vann Purushothaman |
|
Utsavar |
Vann Purushothaman |
|
Goddess |
Purushothama Nayagi |
|
Vimanam |
Sanjeeva Vigraha |
|
Speciality |
One of the 11 Thiru Nangur Divya Desangal One of the three shrines where The Lord graces his devotees as “Purushothaman” Houses the shrine of Manavala Maa Munigal who is closely associated with Thiru Nangur Divya Desangal |
|
Theertham |
Thiru Paarkadal Theertham |
|
Worshipped by |
The Rudran of The Mahadeva Peedam (The Sixth Rudran) Pulikkal Munivar (Vyaagra Paadha Rishi) Upamanyu, the son of Pulikkal Munivar |
|
Temple timings |
8AM to 11PM and 5PM to 8PM |
|
Contact details |
LORE:
The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Vann Purushothaman and His Devi is Purushothama Nayagi.
Why does the Sthalam go by the name of “Thiru Vann Purshotthamam”?
The Lord here is personified by Thirumangai Azhwar as “Chakravarthy Thirumagan” of Ayodhya. He is “Vann Purushothaman” in this shrine.
“Vann” means “Attractively Handsome”
“Purushothaman” means “He who is the greatest among all men” (Purusha – Men, Uthaman – Greatest)
The shrine is also named after him as “Thiru Vann Purshotthamam”
How are men are grouped into three types based on their behaviour?
- Adhaman – He who destroy happiness of others to keep himself happy
- Mathiman – He who allow others to be happy as long as his happiness is not jeopardised
- Uthaman – He who forsakes all his happiness to keep others happy
What are the avatars of Lord Vishnu that go by the name of “Purushothaman”?
- Mariyadhai Purushothaman – Lord Ram
Lord Ram’s life and journey is one of perfect adherence to dharma despite harsh tests of life and time. He is pictured as the ideal man and the perfect human.
He was always an ideal son to his parents. For the sake of his father’s honour, Lord Ram abandons his claim to the throne, to serve an exile of fourteen years in the forest.
He was always a good and ideal king to the people of His kingdom. Lord Ram went to Shabari’s ashram because of her sincere devotion. This clearly shows that He will neither see whether a devotee lives in a palace or humble hut, whether he is erudite or ignorant nor see caste and creed.
Lord Ram will only see the true bhakti. She said that she did not have anything to offer other than her heart, but there were some berries, she had meticulously collected to Rama and she offered them to Him.
When Lord Ram was tasting them, Lakshman raised the concern that Shabari had already tasted them and therefore the berries are unworthy of eating. To this, Lord Ram said that of the many types of food he had tasted, nothing could equal these berries, offered with such devotion.
“Mariyadhai” generally relates to humans and not Gods. God is away from human nature. Because Lord Ram behaved like a righteous human and never showed his Avatara Rahashya, he was treated fully as a respectful human. Thus, Lord Ram is called “Mariyadhai Purushothaman”
- Leela Purushothaman – Lord Krishna
As per the scriptures, Rama had 14 kalaigal or divine qualities whereas Krishna had 16 kalaigal, the extra two being Paripoorana- all knowing Omniscience and Swarupawasthita- in His true Godly form.
Lord Ram came to establish the importance of being a good and dutiful man and a just King. Lord Ram was born unaware of His divinity because the purpose of His avatar was to kill a powerful man who had the boon that no God could kill him.
Lord Krishna, though, was born for much more. Not only to establish righteousness but to also propound that divine love transcends all worldly duties and righteousness.
He was the only Avatharam that was born with knowledge of His divinity. He existed as a witness to everything that happened and hence was able to smirk and smile at everything, beginning from the Demoness Bhuthanai trying to kill Him, to forever leaving His childhood home and friends to watching all His children dying, knowing that it was all Maya, just an illusion.
Lord Ram was unable to keep His only wife Sita happy, in order to be righteous and even sent her pregnant into jungle, to appease one of his subjects.
Lord Krishna gave up all such man-made moralities just to please his devotees including his 16,000 wives, whom the society had ostracised. He ran away from the battlefield to save His men’s lives, not caring if others thought Him a coward. He cheated, plotted and manipulated for those that relied on Him, uncaring of being judged. He never worried about being morally or ethically correct. He just cared about being loved.
Lord Ram incites utmost respect. Whereas, Lord Krishna evokes maddening, unstoppable love and is thus fondly called as Leela Purushothaman.
What are the sixteen “Kalais” given in the scriptures?
