Alwarthirunagari Temple

Legend

Alwar Tirunagari is believed to be the largest town in the time of Pandya kings. The name of the town in Sanskrit is Srinagari; and under this appellation, it is alluded to Brahmananda Purana. The distinguishing name, with azhwar prefixed to Tirunagari, Alwar Tirunagari. The place is believed to be the birthplace of the azhwar saint Nammalvar. Just as in other avatars, Vishnu is believed to have incarnated as Nammalvar. The reason assigned to the incarnation is that Vishnu has incarnated in all 3 class of castes, but not in the fourth. The temple is considered the birth place of Nammazhwar, considered the most prominent among the twelve Azhwar Saints. Nammazhwar has contributed more than thousand verses out of the four thousand in Nalayira Divya Prabhandam, the Vaishnava canon.

According to traditional scriptures, Nammazhwar was born in 43rd Kali of 3059 BC. He was born in a Pillai ( Vellalar ) family at Thirukurukur (modern day Alwarthirunagiri) in the southernmost region of the Tamil country. According to legend, as a child he responded to no external stimuli and his parents left him at the feet of the deity of Sri Adhinathar in Alwarthirunagari. The child then got up and climbed into a hole in a tamarind tree, sat in the lotus position, and began to meditate. It appears he was in this state for as long as sixteen years when a Tamil poet and scholar in North India named Madhurakavi Alvar saw a bright light shining to the south, and followed it until he reached the tree where the boy was residing. Unable to elicit any reaction from the child, he asked him a riddle: "If the small is born in a dead's body (or stomach), what will it eat and where will it stay?" meaning, if the subtle soul is embodied in the gross body, what are its actions and thoughts? Nammalvar broke his lifelong silence and responded, "That it will eat, it will rest!" meaning that if the soul identifies with the body, it will be the body but if it serves the divine, it will stay in vaikunta and eat(think) of God. Madhurakavi Alvar realized the divinity of this child and became a devotee of the child. The works of Nammalwar were compiled by Madhurakavi as four different works, the Tiruvayumoli (1102 verses), Thiruviruttam (100 verses), Thiruvaasiriam (or Thiru Aasiriyam - 7 verses) andPeriya Thiruvanthadi (87 verses). The works of Nammalwar contributed to the philosophical and theological ideas of Vaishnavism. Along with the three Shaiva Nayanars Appar, Sundarar and Sambandar, they influenced the ruling Pallava kings of South India, changing the religious geography from Buddhism and Jainism to Hinduism.

Religious significance

Brahmanda Purana one of the eighteen sacred texts of Hinduism and written by Veda Vyasa contains a chapter called Navathirupathi Mahatmeeyam. The second part of the chapter refers to Alwar Thirunagari. The temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Nammazhwar. The temple is classified as a Divyadesam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book. The temple is also classified as a Navatirupathi, the nine temples revered by Nammazhwar located in the banks of Tamiraparani river. The temple is the most prominent among the nine Navatirupathi temple. Nammazhwar makes a reference about the temple in his works in Thirvaimozhi. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the temple finds mention in several works like 108 Tirupathi Anthathi by Divya Kavi Pillai Perumal Aiyangar. The temple also forms a series of Navagraha temples where each of the nine planetary deities of one of the temples of Navatirupathi. The temple is associated with the planet Jupiter, called Guru.

Festival and religious practices

The Garuda Sevai utsavam(festival) in the month of Vaikasi(May-Jun) witnesses nine Garudasevai, a spectacular event in which festival image idols from the Nava Tirupathis shrines in the area are brought on Garuda vahana(sacred vehicle). An idol of Nammalvar is also brought here on a Anna Vahanam(palaquin) and his paasurams(verses) dedicated to each of these nine temples are recited. The utsavar(festival deity) of Nammalvar is taken in a palanquin to each of the nine temples, through the paddy fields in the area. The paasurams(poems) dedicated to each of the nine divya desams are chanted in the respective shrines. This is the most important of the festivals in this area, and it draws thousands of visitors.

The temple follows the traditions of the Thenkalai sect of Vaishnavite tradition and follows Pancharathra aagama. The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Vaishnavaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed four times a day: Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 p.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m., and Ardha Jamam at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Adinathar and Athinathanayagi. During the last step of worship, nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument) are played, religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred text) are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of the temple mast. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple.