Perarulalan Perumal Temple, Thirusemponsei Koil
Thiru Sempon Sei Kovil
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
One of the eleven Nangur Divya Desams.
Sthala Purāṇam
Thiru Sempon Sei Kovil is one of the eleven Thirunangur Divya Desams near Sirkazhi, sung by Thirumangai Alvar. The Lord is worshipped as Perarulalan, the one of abundant grace, with alternate names Hema Rangar (Hemaranganatha), Sem Pon Arangar and Damodaran, reflecting his form akin to Lord Ranganatha bestowing wealth on devotees. The distinctive sthala puranam tells how Lord Rama, after slaying Ravana, sought relief from brahmahatya dosham. After visiting Rameswaram he came to this site and stayed at the ashram of Thrida Nethra Maharishi; following the sage's counsel, Rama fashioned a cow of pure gold, remained upon it, and after the prescribed days donated it to a Brahmin. The Brahmin sold the gold and built this temple with the proceeds, making it celebrated as the Divya Desam where the Perumal himself, in effect, provided the means to construct his own shrine. From this Sem Pon (pure gold) gift the place took the name Sempon Sei Kovil, the temple made of pure gold. The shrine also embodies the shared Thirunangur legend in which Lord Shiva performed the Ekadasa Rudra worship and Narayana manifested in eleven forms to bless him. The Moolavar, Sri Perarulalan, stands facing east, with the Thayaar Allimaamalar Naachiyar and the Utsavar Hema Rangar. The sacred tank is the Nithya Pushkarani, and the vimana over the sanctum is the Kanaka Valli Vimaanam.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Perarulalan (Hemaranganatha) with Allimaamalar Nachiyar of Thiru Sempon Sei Kovil is glorified by:
Thiru Sempon Sei Kovil (Perarulalan Perumal Temple, Thirusemponsei Koil) at Thirunangur near Sirkazhi, Mayiladuthurai district, is one of the eleven Thirunangur Divya Desams and is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham exclusively by Thirumangai Alvar. He sang one complete thirumozhi (decad of ten pasurams) on this shrine: Periya Thirumozhi 4.3, which opens with the line "pEraNindhu" and is named for the presiding deity Perarulalan (Tamil "pEraruLALan," the Lord of abundant grace; also called Hema Ranga / Sempon Arangar / Damodaran). Throughout the decad each pasuram closes with the refrain locating the Lord "Thirunangai nannaduvuL sembonsey kOyilin uLLE" — within the Semponsey Koil in the auspicious centre of Thirunangur, the town of eminent Vedic brahmins. The Alvar describes the Lord standing east-facing with Sri Mahalakshmi (the lotus-born goddess) and Bhudevi, likens him to a dark rain-bearing cloud, and praises him as the boundless flood of bliss, the great purport of the Vedas, and the Lord of the celestials (vAnavar kOn); in pasuram after pasuram he declares that by beholding this Lord he was redeemed and his life made fulfilled. A distinctive tradition holds that among all eleven Thirunangur Divya Desams, this is the only one where Thirumangai Alvar offered mangalasasanam specifically to the Thayar, Allimaamalar Nachiyar. The closing phalashruti (4.3.10, "thEnamar sOlai") promises that those who master the ten verses will rule the earth and then attain the eternal abode of the celestials. The decad is honoured each year in the Thirumangai Alvar Mangalasasana Utsavam (Thai month) and the grand Thirunangur Garuda Sevai.
பேரணிந் துலகத் தவர்தொழு தேத்தும் பேரரு ளாளனெம் பிரானை, வாரணி முலையாள் மலர்மக ளோடு மண்மக ளுமுடன் நிற்ப, சீரணி மாட நாங்கைநன் னடுவுள் செம்பொன்செய் கோயிலி னுள்ளே, காரணி மேகம் நின்றதொப் பானைக் கண்டுகொண் டுய்ந்தொழிந் தேனே.
pEraNindhu ulagaththavar thozhudhEththum pEraruLALan empirAnai, vAraNi mulaiyAL malarmagaLOdu maNmagaLum udan niRpa, sIraNi mAda nAngai nannaduvuL sembonsey kOyilin uLLE, kAraNi mEgam ninRadhoppAnaik kaNdu koNdu uyndhozhindhEnE.
I beheld and was redeemed by my Lord Perarulalan (the One of abundant grace), whom all the people of the world adorn with praise and worship; who stands together with Sridevi (Mahalakshmi, born of the flower, with bejewelled breasts) and Bhudevi (the Earth Goddess); and who, resembling a dark rain-laden cloud poised to pour, dwells within the Sempon Sei Kovil in the very heart of fertile Thirunangur, the place of mansions of splendour.
