Thrivikrama Perumal Temple, Thirukkazhicheerama Vinnagaram
Kaazhicheeraama Vinnagaram

Photo: Richard Mortel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Associated with Sirkazhi.
Sthala Purāṇam
Kaazhicheeraama Vinnagaram, the Thrivikrama Perumal Temple at Sirkazhi, also called Thadalan Kovil, is a Divya Desam where Vishnu is worshipped as Tiruvikrama (Thrivikrama) Narayana Perumal with his consort as Loga Nayaki Thayar. The principal legend is the Vamana avatar from the Bhagavata Purana: Vishnu, as a dwarf brahmin, asked the asura king Mahabali for three paces of land; granted the boon despite his guru Sukracharya's warning, the Lord grew to cosmic size and as Trivikrama strode over the heavens and the earth in two steps, and for the third placed His foot on Mahabali's head, granting him deathlessness. From this measuring of the worlds the processional deity is praised as Mann alantha Tadalan, the one who measured the land. A local legend tells of the sage Romasa (Lomasa), who performed severe penance here; pleased, Vishnu appeared as Trivikrama and granted him an immense lifespan, by which Brahma is said to lose a year with each falling hair of the sage. The temple is also famed for Thirumangai Alvar's encounter with the Saivite saint Tirugnana Sambandar: needing the Lord beside him, the Alvar summoned Perumal through a hymn on the Dasavatara, and the deity, having been preserved during the temple's earlier ruin, came forth and sat by him, after which the Alvar sang his pasuram. The vimana is the Pushkala Vimana, and the temple has the Sangu Pushkarani and Chakra Tirtham. The three-tiered rajagopuram is in Chola style with later Nayak patronage.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Thrivikrama Perumal with Lokanayaki (Allimaamalar Nachiyar) of Kaazhicheeraama Vinnagaram is glorified by:
Thirukkazhicheerama Vinnagaram (Thadalan Koil / Thrivikrama Perumal temple at Sirkazhi), where the Lord stands as Trivikrama with His left leg raised to measure the heavens, received Mangalasasanam from Thirumangai Alvar alone. Wikipedia specifies he sang it in a hymn of his Thirunedunthandagam praising 'Mann alantha Thadalan' (the One who measured the earth); a number of temple-tradition sources additionally credit him with about ten pasurams. The temple tank is the Chakra Tirtham.
ஒரு குறளாய் இரு நிலம் மூவடி மண் வேண்டி* உலகனைத்தும் ஈரடியால் ஒடுக்கி* ஒன்றும் தருக எனா மாவலியைச் சிறையில் வைத்த* தாடாளன் தாள் அணைவீர்* தக்க கீர்த்தி அரு மறையின் திரள் நான்கும் வேள்வி ஐந்தும்* அங்கங்கள் அவை ஆறும் இசைகள் ஏழும்* தெருவில் மலி விழா வளமும் சிறக்கும்* காழிச்சீராம விண்ணகரே சேர்மினீரே.</corrected_tamil> <parameter name="corrected_translit">oru kuṟaḷāy iru nilam mūvaḍi maṇ vēṇḍi* ulaganaittum īraḍiyāl oḍukki* oṉṟum taruka eṉā māvaliyaic ciṟaiyil vaitta* tāḍāḷaṉ tāḷ aṇaivīr* takka kīrtti aru maṟaiyiṉ tiraḷ nāṉgum vēḷvi aindum* aṅgaṅgaḷ avai āṟum isaigaḷ ēḻum* teruvil mali viḻā vaḷamum siṟakkum* kāḻiccīrāma viṇṇagarē sērminīrē.</corrected_translit> <parameter name="issues">["Original first search confused this with a DIFFERENT work — periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 3.4.1 (thazhaigaLum thongalum). That is NOT this verse. The correct work is THIRUMANGAI Alvar's periya thirumozhi 3.4.1 (oru kuRaLAy), confirmed via Tamil Wikisource (paragalan paindhamizh / kaliyan kural), kamakoti.org divya pages, the dedicated 'oru kuRaLAy' blogspot, KOYIL (divyaprabandham.koyil.org) and the claimed srivaishnavam.info source.", "Submitted Tamil is fully valid Tamil Unicode (246/246 non-space chars in Tamil block, 0 ASCII letters) but uses sandhi-joined orthography (e.g. 