हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Ninra Narayana Perumal Temple, Thiruthangal

Ranganatha of Srirangam, on his way to wed Andal at Srivilliputhur, stopped here for the night: tangal, the halt. The temple stands on a low granite hill beside a Shiva temple.

Built: Hill temple of the Pandyas; rock-cut caves with 8th-century inscriptions; later Pandya, Vijayanagara and Nayaka additionsWhere: Tamil Nadu (Virudhunagar district, Sivakasi)Deity: Ninra Narayana, standing; Thayar Senkamala (Arunakamala Mahadevi)9.48° N, 77.81° E
  1. 8th century
  2. Alvar period
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0

01Sridevi’s tapas

The temple’s katha says Sridevi, Bhudevi and Niladevi once asked whose devotion was greatest. Sridevi came down to this hill among the paddy fields and did tapas until the sages came to worship her, and Vishnu appeared and stood here, Ninra Narayana. The others followed and owned her the greatest. Another katha marries Aniruddha, Krishna’s grandson, here. The hill is called Thalagiri, and on it stands the Karunellinathar temple of Shiva, so both are visited together.

02Caves and inscriptions

Two rock-cut caves on the hill hold three inscriptions, two of the 8th century, and the present temple is ascribed to a Pandya king called Devendra Vallabha. There is no rajagopuram. Bhoothath Alvar sang Thiruthangal in one pasuram and Thirumangai Alvar in four, five in all. The Vaikasi Vasanthotsavam and ten-day festivals for Pillai Lokacharya and Kurathalvar are the main feasts.

The life of this place

  1. 8th centuryInscriptions are cut in the rock-cut caves of the hill.
  2. Alvar periodBhoothath Alvar and Thirumangai Alvar sing Thiruthangal.
Visiting

In Thiruthangal, part of Sivakasi, about 25 km from Srivilliputhur; combine the two on one day.

Nearby

Andal Temple, SrivilliputhurStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Andal Temple, Srivilliputhur

The birthplace of Andal, the only woman among the twelve Alvars, who wore the garland meant for the Bhagwan and married Ranganatha. Its tall gopuram appears on the emblem of Tamil Nadu.

EttayapuramStanding
Company rule and the war of 1857

Ettayapuram

A small palace town of the black-cotton country where Muthuswami Dikshitar spent his last years and died on Deepavali 1835, and where Subramania Bharati was born in 1882. Its chiefs also sided with the Company against Kattabomman, which Tamil memory has not forgotten.

Thirumeninathar Temple, TiruchuzhiStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Thirumeninathar Temple, Tiruchuzhi

The whirlpool shrine of the Pandya country, sung by Sundarar. In a house beside it Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi was born in 1879.

Sankaranarayanar Temple, SankarankovilStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Sankaranarayanar Temple, Sankarankovil

The temple where Devi Gomathi did tapas to see Shiva and Vishnu as one, and was shown Sankaranarayana, half Shiva and half Vishnu. Its Aadi Thabasu festival recalls that darshan every July–August.