Tiruindaloor Sri Parimala Ranganatha Perumal temple, Nagapattinam

Address

Tiruindaloor Sri Parimala Ranganatha Perumal temple, Tiruindalur, Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu 609001Phone Numbers: +91- 4364-223 330.

Diety

Parimala Ranganathar, Amman: Parimala Ranganayaki

Introduction

Parimala Ranganathar Perumal Temples or Tiruindaloor is dedicated to Vishnu, located in Thiruvilandur , a town in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham by the 12 poet saints, or Alwars. This temple is along Kaveri and is one of the Pancharanga Kshetrams. The temple is believed to be of significant antiquity with contributions at different times from Medieval Cholas, Vijayanagar Empire and Madurai Nayaks. The temple is enshrined within a granite wall and the complex contains all the shrines of the temple. The rajagopuram (the main gateway) has five tiers. Theertham : Indu Pushkarin

Puranic Significance

According to the temple history, the temple has got the importance of the Ekadasi fasting , in which the devotees have to perform the prayers by spending the whole day only in the thoughts of Lord without consuming even a drop of water. There was a king named Ambarisha who was practising this continuously. Only in the auspicious time, the devotee should take food, the next day of the Dwadesi , a full moon day. For the King Ambarisha , it was a 100th Ekadasi. People of this country were happy and made necessary arrangements for the celebrations. But in the devlokas, Devas were unhappy because, Ambarisha may be elevated to their status if he finishes his 100th fasting went successfully. They did not want to lose their position for a human. They approached Sage Durvasa to stop his fasting and help retaining their positions. The Sage Duravasa who was well known for his short temper, assured the Devas to help them and came down to earth. When King Ambarisha finished his fasting, sage Duravasa came. The fasting would become complete only if he took his food before the prescribed time the next day-Dwadasi. If the time ends, the fruits of the fasting also would be lost. But the king did not know that the sage had come with an evil plan. When the king saw sage Duravasa , he was very glad and requested him to accept his hospitality dining with him. But the saint purposefully said that he accepted his invitation and would be back to be with him for the lunch after a bath in the river. The time was fast nearing. He consulted his court pandits about this. They advised him to have some drops of the water. Thus, he completed his fasting. When sage Duravasa came , he heard about this and created a ghost by his powers to kill the king. When the ghost was chasing him, Ambarisha fell at Lord’s feet. Lord Vishnu looked at the ghost angrily. The ghost disappeared. Realizing the devotion of the king and the power of his fasting, sage Durvasa sought the pardon of the Lord. The sage was pardoned.

Beliefs

As the temple is noted for its Ekadasi importance, it is suggested that those desirous of undertaking the fasting, may start the practice from this temple.

Special Features

The central shrine, of the presiding deity Parimala Ranganathar, is made of 12 ft (3.7 m) green stone. The deity is seen in a reclining posture, facing east. The consort of Parimala Ranganathar is Parimala Ranganayaki, who is also called Chandrasaapa Vimochanavalli and Pundareekavalli. The sanctum houses the images of river gods Cauvery and Ganga, as well as that of Santhanagopalakrishnan. The Hindu god of creation, Brahma, is sculpted on the wall. The temple has shrines of Yoga Narasimhar, Rama, Anjaneya, Surya and Chandra. This temple has three prakarams (precincts) that house all the shrines and has a five-tier, east-facing Rajagopuram. The Dwajasthamba Mandapam and Garuda Mandapam have sculpted pillars, with the latter having images of ten avatars of Vishnu.