'ஒருகுறளாய்', 'மண்வேண்டி', 'தருகவெனா', 'தாளணைவீர்', 'அருமறையின்', 'திரள்நான்கும்', 'விழாவளமும்'). corrected_tamil applies the standard editorial word-splits used in canonical editions; the reading itself is unchanged and corroborated.", "Verse text, theme (Vamana/Trivikrama begging 3 steps from Mahabali), and all key phrases (தாடாளன் தாள் அணைவீர், அருமறையின் திரள் நான்கும், வேள்வி ஐந்தும், அங்கங்கள் ஆறும், இசைகள் ஏழும், காழிச்சீராம விண்ணகரே சேர்மினீரே) independently confirmed present.", "Running NDP number 1178 confirmed: periya thirumozhi spans pasurams 948-2031; 3.4.1 = 948+200+30 = 1178, and devamrutam's labeled list shows (1178) for 'oru kuRaLAy' with the 3.4 decad running 1178-1187.", "Temple = Kaazhi Seerama Vinnagaram (Trivikrama/Thaadaalan kovil), Sirkazhi — matches slug. Decad closes 'kAzhichchIrAma viNNagarE sErmin nIrE' on every verse (confirmed via 3.4.9).", "Caveat: a couple of WebFetch page-summaries mislabeled the decad ('Thiruvali', 'Tiruchitrakoodam') — these are model artifacts of the summarizer, contradicted by the verse's own refrain and the majority of sources; disregarded."]
oru kuRaLAy iru nilam mUvadi maN vENdi* ulaganaiththum IradiyAl odukki* onRum tharugavenA mAvaliyaich chiRaiyil vaiththa* thAdALan thAL aNaivIr* thakka kIrththi arumaRaiyin thiraL nAngum vELvi aindhum* angangaL avai ARum isaigaL Ezhum* theruvil mali vizhA vaLamum siRakkum* kAzhich chIrAma viNNagarE sErmin nIrE
O you who wish to attain the feet of the magnanimous Lord who, taking the form of a tiny dwarf (Vamana), asked the asura king Mahabali for just three paces of ground, then with two strides measured all the worlds and pressed Mahabali down to imprison him! Go and reach Kazhi Chirama Vinnagaram, the town that flourishes with the four sacred Vedas of great glory, the five sacrifices, the six Vedangas (auxiliary sciences), the seven musical notes, and streets overflowing with the abundance of festivals.
பிறைதங்கு சடையானை வலத்தே வைத்துப்* பிரமனைத் தன் உந்தியிலே தோற்றுவித்து* கறைதங்கு வேல்தடங்கண் திருவை மார்பில் கலந்தவன் தாளணைகிற்பீர்* கழுநீர்க்கூடித் துறைதங்கு கமலத்துத் துயின்று* கைதைத் தோடாரும் பொதிசோற்றுச் சுண்ணம் நண்ணி* சிறைவண்டு களிபாடும் வயல்சூழ்* காழிச்சீராம விண்ணகரே சேர்மினீரே.
piRai thangu sadaiyAnai valaththE vaiththup piramanaith than undhiyilE thORRuviththuk kaRai thangu vEl thadangaN thiruvai mArbil kalandhavan thAL aNaigiRpIr! kazhunIr kUdith thuRai thangu kamalaththuth thuyinRu kaidhaith thOdArum podhi sORRuch chuNNam naNNich chiRai vaNdu kaLi pAdum vayal sUzh kAzhich chIrAma viNNagarE sErmin nIrE
O you who would attain the feet of the Lord who keeps Shiva of the crescent-bearing matted locks on His right side, who brought forth Brahma from His own navel, and who holds on His chest Lakshmi of large spear-like eyes! Reach Kazhi Chirama Vinnagaram, ringed by fields where the winged bees, having slept upon the lotuses that rest in the bathing-ghats amid the kazhuneer (red water-lily) blooms, then settle on the pollen-bundles of the fragrant thazhai (screw-pine) flowers and sing in joyous delight.
