Adi Jagannatha Perumal Temple, Thiruppullani

01Rama on the grass

The Ramayana tells how Rama reached the shore with the vanara army and lay on darbha grass, fasting, praying to Samudra to let them pass. For three days the sea gave no answer, and Rama took up his bow; then Samudra rose and told him to build the bridge. The temple shows Rama lying on darbha in one shrine, and the Lord as Adi Jagannatha, whom Rama is said to have worshipped, in the main sanctum. The temple’s katha also says Dasharatha worshipped Jagannatha before the putrakameshti, and payasam is given here to couples who pray for a child.

02Thirumangai’s pasurams

Thirumangai Alvar sang Thiruppullani in the Periya Thirumozhi, twenty-one pasurams in the usual count, many in the voice of a girl waiting for the Lord by the sea. The temple holds records of the later Pandyas, and the Sethupathis of Ramnad, who guarded the road to Rameswaram, endowed it; it is still managed by the Ramanathapuram Samasthanam. Pilgrims to Rameswaram traditionally stop here, and many also bathe at the sea at nearby Sethukarai.

The life of this place