01The seven sages and a lost horse
The seven rishis are said to have done tapas here, and the Lord sits among their images in the sanctum, four-armed, one leg folded and one hanging, about seven feet tall, with a pendant of Lakshmi at his throat. The temple’s other katha tells of Kulasekhara, who would become an Alvar, losing his horse after a campaign and finding it grazing by the Soma Tirtham; he bathed, worshipped and built the shrine, and pari, horse, is heard in the old name Thiruvanparisaram. The image is made of katusarkara, so it receives no abhishekam.
02One pasuram, three inscriptions
Nammalvar named Thiruvanparisaram in one pasuram of the Thiruvaimozhi, and his mother Udaya Nangai came from this village; Kari of Thirukkurugur married her here. The oldest inscription, of 1139 CE, records a gift by a merchant of Rajendra Cholapattinam; others are dated 1613 and 1785. A local account credits Thirumalai Nayaka with the stepped tank. The temple has a five-tiered gopuram and keeps the Chittirai Brahmotsavam and the Aadi Swati festival for Kulasekhara Alvar.
The life of this place
- Alvar periodNammalvar names Thiruvanparisaram in the Thiruvaimozhi.
- 1139 CEA merchant of Rajendra Cholapattinam makes a gift recorded in the oldest inscription.
About 5 km north-east of Nagercoil, on the way to Thirukkurungudi and Nanguneri.