செங்கமலத்து அயனனைய மறையோர்* காழிச் சீராம விண்ணகர் என்செங்கண்மாலை* அங்கமலத் தடவயல்சூழ் ஆலிநாடன்* அருள்மாரி அரட்டமுக்கி அடையார்சீயம்* கொங்குமலர்க் குழலியர்வேள் மங்கைவேந்தன்* கொற்றவேல் பரகாலன் கலியன் சொன்ன* சங்கமுகத் தமிழ்மாலை பத்தும் வல்லார்* தடங்கடல்சூழ் உலகுக்குத் தலைவர் தாமே.</corrected_tamil> <parameter name="corrected_translit">sengamalaththu ayan anaiya maRaiyOr* kAzhich chIrAma viNNagar en sengaN mAlai* angamalath thadavayal sUzh Ali nAdan* aruL mAri arattamukki adaiyAr sIyam* kongu malark kuzhaliyar vEL mangai vEndhan* koRRavEl parakAlan kaliyan sonna* sanga mukath thamizh mAlai paththum vallAr* thadangadal sUzh ulagukkuth thalaivar thAmE.</corrected_translit> <parameter name="issues">["Search engines conflate this verse with periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 3.4.10 (viNNin mIdhu) by a different Alvar; the submission correctly cites PERIYA thirumozhi 3.4.10 (Thirumangai Alvar), so attribution is sound.", "Temple name in proper-form transliteration is 'Kazhi Sirama Vinnagar' (Seerkazhi divya desam).", "Global pasuram number 1187 is corroborated by secondary sources but not by a primary numbered index in this pass; decad position (10th/last verse of 3.4 = phalashruti) is firmly confirmed."]
sengamalaththu ayan anaiya maRaiyOr* kAzhich chIrAma viNNagar en sengaN mAlai* angamalath thadavayal sUzh AlinAdan* aruL mAri araattamukki adaiyAr sIyam* kongu malark kuzhaliyar vEL mangai vEndhan* koRRavEl parakAlan kaliyan sonna* sanga mugath thamizh mAlai paththum vallAr* thadangadal sUzh ulagukkuth thalaivar thAmE
These ten Tamil verses of pure (conch-mouthed/melodious) garland-song, on my red-eyed Lord Tirumal of Kazhi Chirama Vinnagaram — where brahmins resplendent as Brahma seated on the red lotus dwell — were sung by Kaliyan: the lord of Ali-nadu girt with lotus-filled wide fields, the rain-cloud of grace, a lion to his foes, the beloved of women with flower-decked tresses, king of Thirumangai, Parakalan of the victorious spear. Those able to master these ten will themselves become lords of the wide world girt by the vast ocean.
More verses & references (1)
- Thirumangai Alvar glorifies the Lord of Thirukkazhicheerama Vinnagaram (Thadalan Koil, Sirkazhi) as Trivikrama — 'Mann alantha Thadalan', He who measured all the worlds with His foot in the Vamana–Trivikrama avatar — praising the Lord who stands with one leg raised to span the sky. Per Wikipedia he is revered here in one hymn of his Thirunedunthandagam, while several temple chronicles state his Mangalasasanam comprises about ten pasurams. — Thirumangai Alvar, Thirunedunthandagam · source ↗
Tamil text & meaning sourced from divyaprabandham.koyil.org and other Śrī Vaiṣṇava authorities — please cross-check the linked source for the canonical reading.
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