Thirunaraiyur or Nachiyarkoil, one of the 108 Divya Desams of Vaishnavite tradition, is situated between Kumbakonam and Tiruvarur.

The presiding deity is - Thirunaraiyur Nambi or Srinivasan

Thayar - Vanchulavalli or Nambikkai Nachiyar

This temple is replete with puranic lore. Let us peep into its genesis.

In this place, which was earlier called Sugandhagiri or Sugandhavanam, a sage called Medhavi did penance on the banks of Manimuthar, wishing that Goddess Mahalakshmi should be born as his daughter.

The Goddess, happy with the devotion of the sage, appeared under the vanchula tree on a Friday, the star being Uthiram in the Tamil month of Panguni. The sage at once knew about the avatar of the Goddess through his meditative powers. He took her under his fold and since she appeared under the vanchula tree, he called her Vanchulavalli.

Mahavishnu became sad without his consort Mahalakshmi in Vaikuntam. He decided to join her in the world in Vyuha Nilai (Sankarshan, Prathyumnan, Anirudhan, Purushotaman and Vasudevan). Since he donned five forms, he bestowed abundant powers on Mahalakshmi and calling himself Srinivasan, entered into a wedlock with Mahalakshmi. This celestial wedding took place here and the divine couple bless the devotees as bride and groom. This sacred spot is also called Krishnaranyam. Since the presiding deities are in kalyana kolam, Brahma worships them every day till date.

There is another deity that attracts the devotees who throng to worship at the temple. We have seen Mahavishnu's mode of transport, Garuda, paying obeisance to the Lord with folded hands in all Vaishnavite temples. But here he is worshipped on a par with the presiding deity. There is a strange phenomenon which occurs when the gods are taken out on procession atop Garuda. What is it?

(To be continued)

Usha Raja