01Jatayu’s rites
In the Aranya Kanda Jatayu falls fighting Ravana, lives long enough to tell Rama which way Sita was carried, and dies in his arms. Rama performs the rites himself. The sthala purana of Pullabhoothangudi, from the Brahmanda and Padma Puranas, adds a detail: the wife of the one who performs the rites must stand beside him, and Sita was gone. Bhudevi rose from a golden lotus to stand with Rama, and so the Thayar here is Potramaraiyal, she of the golden lotus. Tired from the rites, Rama lay down to rest, and that is how he is seen: reclining, with conch and discus in two of his four hands. Pull is the Tamil for a bird.
02Thirumangai’s decad
Thirumangai Alvar sings of Pullam Boothangudi in a decad of ten pasurams, and the temple is counted the tenth of the Chola country Divya Desams. It is small: a single prakaram, a sanctum with its vimanam and a five-tiered gopuram, with the tank to the north. The same katha of Jatayu is also told at Thiruputkuzhi near Kanchipuram. Vaikuntha Ekadashi in Margazhi is the chief festival. The village is about 8 km from Kumbakonam and 3 km from Swamimalai, and the Adanur temple is a kilometre away.
The life of this place
- Alvar periodThirumangai Alvar sings a decad on Pullam Boothangudi.
About 8 km from Kumbakonam, 3 km from Swamimalai. The shrine is small and closes at midday; go in the morning and add Adanur next door.
