The temple is located along the Sirgazhi - Thiruvenkaadu bus route.
The Lord Vayalaali Manavaalan mentioned in the Divya Prabandam is seen in Thiru Nagari & not in Thiru Vaali. Hence the two sthalams are counted together as one divya desam.
The Moolavar is Lakshmi Narasimhar, Vayalaalimanavaalan, seen in seated posture facing west. The Utsavar is Thiruvaaloi Nagaraalan. Thirumangaialwar's Devi Kumudavalli Naachiyaar was brought up at this sthalam.
Thaayaar - Amrudhakadavalli.
Theertham - Ilakshani Pushkarini
Thiru Nagari
The temple is located 3 miles from Thiru Vaali.
The Moolavar is Vedarajan (Vayalaalimanavaalan) seen in seated posture facing west. The Utsavar is Kalyaana Ranganaathan. This is the birthplace of Thirumangaialwar & there is a separate sannadhi for him, where he is seen in the form of a hunter. Two of the 5 Narasimhars worshipped by him are in this temple. An idol-Sindanaikiniyaan worshipped by the Alwar can be seen beside him. The spot where Thirumangaialwar robbed the Lord - Vedarajapuram is situated about half a mile from this sthalam. Since the Lord gave darshan in the wedded pose, he came to call Kalyaana Ranganathan.
Mangalasasanam:
Kulasekaralwar - 725
Thirumangaialwar - 1078, 1188-1217, 1329, 1519, 1733, 1735, 1850, 2014, 2027, 2063, 2673, 2674
ThiruvAli & Thirunagari
ThiruvAli:
Known as AalinAdu, it is located 6Kms. Southeast of SeerkAzhi on the SeerkAzhi – Thiruvenkadu bus route. Though ThiruvAli and Thirunagari are two sthalams ( places of worship ), Azhwars have considered them as one while singing mangalAsAsanams.
Uthsavar: ThiurvAli nagarAlan
Goddess: Amruthakadavalli
Also there are Poornamaharishi, NammAzhwar, Kulasekara Azhwar, PeriyAzhwar, Thirumazhisai Azhwar, Udayavar and ManavAla mAmunigal in the prAkAram.
The temple has one prAkAram, Karuvarai ( where the main deity is located ), arthamandapam, mahAmandapam and the temple compound wall.
Sthala purAnam:
It is said that after killing Hiranyakasipu the Lord Narasimha was still in a furious state; seeing this Devas and munis sent his consort Lakshmi who went and sat on the Lord’s lap; the Lord hugged her and calmed down and as he gives Darshan in this posture the place attained the name ThiruvAli.
Here the Lord married Thirumagal ( Lakshmi ) who was grown up by Poorna muni; after giving darshan in that state the lord in the same newlywed state left for Thirunagari; on the way at a place called VedharAjapuram, ThirumangaiAzhwar intercepted him to rob and the Lord himself bestowed him with the ‘Thiru Mandhira upadhesam’.
Visesh:
This place is also one of the Pancha Narasimha kshethrams (the others being Kurayalur Ugra Narasimhar, Mangaimadam Veera Narasimhar, Thirunagari Yoga Narasimhar and Thirunagari Hiranya Narasimhar ).
Every year on the Tamil Panguni month Uthiram first night, the waylaying by the Azhwar and the Thirumandhira Upadhesam by the Lord are enacted in a grand festive manner. In the month of Thai Thirumangai Azhwar upon returning from Thirunangur after the grand Garuda seva, visits this temple and does ManagalAsAsanam on the Lord.
Thirumangai Azhwar was a small King with Aalinadu as the capital and hence he came to be known as AalinAdan. His wife Kumudhavalli nAchiyAr grew up here.
Kulasekara Azhwar has sung a pAsuram and Thirumangai Azhwar has sung forty one pAsurams on this Deity.
There is no facility for staying here and one can stay at SeerkAzhi and visit this shrine.
Thirunagari
Known by different names Lakshmipuram, Aalinganapuram, Srinagari and Vigneswaranallur, this place is located 7Kms. East of Seerkazhi. Located at the South bank of UppanAru, it has Karuvarai, Arthamandapam, MahAmandapam and 5inner prAkArams. It has three West facing Gopurams with 7,5 and 3 stages respectively.
Moolavar: VedharAjan in sitting posture with SriDevi and BooDevi, facing West; he is also referred to as VayalAlimanavAlan
Uthsavar: KalyAna RanganAtha perumAl
Goddess: Amirthavalli ThAyAr
This lord is also known as KalyAna RanganAthar as he gave darshan to Thirumangai Azhwar in that state.
Kannan, Aandaal, all Azhwars, Aalinganapureeswarar, Nathamunigal, Udayavar, and Desikar also decorate the prAkArams.
This temple is mentioned in the uthara kAndam of Garuda purAnam. Known as VilvAranyam this place is one of the Pancha Narasimha ksethrams with the lord having manifested as swayampu Yoga Narasimhamoorthy.
Sthala purAnam:
ThirumAl ( Lord NArAyanA ) searched for the Thirumagal everywhere and found her finally in a Lotus flower in the pushkarini ( sacred pond ) here and hugged her; hence this place is known as Aalingapuri ( Aalinga means hugging ) and Sripuri ( Sri meaning the Goddess ); hence it became Thirunagari (Sri-Thiru , puri-nagar) in Tamil.
Visesh:
Thirumangai Azhwar was born here; out of five Narasimhas he worshipped ( arAdhitha ), two are here. Inside the temple, in the first prAkAram there is a sannidhi for him where he stands (with the Vel he won as a memento from Thirugnanasambandhar after winning him in a debate ) looking like a hunter along with Kumudhavallidevi.
