01Lord of the devas
The name says it: Thevanar, the devas; thogai, their gathering. The temple katha holds that the devas came together here to worship Vishnu as Deivanayakan, the Lord of the gods, and his consort is Kadalmagal, the daughter of the sea, Lakshmi as she rose from the churned ocean. Sage Vasishtha is also remembered as a worshipper of the Nangur Perumals. Like the other ten temples of Thirunangur, this one belongs to the katha of the eleven forms Vishnu took to calm Shiva’s dance of grief after Sati’s death.
02The temple
Thirumangai Alvar sings of Thevanar Thogai in a decad of ten pasurams. The temple faces west and has a three-tiered rajagopuram, with its shrines inside concentric rectangular walls. Deivanayakan stands facing east; Kadalmagal Nachiyar and the festival images of Madhava Perumal and Madhava Nayaki share the shrine. The Garuda mandapam is beside the flag post on the axis, and the tank lies in front. At Thai Amavasai the festival Perumal goes out on Garuda with the other ten of Nangur.
The life of this place
- Alvar periodThirumangai Alvar sings a decad on Thevanar Thogai.
At the northern edge of the Thirunangur group, about 8 km from Sirkazhi; also called Keezhachalai.