பிறப்பொடு மூப்பொன் றில்லவன் றன்னைப் பேதியா வின்பவெள் ளத்தை, இறப்பெதிர் காலக் கழிவுமா னானை ஏழிசை யின்சுவை தன்னை, சிறப்புடை மறையோர் நாங்கைநன் னடுவுள் செம்பொன்செய் கோயிலி னுள்ளே, மறைப்பெரும் பொருளை வானவர் கோனைக் கண்டுநான் வாழ்ந்தொழிந் தேனே.
piRappodu mUppu onRillavan thannaip bEdhiyA inba veLLaththai, / iRappedhir kAlak kazhivum AnAnai Ezhisaiyin suvai thannai, / siRappudai maRaiyOr nAngai nannaduvuL sembonsey kOyilin uLLE, / maRaip perum poruLai vAnavar kOnaik kaNdu nAn vAzhndhozhindhEnE.
He who is utterly without change such as birth or old age; who is an unchanging flood of bliss; who is Himself the past, present and future (all time); who is the sweet essence of the seven musical notes; the great inner purport of the Vedas and the Lord of the celestials — Him I beheld within the Sempon Sei Kovil in the heart of Thirunangur where distinguished Vedic scholars reside, and so I lived (was redeemed).
திடவிசும் பெரிநீர் திங்களும் சுடரும் செழுநிலத் துயிர்களும் மற்றும், படர்பொருள் களுமாய் நின்றவன் றன்னை, பங்கயத் தயனவ னனைய திடமொழி மறையோர் நாங்கைநன் னடுவுள் செம்பொன்செய் கோயிலி னுள்ளே, கடல்நிற வண்ணன் றன்னைநா னடியேன் கண்டுகொண் டுய்ந்தொழிந் தேனே.
thidavisumbu eri nIr thingaLum sudarum sezhunilaththu uyirgaLum maRRum, padar poruLgaLumAy ninRavan thannai pangayaththu ayanavan anaiya thidamozhi maRaiyOr nAngai nannaduvuL sembonsey kOyilin uLLE, kadal niRa vaNNan thannai nAn adiyEn kaNdu koNdu uyndhozhindhEnE
He who stands as the firm sky, fire, water, the moon, the sun, the living beings of the rich earth, and all other expansive entities (their indwelling soul); of the hue of the ocean — Him, this servant beheld within the Sempon Sei Kovil in the heart of Thirunangur, where dwell Vedic scholars of resolute speech, like Brahma seated on the lotus, and thus I was redeemed.
pEraNindhu ulagaththavar thozhudhEththum pEraruLALan empirAnai / vAraNi mulaiyAL malarmagaLOdu maNmagaLum udan niRpa / sIraNi mAda nAngai nannaduvuL sembonsey kOyilin uLLE / kAraNi mEgam ninRadhoppAnaik kaNdu koNdu uyndhozhindhEnE
The Lord Perarulalan (pEraruLALan), of boundless grace, whom all the people of the world worship and extol, stands together with Sri Mahalakshmi (the goddess born of the lotus) and Bhudevi within the Semponsey Koil set in the auspicious centre of Thirunangur, a town rich with beautiful mansions. Beholding this Lord who resembles a dark rain-laden cloud, I was redeemed and uplifted.
piRappodu mUppu onRillavan thannaip pEdhiyA inba veLLaththai / iRappedhir kAlak kazhivum AnAnai Ezhisaiyin suvai thannai / siRappudai maRaiyOr nAngai nannaduvuL sembonsey kOyilin uLLE / maRaip perum poruLai vAnavar kOnaik kaNdu nAn vAzhndhozhindhEnE
He who is free of birth and old age, the undiminishing flood of bliss, who is past, future and present alike, who is the sweetness of the seven musical notes, the great purport of the Vedas, the Lord of the celestials — Him I beheld within the Semponsey Koil in the good centre of Thirunangur, the abode of eminent Vedic brahmins, and so my life was made fulfilled.
thEnamar sOlai nAngai nannaduvuL sembonsey kOyilin uLLE / vAnavar kOnaik kaNdamai sollum mangaiyAr vAtkalikanRi / Unamil pAdal onbadhOdu onRum ozhivinRik kaRRu vallArgaL / mAna veN kudaik kIzh vaiyagam ANdu vAnavar Aguvar magizhndhE
This is the phalashruti (benediction) verse. Kaliyan (Thirumangai Alvar), lord of Thirumangai, sings of having beheld the Lord of the celestials within the Semponsey Koil in the good centre of honey-filled, grove-rich Thirunangur. Those who master all ten of these flawless verses without omission shall rule the earth beneath the great white royal parasol and thereafter joyously attain the company of the eternal celestials.
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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