He goes to ThirunAngur 11 Garuda seva uthsavam for MangalAsAsanam. Sindhanaikiniyan the very small uthsava moorthy which the Azhwar used to do AarAdhanA to is seated near him, along with SriBhoomidevi.
Kulasekara Azhwar has sung a pAsuram and Thirumangai Azhwar has sung forty one pAsurams on this Deity.
RamAnujar has visited this shrine a number of times as also ManavAlamAmunigal and both have done MangalAsaAsanam.
10 days of Brahmothsavam in Panguni and 10 days of Thirumangai Azhwar uthsavam in Karthigai are celebrated here.
It is believed that marriages that were not getting fixed for one reason or another will come thro’ if a sincere prayer is offered here, as the Lord himself is known as Kalyana RanganAtha Perumal.
More details.
It is said that after killing Hiranyakasipu the Lord Narasimha was still in a furious state; seeing this Devas and munis sent his consort Lakshmi who in a hurry went and sat on the Lord's right lap(which is rare); the Lord hugged her and calmed down and as he gives Darshan in this posture and hence the
place attained the name ThiruvAli.
Every year, in the month of Panguni (March 15 to April 15 normally), in the night of the star Uthiram, the waylaying (Vedupariutsavam) by the Azhwar and the Thirumandhira Upadhesam by the Lord are enacted in a grand festive manner. On the day following Thai Amavasai, Thirumangai Azhwar upon returning from Thirunangur after the grand Garuda Seva, visits this temple and does ManagalAsAsanam on the Lord.
Thirumangai Azhwar was a local (Chieftain)(Sitrrarasar) King under the Cholas with Aalinadu as the capital. He was originally named Neelan and Kaliyan by his Father Aalinadar. He was born in Thirukuraiyalur at about 3 km from Thirunagari. His wife Kumudhavalli nAchiyAr grew up here.
Thirumangai Azhwar was born in Kuraiyalur at about 3 km from Thirunagari; out of five Narasimhas he worshipped ( arAdhitha ), two are here (one at Thiruvali, one at Kuraiyalur and one at Mangaimadam). Inside the temple, in the first prAkAram there is a sannidhi for him where he stands (with the Trident -Vel he won in a competition with Thirugnanasambandhar at Sirkazhi)
dressed like a hunter along with Kumudhavallidevi. Sindhanaikiniyan the very small uthsava moorthy which the Azhwar used to do AarAdhanA to is seated near him, along with SriBhoomidevi.
The Azhagiyasingar Temple at Thiruvali has a small west-facing shrine. The village is where the consort Sri Kumudavalli naachiyar of Thirumangai Alvar was raised. Azhagiyasingar temple covers an area of about 0.5 acres (0.20 hectares). The temple is enclosed in a rectangular enclosure surrounded by granite walls. The center houses the image of the presiding deity, Azhagiyasingar. The image is made of granite is sported in sitting posture, with Lakshmi seated on his lap on the right side. This posture is unique as usually the image of Lakshmi on Narasimhar temples is sculpted on the left side. The festival deity is named Thiruvali Nagaralan and the image is also housed in the sanctum. A south-facing shrine of Thirumangai Azhwar is located outside the temple walls, opposite the Garuda Mandapam. It is believed that the image of Narasimhar in the temple is among the five original images of Narasimha worshipped by Thirumangai Azhwar. The temple mast, the shrine of Garuda, and a four-pillared hall are located axial to the sanctum, outside the compound wall.
Thirunagari is the birthplace of Thirumangai Alvar. The Vedarajan temple has a 7-tier raja gopuram and an elevated structure. Unlike other temples where the Temple tree(Kodimaram) faces the main deity, the flagstaff here faces the shrine of Thirumangai Alvar. Vedarajan temple covers an area of about 2 acres (0.81 hectares) and has a seven-tiered gopuram (gateway tower) rising to a height of 125 ft (38 m). The temple is enclosed in a rectangular enclosure with huge granite walls. The sanctum is approached through a second gateway tower. There are a series of pillared structures around the basement of the first enclosure. The central shrine has an elevated structure and houses the image of the presiding deity, Vedarajan. The image is made of granite is sported in a sitting posture. The festival deity is named Kalyana Ranganathar and the image is also housed in the sanctum. The vimana, the shrine over the sanctum is Ashtanga in architecture, which has eight parts. The outer parts of the vimana have stucco images of sages, Dasavatara, Lakshmi Narasimha, Lakshmi Narayana, and other Avatars of Vishnu. A north-facing shrine of Thirumangai Azhwar is located in the same elevated enclosure. There is a separate flagstaff for the Azhwar shrine. It is believed that the two images of Narasimhar in the temple are among the five original images of Narasimha worshipped by Thirumangai Azhwar. There is a small image of Chindanaikiniyan, which is also believed to have been worshipped by the Azhwar. The shrine of Amruthavalli is located in the basement, in the diagonal corner of the first enclosure.
History and literary mention
The exact history of the temples could not be ascertained. They are believed to have been built by the Cholas, with later additions by the Vijayanagar and Thanjavur Nayak kings. Both the temples are revered together in Nalayira Divya Prabhandam, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Kulasekara Azhwar and Thirumangai Azhwar. The temple is classified as a Divyadesam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book. The songs of the Azhwars refer to both this temple and the Thirunagari temple and hence both are counted as one Divya Desam. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the temples were mentioned in 108 Tirupathi Anthathi by Divya Kavi Pillai Perumal Aiyangar. The temples are maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The Azhagiyasingar temple was the capital of Thirumangai Azhwar, who was the ruler of a kingdom and also the birthplace of Kumudavalli, the wife of Azhwar.
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