Saranatha Perumal Temple, Thirucherai
Thiruccherai
Photo: Wiele & Klein · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
Said to be the only Divya Desam where the Perumal grants darshan with five goddesses (Thayars).
Sthala Purāṇam
The Saranatha Perumal Temple at Thirucherai is bound to the cosmic deluge, the Maha Pralaya. When the universe faced dissolution, Vishnu instructed Brahma to safeguard the Vedas and the instruments of creation in a vessel. Having tested the soil of many places, Brahma found that only the firm sand of Thirucherai held fast, and from it he fashioned a strong pot in which he preserved the Vedas through the flood, enabling re-creation thereafter. From this saving saras (tank or vessel) the kshetra takes its name; it is celebrated as the Pancha Saara Kshetram, where five elements gave their support, the sthala, the Lord, the Goddess, the Pushkarani, and the vimana. A second legend tells of the river Cauvery, who performed severe penance desiring parity with the Ganga. Vishnu appeared as an infant whom she nursed; revealing his ten avatars and granting her a dip in the temple tank, he declared that in the month of Tula she would be regarded as holier even than the Ganga, and he is said to have crawled as a child in her hands, accepting her as his mother. Uniquely, the moolavar Saranathan stands here flanked by five consorts, Sridevi, Bhudevi, Neeladevi, Mahalakshmi, and Saranayaki. Sage Markandeya and the river Cauvery are enshrined beside the Lord, and Thirumangai Alvar sang pasurams in its praise.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Saranatha Perumal (Saaranathan) with Saranayaki of Thiruccherai is glorified by:
Thiruccherai (Saranatha Perumal temple, near Kumbakonam, Thiruvarur district) is a Chola Nadu Divya Desam glorified solely by Thirumangai Alvar in his Periya Thirumozhi, with the tradition counting 13 pasurams in his praise. The Lord Saranathan ('refuge-lord') is uniquely depicted here with five consorts. The pasurams extol Him as the ultimate refuge.
கண்சோர வெங்குருதி வந்திழிய வெந்தழல்போல் கூந்தலாளை, மண்சேர முலையுண்ட மாமதலாய், வானவர்தம் கோவே என்று, விண்சேரும் இளந்திங்கள் அகடுரிஞ்சு மணிமாட மல்கு செல்வத் தண்சேறை யெம்பெருமான் தாள்தொழுவார் காண்மினென் தலைமேலாரே.
kaṇsōra veṅkurudhi vandhiḻiya vendhaḻalpōl kūndhalāḷai, maṇsēra mulaiyuṇḍa māmadhalāy, vānavartham kōvē enṟu, viṇsērum iḷandhiṅgaḷ agaḍuriñju maṇimāḍa malgu selvath thaṇsēṟai yemperumāṉ thāḷthoḻuvār kāṇminen thalaimēlārē.
O great child who, as Krishna, drank the very life out of the demoness (Pūtanā) whose flaming hair fell loose and from whose eyes hot blood gushed as she fell upon the earth! O Lord of the celestials! Behold — those who worship the holy feet of our Lord (emperumān) of opulent, cool Thiruccherai, whose jewelled mansions are so tall they graze the young crescent moon in the sky: such devotees, I hold upon my own head (I revere them above all). This is the opening verse of the Thiruccherai decade; it carries the decade's refrain 'thaṇ sēṟai emperumāṉ thāḷ thoḻuvār kāṇmiṉ eṉ thalai mēlārē'.
தேராளும் வாளரக்கன் தென்னிலங்கை வெஞ்சமத்துப் பொன்றி வீழ, போராளும் சிலையதனால் பொருகணைகள் போக்குவித்தாய் என்று, நாளும் தாராளும் வரைமார்பன் தண்சேறை எம்பெருமான் உம்பராளும், பேராளன் பேரோதும் பெரியோரை ஒருகாலும் பிரிகிலேனே.
thErALum vALarakkan thennilangai venjamaththup ponRi vIzha, pOrALum silaiyadhanAl porukaNaigaL pOkkuviththAy enRu, nALum thArALum varaimArban thaN sERai emperumAn umbarALum, pErALan pErOdhum periyOrai orukAlum pirigilEnE.
Saying, 'O Lord who, as Rāma, loosed the warring arrows from your battle-bow so that the sword-wielding demon-king (Rāvaṇa), master of chariots, perished and fell in the fierce battle at southern Lankā!' — I will never, even for a moment, part from the great devotees who daily chant the names of that glorious Lord of cool Thiruccherai, the broad-chested wearer of garlands, who rules over the celestial realm. (A Rāma-avatāra verse of the Thiruccherai decade.)
பூமாண்சேர் கருங்குழலார் போல்நடந்து வயல்நின்ற பெடையோடு, அன்னம் தேமாவின் இன்னிழலில் கண்டுயிலும் தண்சேறை யம்மான் றன்னை, வாமான்தேர்ப் பரகாலன் கலிகன்றி ஒலிமாலை கொண்டு தொண்டீர், தூமாண்சேர் பொன்னடிமேல் சூட்டுமின் நும் துணைக்கையால் தொழுது நின்றே.
pūmāṇ sēr karuṅguḻalār pōl naḍandhu vayal niṉḏṟa peḍaiyōḍu, aṉṉam thēmāviṉ iṉ niḻalil kaṇ thuyilum thaṇ sēṟai ammāṉ thaṉṉai, vāmāṉ thērp parakālaṉ kalikaṉḏṟi oli mālai koṇḍu thoṇḍīr, thūmāṇ sēr poṉ aḍimēl sūṭṭumiṉ num thuṇaikkaiyāl thoḻudhu niṉḏṟē.
On the Lord of cool Thiruccherai — where the swan, walking gracefully like dark-tressed women adorned with flowers, sleeps with its mate in the sweet shade of the mango trees by the fields — Parakālan (Thirumangai Alvar), 'Kalikanri,' lord of the swift-horsed chariot, has composed this resounding garland of verses. O devotees! Stand and worship with your folded hands, and place this garland upon his pure, golden, glorious feet. This is the concluding (phalaśruti) verse of the Thiruccherai decade, bearing the Alvar's signature.
More verses & references (1)
- Thirumangai Alvar performs mangalasasanam on Saranatha Perumal of Thirucherai, glorifying the Lord who reclines/stands at this Cauvery-delta shrine. The temple is celebrated as the unique Divya Desam where the Lord is seen with five consorts (Sara Nayagi, Sridevi, Bhudevi, Mahalakshmi and Nila Devi). — Thirumangai Alvar, Periya Thirumozhi one decade of pasurams on Thirucherai (Saranathan) · 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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