Description

The Lord here is known as Devanayaka and Devanatha, or ``Lord of the gods''. He is also known in Tamil as ``adiyavarkku meyyan'', ``the One Who is true to His devotees''. Thaayaar is known here as Hemambuja Nayaki.

The Lord is praised here as having manifested Himself as Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva all in one form. Tirumangai Alvar sings of Devanayaka Perumal as ``moovar aagiya oruvan,'' the One who became three, for the purpose of universal creation, preservation, and dissolution.

Lord Devanayaka is considered an elder brother of Tirupati Srinivasa Perumal and offerings to Lord Srinivasa can also be done here.

Location

Accomodations. Tiruvahindrapuram is a temple town and has no hotels or places to stay unless you know some families there. For convenience and proximity, either Cuddalore or Chidambaram are better places with hotels. Chidambaram has a few more choices. Pondicherry is also a lovely place to use as a base, since it is more used to "tourists from the West".

Arca Murtis

Thaayaar: Hemambuja Nayaki

The utsava murtis of Devanayaka Perumal and Hemaambuja Nayaki shine with grandeur and are breathtaking to see. [Color image] [old B&W image] The Lord bears the distinctive signs of the three gods. On the palm of His right hand can be seen a lotus, the symbol of Brahma. The third eye in the forehead and the braid of hair on the head are two visible signs of Siva. The insignias of Vishnu, the sankha and cakra, are held in both hands. The mulavar, however, does not have these marks.

As a testament to Lord Devanatha's beauty, Swami Desikan exclaims, "nin vadivazhagu maravaadhaar piRavaadhaarE" -- "those who don't forget your divine beauty are indeed birthless" [1].

Perumaal and Thaayaar together
in all their glory

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Notes

[*] The poem on the front page is the third verse from Desika's Mummanikkovai, as translated by Professor Steven Hopkins in a paper that appeared in the Journal of Vaishnava Studies, Fall 1996. The only change I have made to his translation is that I have used "Tiruvahindrapuram" in place of Professor Hopkins' English translation of the name "ayindai". [Back]

[1] Navamanimaalai 6. [Back]

[2] There are quite a few temples within a 40 mile radius. The extent of coverage of them depends on your time. Nearby at Chidambaram is the sannidhi of Tillai Tiruccittira Kootam Govindrajan about whom Tirumangai and Kulasekhara have sung. Between Chidambaram and Mayavaram (Tirumaiyiladuturai)is Terazhundur (Sri Gosakhan) and Sirkazhi. In and around the town of Sirkazhi are twelve divya desams celebrated by Tirumangai. Sri Taadaalan at Sirkazhi and the 12 sthalams known collectively as Tirunaangur divya desams are there. You have to take a local Bhattar with you to make sure that you get to these temples at the appropriate puja times. A whole day will be needed at minimum. You can return to Chidambaram for rest. A rented taxi would be the most appropriate transport.

The next stop after Sirkazhi would be the temple town of Kumbhakonam to visit the shrines of Aravamudan, Oppiliappan, Nacchiyar Kovil , Adanur , Pullambhuthangudi , Tiruccherai , Thiruvelliyangudi et al. Excellent accomodations are available at Kumbhakonam. [Back]

Some photos courtesy Sri N.R. Venkatesan and Sri V. Sadagopan.