01The bride of Srirangam
The sthala purana tells of Nanda Chola, a childless king who prayed to Narayana. Out hunting, he found a baby girl on a thousand-petalled lotus in a forest tank and named her Kamalavalli. She was Lakshmi herself. When she grew up she gave her heart to Ranganatha of Srirangam, across the river, and he came to Uraiyur as Azhagiya Manavalan, the handsome groom, to marry her. Every Panguni, on Ayilyam nakshatra, Namperumal of Srirangam crosses to Uraiyur for the Serthi Sevai, and the divine couple sit together in the Serthi mandapam. Uraiyur is also the birthplace of Thiruppan Alvar, whose Amalanadhipiran is sung at Srirangam on his day.
02Where the Thayar leads
Kulasekara Alvar and Thirumangai Alvar sing of Kozhi in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, two pasurams in all. The name comes from a temple katha: here a cock (kozhi) fought an elephant and won. Kamalavalli Nachiyar’s shrine faces north, the only Divya Desam where the Thayar faces that way, and she is the first to receive every honour. Her naivedya is cooked with pepper, not chilli. A five-tiered rajagopuram leads in, the vimana over the sanctum is the Kamala Vimanam, and the inner walls of the Nammalvar shrine carry early nineteenth-century paintings of Matsya, Narasimha and the acharyas.
The life of this place
- Alvar periodKulasekara Alvar and Thirumangai Alvar sing of Kozhi.
- Early 19th centuryMurals of the avatars and the acharyas are painted in the Nammalvar shrine.
In Uraiyur, about 3 km from Tiruchirappalli Junction and 5 km from Srirangam. Come in Panguni for the Serthi Sevai with Namperumal.