- Annamaya – Food
- Pranamaya – Breath
- Manomaya – Mind
- Vigyanamaya – Intellect
- Anandamaya – Joy
- Atishayini – Peaceful
- Viparinabhini – Love
- Sankramini – Creator
- Prabhavii – Mighty
- Kunthini – beyond pain
- Vikasini – Great
- Maryadini – Highly respected
- Sanhaladini – A source of happiness
- Ahladini – Causing joy
- Paripoorna – Omniscient
- Swarupavasthitha – Manifested in Godly self
In the scriptures, “Chaitanya-Shakti” is measured by means of “Kalai”.
|
Rocks, minerals and other inert matter |
1 Kalai |
|---|---|
|
Plants |
2 Kalai |
|
Animals |
3 to 4 Kalai |
|
The average human being |
5 Kalai |
|
Spiritual Human beings |
6 Kalai |
|
Saints |
7 Kalai |
|
Most Advanced Saints |
8 Kalai |
It is not possible for saints to go beyond 8 Kalai (s). A normal human body cannot sustain greater than 8 Kalai(s). Beyond that starts the incarnations of The Lord, with special sattva bodies.
What are the three Shrines where The Lord is worshipped as “Purushothaman”?
- Thiru Karambanur (03/108)
- Thiru Vann Purshotthamam (30/108)
- Thiru Kandam ennum Kadi Nagar (99/108) (Deva Prayag)
What is the lore of the temple?
The temple shares the common lore of all the 11 Thiru Nangur Shrines and Lord Vann Purushothaman is said to have manifested to quell the anger of one of the Ekadasha Rudras, who emanated from the locks of the grief-stricken Lord Shiva, who danced the Pralaya Thandavam upon knowing the untimely demise of his then wife, Devi Sati.
Vann Purushothaman is pacifying the sixth Rudra viz. the Rudra of the “Mahadeva Peedam”, in Thiru Nangur, presided by Lord Nambuvaarkku Anbar and His Anbil Piriyaal
The details of the story are elaborated “here”
What is the story of Vyaagra Paadha Rishi and this shrine?
Vyaagra Paadha Rishi (Puli Kaal Munivar) was an ardent Shiva Devotee. He used to pick the flowers for offering to Lord Nataraja Of Chidambaram (01/276). He was often distraught because, by the time he plucked the flowers after dawn, the honey bees had already taken the nectar from the flowers. He wanted the flowers to be untainted and pure to offer to the Lord. Hence, he prayed to The Lord and asked for night-vision like the tiger, to see the flowers in the dark hours before dawn and feet like the tiger to climb the trees and pluck the flowers with ease, before the honey bees could consume the nectar. (Vyaagra – Tiger, Paadham– feet)
He is said to have attained salvation at another beautiful Divya Desam called Thiru Sirupuliyur (24/108) from The Lord Arul Maa Kadal Amudhan.
He had worshipped many Shiva and Vishnu temples along the way and Thiru Vann Purshotthamam was one of them. He lived here and was offering his prayers to The Lord. He had a toddler called Upamanyu. Once, the saint had left the child in the temple premises and had gone to pluck flowers.
The child felt hungry and started to cry. Devi Purushothama Nayagi, The Mother of all Creation, felt moved by the wails of the child and beseeched Lord Purushothaman to intervene. He then summoned milk from the celestial Thiru Paarkadal itself and created a tank adjacent to the temple. Upamanyu was fed with the milk from the tank by Devi Purushothama Nayagi.
This is very similar to the way that Thiru Gnana Sambandhar was fed the Gnana Paal – the milk of knowledge, by Devi Uma at Sirkazhi (14/276). Be it Shaivam or Vaishanvam, a Mother’s yearning for her baby is the same.
What is the association of Manavaala Maa Munigal and this shrine?
- Manavaala Maa Munigal is said to have lived in this shrine for two years and complied all the Sthala Puraanas and set the Aagamas for the worship of The Lord.
- He belonged to the era of the 15th century, born in Azhwar Thirungari (87/108)
- He had written 19 granthangal (Literary works)
- He has composed a beautiful composition called “Vadivazhagu Choornikai” which describes the beauty of Thirumangai Azhwar.
- He has a separate shrine in Thiru Vann Purshotthamam, and His Utsava Moorthy is of special importance during the eleven Garuda Sevai.
- It is he who leads the procession of the eleven Garuda Sevai, seated on the Sesha Peedam
- He also does the Mangalasasanam for Thirumangai Azhwar, who had done Mangalasasanam for the 11 Thiru Nangur Divya Desangal.
The “Vadivazhagu Choornikai” composed by Manavaala Maa Munigal?
“அணைத்த வேலும், தொழுத கையும், அழுந்திய திருநாமமும்,
ஓம் என்ற வாயும், உயர்ந்த மூக்கும், குளிர்ந்த முகமும்,
பரந்த விழியும், படிந்த நெற்றியும்,
நெரித்த புருவமும், சுருண்ட குழலும்,
வடிந்த காதும், அசைந்த காதுகாப்பும்,
தாழ்ந்த செவியும், சரிந்த கழுத்தும்,
அகன்ற மார்பும், திரண்ட தோளும்,
நெளித்த முதுகும், குவிந்த இடையும்,
அல்லிக்கயிறும், அழுந்திய சீராவும்,
தூக்கிய கருங்கோவையும்,தொங்கலும் தனி மாலையும்,
தளிரும் மிளிருமாய் நிற்கிற நிலையும்,
சாத்திய திருதண்டையும்,சதிரான வீரக்கழலும்,
தஞ்சமான தாளினையும், குந்தியிட்ட கனைக்காலும்,
குளிர வைத்த திருவடி மலரும்,
வாய்த்த மணங்கொல்லையும், வயலாலி மணவாளனும்,
வாடினேன் வாடி வாழ்வித்தருளிய நீலக்கலிகன்றி,
மருவளர்தம் உடல்துணிய வாள் வீசும் பரகாலன்,
மங்கை மன்னனான வடிவே!”
