TIRUNAVAYANAVAMUKUNDA TEMPLE, MALAPPURAM DISTRICT-KERALA-COMPILED Dear friends,
Today my posting is about Tirunavaya Navamukumda temple. Thetemple is near Tirur in the Malappuram District of Kerala. It is a very famoustemple in North Kerala. The temple is glorified in Divya Prabandha, an early medievalTamil collection of hymns by the Vaishnava Alvars. It is one of the 108 DivyaDesams dedicated to God Vishnu, who is worshipped as Navamukunda Perumal atThirunavaya. Hope a divine reading. Gopalakrishnan 28-05-2025 Introduction Tirunavaya Nava Mukunda Temple is an ancient Hindu temple atTirunavaya, on the northern bank of theBharatappuzha. The temple is glorified in Divya Prabandham, an early medievalTamil collection of hymns by the Vaishnava Alvars. .The Vaishnava sect ofHindus have 108 Divyadesams (most holy temples) and eleven of them are now in Kerala and Thirunavaya isone among them. This temple was constructed about 5000 years back. Though ithad undergone periodical renovations, the last and major renovation with thereconstruction of Sanctum Sanctorum was done by the legendary PERUMTHACHANunder the direction of the Vettath Raja about 1300 years back. The reconstruction had the typical ' Perumthachan touch 'making the rays of the rising sun fall on the idol on every Medam First ( inUtharaayana period, i.e. in April) and on Kanni First,(in Dakshinayana period i.e.,in October). Legend The Vishnu is called "Navamukunda Perumal/Tevar '' as itis believed that the idol was the ninth one to be installed in the temple by agroup of nine Hindu yogis known as "Navayogis' '. The first eight idols sank into theEarth as soon as they were placed there and the ninth sank to its knees beforeit was forcibly stopped. As the location of the sunken idols are notknown, devotees used to make pradakshina on their knees. Even AlvancheriTamparakkal and Tirunavaya Vaddhyans were not exempted from this practice. Thirunavaya is also known as "Navayogisthala". The piratti, Lakshmi Devi and Gajendran (the elephant)worshipped the perumal and dedicated him with the Lotus flowers from the Lake. Lakshmi Devi daily plucked all the flowers from the pondbefore its being plucked by Gajendran, the elephant. Seeing the action ofLakshmi piratti, Gajendran felt sad and worried about it. Gajendran cried for this and prayed to the Perumal.Hearing the voice of Gajendran, the Perumal ordered Lakshmi piratti not todedicate the flowers that were plucked from the pond and instead she has to sit beside himand should accept the flowers that’s being dedicated by Gajendran. Accepting the words of the Perumal, Lakshmi piratti seatedalong with the Naavaay perumal and accepted the flowers of Gajendran. In this place , the Naavaay perumal is treated as the father,Lakshmi piratti as mother and Gajendran is treated as their son. Thus, this sthalam explainsthe relationship between the Perumal (father) and Lakshmi (mother) andGajendran (son). History The history of Thirunavaya Nava Mukunda Temple dates backthousands of years. Religiously, Thirunavaya is a significant place for Hindus,as it is home to the 6,000-year-old Navamukunda Temple. It is renovated by Vettath Rajah, a chieftain of Tanurregion, 1300 years ago, it is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and the deity worshippedas Navamukunda Perumal The temple, dedicatedto Lord Vishnu, is a revered pilgrimage site where thousands of devotees gatherduring Karkidaka Vavuto perform rituals for their deceased loved ones. The temple has come under attack several times in history, including by the troops of TippuSultan during his invasion of Kerala and then by the rebels duringthe Moplah Rebellion. Thirunavaya, the land of ancient Mamankam, Tirunavaya issouth of Tirur. Situated on the banks of Bharathapuzha river; it is a place ofhistorical importance. In olden days, Mamankam a grand assembly of rulers washeld once in 12 years here. The river bank of the temple isconsidered holy and the rituals for forefathers (bali tarpana/sradha puja) areoffered here. Architecture The present temple building is constructed in the indigenousKerala Temple Architecture style. The architectural style of the temple is the key highlight.Enclosed by a rectangular wall with built-in gateways, the outer pavilionwithin the temple walls is called chuttambalam. With the main temple or srikovil located centrally, the roof of the temple and its walls have wood carvings depicting stories fromthe Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The temple is also adorned withexquisite sculptures, including depictions of the ten avatars (incarnations) ofLord Vishnu. A rectangular wall around the temple, calledkshetra-matilluka pierced by the gateways, encloses all the temples within thetemple. The metal plated flag-post (dhwaja stambha) is located axial to thetemple tower leading to the central sanctum and there is a deepasthambham,which is the light post. Chuttambalam is the outer pavilion within the templewalls. The central temple and the associated hall is located in a rectangularstructure called nalambalam, which has pillared halls and corridors. Between the entrance of nalambalam to the sanctum, there is araised square platform called namaskara mandapam which has a pyramidal roof. Thidapalli, the kitchen used to cook offerings tothe Navamukunda is located on the left of namaskara mandapam from the entrance.Balithara is an altar used for making ritualistic offerings to demi-gods andthe festive deities. The central temple called Sri kovil houses the idol of theNavamukunda. It is on an elevated platform with a single door reached through a flight offive steps. Both sides of the doors have images of guardian deities calleddwarapalakas. As per Kerala rituals, only the main priest called tantri and thesecond priest called melsanthi alone can enter the sri kovil. About the temple The central temple has a square