*ThirunIrmalai (ThOyAdhri) divya dEsam*
*Temple:* The temple, at the outskirts of Chennai, is 10 km from Chennai
Airport. It is a two-temple complex-- one at the foot of the hill, and the
other at the top. The Lord appears in four forms representing three of his
incarnations (tiruvikrama, narasimha, and Rama).
In the temple at the foothill, nIrvaNNapperumAL (Rama) appears as he
gave darshan to Sage Valmiki, it is said. In the temple at the top, the
Lord appears as Ranganatha, Trivikrama and ShAnthanarasimha.
Altogether the Lord
appears in standing, sitting, reclining, and walking positions, [NINDRA
,IRUNDHA, KIDANTHA] which is unique to this temple. There are 200-300 steps
to reach the hilltop temple. The base temple is dedicated to Lord Rama,
also known as nIlamugilvaNNan in a standing posture and the temple up the
hill has four shrines for: Lord Ranganatha (Kidanthaan - in reclining
posture), aNimAmalarmangai thAyAr, Trivikrama (naDanthAn - in standing
posture), and Lord Narasimha (irundhAn - sitting posture). It is a double
enclosure (prakAram) temple. The Garuda shrine faces Lord Ranganatha.
Considering the appeal of boy Prahlada who was afraid of His fury, Lord
narasimha appears in a calm and pleasant mood as Shantanarasimha and also
as Balanarasimha.
This temple is also called "ThOyagiri KshEtram" and
"ThOthAdri". “ThOya” means water and “Adhri” means mountain. Since the
mountain was once surrounded by water, this place is also called
ThirunIrmalai (Thiru = sacred; nIr =water; malai =mountain, i.e., a sacred
mountain surrounded by water).
* History*:The temple (in the erstwhile thoNDainADu) is known to have
been built in the 8th century during the Pallava dynasty and later
renovated by the sOzha and Vijayanagara empires, as evidenced by
inscriptions found at the temple.
*Legend:* It is believed that sage Valmiki once visited Thiruneermalai
(then known as GANDavanam) and on top of the ThOyAdri hill he worshipped
Lord nArAyaNa in three forms: Ranganatha in the reclining posture,
narasimha in sitting position, and Thiruvikrama in walking mode; but he
still felt that he was missing something. Down at the foothill he realized
his wish. He made an appeal for Rama’s darshan mentioning that he had
completed the epic Ramayana on Him and accordingly the Lord complied. His
earnest prayers were answered by the Lord. KalyANa Raman gave him darshan
as``nIrvaNNan'' with Sita, Lakshmana, Satrughna, Bharatha, and Hanuman.
Later, when ThirumangaiyAzhwAr wanted to worship the Lord at the
temple, the place was surrounded by a large pool of water. He waited for
months at KaliyanchAvaDi (now known as KarayaAnchAvaDi) to have the access
and the darshan. Since then the place came to be mentioned in religious
literature as `ThirunIrmalai (holy hill surrounded by water). The place
where Thirumangai AzhwAr stayed is called "Thiru Mangai AzhwArpuram".
The deities: The PerumAL gives his darshan in four different forms.
• nIrvaNNar – Nindra (standing) ThirukkOlam (facing east).
• Lord Narasimhar – irundha (seated) ThirukkOlam.
• Lord Ranganathar – KiDantha (reclining) ThirukkOlam (facing south).
• Lord Thiruvikrama – naDantha (walking) ThirukkOlam.
The ThAyAr of this sthalam is aNimA Malar Mangai and has her own separate
shrine.
ThirunIrmalai is referred to as a composite of four different shrines:
ThirunArAiyUr (standing posture), ThiruvAli (sitting posture of narasimha),
ThirukkuDandhai (reclining posture) and ThirukkOvilUr (walking posture of
Thiruvikrama)
PushkaraNi: The temple tank is known as Siddha pushkaraNi (for
Tiruvikrama), kSheera pushkaraNi (for Ranganatha), KAruNya pushkaraNi (for
Rama), and swarNa pushkaraNi (for narasimha)
* VimAnam: *The vimAnam is known by different names: Ranga VimAnam -
Sri Ranganathar, SAntha VimAnam - Lord Narasimhar, and ThOyagiri VimAnam -
UlagaLantha PerumAL.
*Festivals: *Two daily services are conducted. All VaishNavaite temple
festivals like BrahmOtsavam, PavitrOtsavam, Pagal Paththu, VaikuNTha
EkAdasi, Navarathri, and AzhawArgaL avathAra days are celebrated. In
addition two multi-day annual festivals—Panguni uththiram and Chiththirai
festival are conducted elaborately.
*MangaLAsAsanam*: Thirumangai AzhwAr sang 19 pAsurams on the Lord, and
BhUdattAzhwAr sang one pAsuram. Let us look at a unique pAsuram by
Thirumangai AzhwAr which relates this temple with four others elsewhere. It
also mentions the consort of the Lord which is rare in many of his other
pAsurams. It mentions the Lord’s exploits in killing the demons.
அன்றாயர் குலக்கொடி யோடணிமா மலர்மங்கையொ டன்பளவி அவுணர்க் கென்றானு மிரக்க
மில்லாதவனுக்குக் குறையு மிடமாவது இரும்பொழில்சூழ் நன்றாய புனல்நறையூர்த்
திருவாலி குடந்தை தடந்திகழ் கோவல்நகர் நின்றானிருந்தான் கிடந்தான் நடந்தாற்
கிடம் மாமலையாவது நீர்மலையே *NDP 1078*
anRAyar kulakkoDi yODaNimA malarmangaiyo TanbaLavi avuNark
kenRAnu mirakka millAdavanukkuk kuRaiyu miDamAvadu irumbozhilsUzh
nanRAya punalnaRaiyUrt tiruvAli kuDandai taDandigazh kOvalnagar
ninRAnirundAn kiDandAn naDandAR kiDam mAmalaiyAvadu nIrmalaiyE
*Meaning:* In this pAsuram Thirumangai AzhwAr describes the features of the
Lord at ThirunIrmalai by referring to other divya dEsams such as
ThirunaRaiyUr (nAcciyArkOvil by the river bank), ThiruvAli (near SIrkAzhi),
ThirukkuDandhai (KumbakONam), and ThirukkOvalUr (near KaDalUr). In these
places the Lord manifests in standing, seated, recumbent, and walking
postures, respectively. But in Thiruneermalai He manifests himself in all
the four forms at one place. He dwells in ThirunIrmalai with his consort
aNimA malar mangai. The AzhwAr describes the uniqueness of ThirunIrmalai
(in thoNDainADu) in a beautiful poetic rhythm by referring to four other
places (in sOzha naDu and naDunADu) where the Lord is seen in different
postures.
THE ONLY CONTRADICTORY FACT REMAINED THAT THE TEMPLE JUST 2000 YEARS OLD,
HOW VALMIKI ATLEAST 9000 YEARS BEFORE COULD HAVE VISITED?
K RAJARAM IRS 31126
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