“உரை களித்த வாளையொத்த விழி மடந்தை மாதர் மேல்,
உருக வைத்த மனம் ஒழித்து உலகளந்த நம்பி மேல்,
குறையை வைத்து, மடல் எடுத்த
குறையலாலி திருமணங்கொல்லைதன்னில்,
வழி பறித்த குற்றமற்ற செங்கையான்,
மறை உரைத்த மந்திரத்தை,
மால் உரைக்க அவன் முனே,
மதி ஒடுக்கி, மணம் அடக்கி,வாய் புதைத்து ஒன்றலார்,
கரை குளித்த வேல் அணைத்து நின்ற இந்த நிலைமை,
என் கண்ணை விட்டு அகன்றிடாது கலியன் ஆன ஆனையே!”
“காதும் சொரிமுத்தும்,
கையும் கதிர் வேலும்,
தாது புனை தாளினையும், தனிற்றிலம்பும்,
நீதி புனை தென்னாலி நாடன் திருவழகைப்போல,
என் ஆணை ஒப்பார் இல்லையே!”
“வேல் அணைத்த மார்பும்,
விலங்கு திருவெட்டெழுத்தை
மால் உரைக்க, தாழ்த்த வளர்செவியும்
தாளினை தண்டையும் வீரக்கழலும்,
தார்க்கலியன் நன்முகமும்
கண்டு களிக்கும் என் கண்”
“இதுவோ திருவரசு?
இதுவோ திருமணங்கொல்லை?
இதுவோ எழில் ஆலி என்னுமூர்?
இதுவோதான் வெட்டும் கலியன் வெருட்டி
நெடுமாலை எட்டெழுத்தும் பறித்த இடம் ?”
“ஸ்ரீமதாலி ஸ்ரீநகரி நாதாய கலிவைரினே
சதுஷ்கவி ப்ரதாநாய பரகாலய மங்களம்”
What are the other specialities of the temple?
- Lord Purushothaman is in the standing posture, with four arms, carrying the royal sceptre and is seen along with Sri Devi and Bhu Devi Naatchiyaar.
- There is a separate shrine for Chakravarthy Thirumagan, Lord Ram to the Lord Purushothaman’s left side.
- Devi Purushothama Nayagi is housed in a separate shrine as Thani Kovil Naatchiyaar.
- There are three shrines for Lord Anjaneya in this temple, and the one His mouth.
- The temple tank is the largest among the Thiru Nangur Divya Desangal and is glorified as “Paasi Padiyaadha Thiru Paarkadal”
An excerpt from Thirumangai Azhwar Paasuram:
“கம்பமா கடலடைத்து இலங்கைக்குமன் கதிர்முடி அவைபத்தும்
அம்பினால் அறுத்து அரசு அவன் தம்பிக்கு அளித்தவன் உறைகோயில்
செம்பலாநிரை செண்பகம்மாதவி சூதகம் வாழைகள்சூழ்
வம்புஉலாம் கமுகுஓங்கிய நாங்கூர் வண்புருடோத்தமமே.”
“The one who had built a bridge across the terrifying sea, the one who killed the ten-headed king, Raavan of Lanka using his arrows, the one who gave his reign to his younger brother resides in this shrine Vann Purshotthamam of Thiru Nangur, which is surrounded by Shenbagam flowers, jackfruit, palm and plantain orchards,
Our Experience:
We had the fortune of seeing Lord Vann Purushothaman during three visits to Thiru Nangur. The first was an exploratory visit during the weekend, the second was during the Eleven Garuda Sevai and the third was during our blitzkrieg trip, in which we covered all the eleven Divya Desangal in 2 hours and 40 minutes.
The temple priest is a very nice and helpful person. He is also in-charge of a few more shrines and inspite of having a tight schedule, he patiently showed us the Aarthi at all shrines (Four in total) and also guided us as to how efficiently we can cover all the eleven shrines.
To our delight, he even gave us a beautiful glossy printed photograph of all the eleven Utsava Moorthies of the Thiru Nangur Diva Desangal.
Thiru Vann Purshotthamam seems to be the headquarters of the “Ezhu Kovil Adheenam”, presumably because of its association to Manavala Maa Munigal. We were blessed with a splendid darisanam of Lord Vann Purushothaman and His Devi Purushothama Nayagi.
See you folks at the next temple in the Thiru Nangur Divya Desangal – Thiru Thetri Ambalam (37/108)
Loads of love,
Karthick and Rahul.
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