plan with the base built ofgranite, superstructure built of laterite and conical roof made of terracottatile supported from inside by a wooden structure. The roof projects in twolevels to protect the inner structure from heavy rains during monsoon. The roofof the temple and some of the pillars have lavish wood and stucco carvingsdepicting various stories of epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata. The outer walls around the sanctum have aseries of wooden frames housing an array of lamps, which are lit during festiveoccasions. Deities The idol of Navamukunda isportrayed only from above the knee, the rest of the idol being concealed withinthe ground. There isbelieved to be a bottomless unexplored pit behind the idol in the sanctum. Theidol of the Navamukunda is 6 ft (1.8 m) tall, and is made of stone and coveredwith pancha loha. The idol is in a standing posture, with four hands carryingPanchajanya conch, lotus flower, Kaumodaki mace and the terrible Sudarshanadiscus. The idol is facing east. Goddess Lakshmi has a separate srikovil in the ThirunavayaTemple. The srikovil is in the north-west of the nalambalam, to the left ofNavamukunda, and the idol is facing east. The idol only has two hands, withvarada abhaya mudra. The specialty of this the temple is that the Lakshmi devi sannadhi is in a separate sanctum, and it is one of the specialty among theMalayala Naatu Divya Desam. My note- In TamilnaduPerumal temples, consorts Bhoodevi and Sri Devi will be in the same sanctum orby the sides of Perumal(Lord Vishnu). Sub deities Ganapati (Adi Ganesa/Gajendra), Ayyappa Swami are theassociated pratishthas Poojas The Thirunavaya Nava Mukunda Temple in Kerala follows a setof daily rituals that include opening the sanctum sanctorum, performingabhishekams (celestial bath), and various poojas. These rituals are performedmultiple times a day, with five poojas being done. The temple also holdsspecial significance for rituals related to ancestors, with devotees performingprayers on the banks of the Bharathappuzha River. Daily Rituals: Opening the Sanctum Sanctorum: The temple day begins with the opening of the sanctumsanctorum, where the deity resides. Abhishekam: This involves a ceremonial bath of the deity withvarious sacred substances. Pooja: The main part of the daily ritual, involving offeringsand prayers. The rituals generally follow the ṣoḍaśopacara (sixteen upacaras) Offerings The Thirunavaya Nava Mukunda Temple offers various poojas andVazhipadus (offerings). These include Lakshmi Narayana Puja, SamvadasookthamPushpanjali, Appam, Karukamaala, Bhagyasooktham Pushpanjali, SaraswathaPushpanjali, Mangalyasooktha Pushpanjali, Malar Para, Ayyappanu Chuttuvilakku,Neeranjanam, Shanidosha Pooja, Thaamara Maala, and Paal Paayasam. Additionally, thetemple is known for rituals related to the souls of the deceased, performed onthe banks of the Bharathappuzha river. The major religious practices are Naivilakku, Thamara mala,Palpayasam, Malar mala and Thali Charthal Festivals The annual 10-day festival of the temple is held during themonth of April. Both festivals attract devotees from all over Kerala. What is theThirunavaya Temple famous for? Thirunavaya is a place of worship also with three temples ofBrahma, Vishnu and Siva on either side of the river. The Nava Mukunda templebelieved to be constructedby Nava yogis situated here is an important Vishnu temple What is the meaning ofNava Mukunda? It is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, specifically in his form as Nava Mukunda, meaning "one whobestows nine blessings." How to reach thetemple By Air-43 Km Calicut International air port By Train- 11 KM Tirur railway station By Road-11 KM Tirur bus stand Address: Nava Mukunda temple, Tirur - Kuttippuram Rd, Malappuram Dist,Thirunavaya, Kerala 676301 Phone: +91 494 260 3747,+91 94971 99647 Temple timings All days: 05:00 AM - 11:00 AM 05:00 PM - 7:30 PM No temple Pond The temple has no pond or well, and water from the river isused for all rituals. About Trimoorthytemples Opposite to the Bharathapuzha river, a separate temple forLord Shiva and Brahma devan are found. So, we can get the seva of all theTri-Moorthies in this Thiru Naavaay divya desam. Shradha pooja The river bank in thetemple is considered as holy as Kasi and the ritual offering practices forforefathers (bali tarpan/shraddha puja) are similar to the ones done there. Pitru Tharpanam orThithi or Pinda pradhanam This temple is famous for pitru tharpanam. Like most of thetemples in Kerala, One has to pay charges at the ticket counter which is hardlyless than 100 rupees, And dip in the river(clothes the male needs to wear ismundu or dhoti or veshti) and in the wet clothes offer the tharpanam. All theritual pooja items will be provided by the temple. After the ritual iscomplete, the wet clothes have to be changed. The temple strictly does notallow pants or other non Indian wear. Strictly men have to be in dhoti andtheir shirts removed. Mangalasasanam: Nammalwar – 11 Paasurams. Thirumangai Alwar – 2 Paasurams. Total 13. Pushkarani: The pushkarani is named as “Sengamala Saras' '.Since the pushkarani is found full of Senthamarai (Lotus), it is named so. Vimanam: Veda vimaanam. Since, the sthala perumal is worshipped byNava yogis and they are said to be great in their Vedic Knowledge, the vimaanamis named as “Veda Vimaanam”. Accommodation Accommodation is provided by the temple administration.Affordable accommodation is provided here. Rooms and common dormitories areavailable. One can contact the temple administration for advance bookings. Administration Presently, the Thirunavaya temple is administered by Samutiri of Kozhikode(Zamorin of Calicut) as the managing trustee under Malabar Devaswom Board, Government ofKerala. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/163261761.1384814.1748413434689%40mail.yahoo.com.
