When you travel from Mayavaram to tiruvarur you enter nannilam . Eight kilometers from Nannilam is this place it is also 20 kms from Nagapattinam and also Kumbakonam.
The main Raja Gopuram is seven storeys and pushkarani is seen in front of the temple
As you enter the temple, the Main Deity is Thiru Neelamega perumal in standing posture with Sridevi and Bhoodevi Thayar to either Side. Urchavar is known as Sowriraja perumal.
Kannapura Nayaki thayar is seen in separate sanctum.
Around the mai sanctum of the lord you see sannidhis of Azwar, Veebishanan, and Sri Raman
Legends with this temple;
This is the place where the lord showed Vibhishana his walking style after Srirangam where he was lying down.
The Lord here is in the receiving posture and not in he abhaya hastha signifying he will receive all our troubles
There is no swarga vasal as this land is considered swargam on bhumi
Importance: This is one of five Krishnaranya Kshetram. The rest four are Thirukovaloore, Thiru kannankudi, Thiru kavithalam, and Thiru Kannamangi.
Story of the Souri:
One day the Archakar of the temple, as a gesture handed over the garland which was on, Sowriraja Perumal, to the King who visited the temple. The King saw a lengthy hair string to the garland. He was hocked . The Archakar said it was the hair of the perumal.The King asked his men to check and find the truth. Kings men tried to pluck the hair of Perumal in main sanctum. When they did so blood splashed, and King worried for his act. He prayed to perumal of this temple to forgive him. Perumal protected his devotee, the Archakar whose words came true. From then, perumal here is known as Sowriraja Perumal.
During Brahmotsavam the lord gives darshan as vishnu in the morning, Brahma in the evening and Siva in the next morning
There is a special pongal prepared and neivedhyam is given at midnight as per a story where the devotee was blessed with the lord’s karunai
‘muniyodharan pongal’. Collecting the tributes and handing it over to the Chola king was the job of Muniyodharar. Once, instead of giving the money to the king, Muniyodharar spent it on some temple work.so Muniyodharar was imprisoned. His wife was struck with grief and she approached the Lord and said if her husband was not get released within five days, she would jump into the fire and die. The Lord appeared in the king’s dream and ordered him to release Muniyodharar. The king did so. Later, Muniyodhara, first , offered pongal to God and then ate the ‘pongal’, delicacy.The next day, the temple priests were surprised to see pongal rolling down with ghee on the body of the Lord. When they came to know about what had happened and why, they praised and thanked the Lord for his mercy and grace. From that day, it has become a tradition to offer ‘pongal’ to the lord at midnight in this temple.
A king called Vasu had the power to fly in the sky and helped the Devas to win a battle against the Asuras. Vasu felt thirsty after the battle and in order to quench his thirst, he landed at this hallowed shrine. His solders who traveled along with him mistook the fragile and puny sages who were meditating in the pond to be uncut sheaves. The soldiers tried to shear them off. The sages were alarmed at this act and cried for help. The lord, on hearing them wailing, appeared as a 16-year-old lad and confronted Vasu. The lord wanted to save his devotees – the sages.
The king thought that if he was able to defeat the Asuras in no time, vanquishing the lad would not be difficult. So, he tried to defeat the lord by employing special techniques. All his efforts were futile and finally he fired the powerful Narayana asthram. The asthram circled and fell at the feet of the lord. Only then did the king come to know that the lad was none other than Narayana in disguise. He at once surrendered at the lord’s feet and asked for pardon. The lord, known for his benevolence, at once pardoned him. The king wanted the lord to wed his daughter, to which he readily agreed.
Mangalasasanam:
Perialwar - 71
Andaal - 535
Kulasekaralwar - 719-729
Thirumangaialwar - 1648-1747, 2067, 2078, 2673, 2674
Nammalwar - 3656 - 3666
Total of 128 Paasurams.
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