Thirukkurungudi of the eighteen pandya Nadu Divya desam this place has the Lord in all the three poses Lying down (bogha sayanam, Standing pose, and sitting pose. on a hill near by there is a sannidhi for perumal which is Malai Nambi sannidhi, there is also a small rivulet close by called Thirupparkadal on the banks of which there is yet another sannidhi for Nambi, here he is known as Thirupparkadal Nambi.
Perumal is known by several names here. Nindra Nambi, Durungudi Nambi, Irundha Nambi, Vaduga Nambi, Vaishnava Nambi, thirupparkadal Nambi, Malai Nambi. The Moolavar is seen standing facing east. thayar is known as Kurungudivalli Nachiyar. the theertham is thirupparkadal and Sindhu nadhi. the Vimanam is Panchasa Ketaka Vimanam. the Lord Gave darshan to Siva and Nampaduvan. the utsavamurths of thayar sannidhis are kept along with Perumal in ekasanam in the Moolasthanam. Thus the thayar sannidhi a separate archani is not offered.
This place is also known as Dakshina Badri. In Badrikasramam Lord Narayana did upadesam of Thirumantram to Naran (man) In thirukkurungudi a saintly man emberumanar did Upadesam to Sri Nambi who is the archa form of Narayana. Kurugam means deer.the place used to be known for a huge population of deers hence the name as Perumal appeared here.
In the Malai Nambi sannidhi people have seen a lot of Siddhars. siddhara are dark coloured they can be seen doing Pradakshinam but their feet are not to be seen. this sannidhi can be reached through jeep but only upto half way up the remaining 2 to 3 kms must be completed on foot. a dense forest covers this area.the gurgling noises the birds chirping and the swaying of the hanging boughs gives one an impression that the trees talk to each other, stories can be wound from the brooks and even the stones have stories to reveal. It is believed if one spends a night in Malai Nambi sannidhi one can hear the noise from yama pattanam. a saying like "Kooppidum dooraththil yama pattanam Irukkiradhu." The emanating noise is from Yama Pattinam.
Kari Maharaja and Udaiya Nangai the parents of Nammalwar are said to have prayed to Nambi Perumal to be blessed with a heir.
There are five sannidhis for Nambi perumal, standing he is known as Thrivikrama, as thiruparkadal nambi he is seen in Vamana form, His sitting posture is Sridhara Form, and lying down Padmanaba. Nammalwars thiruvaimozhi 5th decad gives a beautiful description of the lord here.
he is seen holding a conch, wielding a discuss, has lotus like eyes, his mouth has the colour of a pomogranets ears adorn Kundalams, having a mole on his chest right side, also adorned with beautiful ornaments,his majestic arms hold bow, discus, mace and sword. the golden hued lord wears a basil garland round his neck. his eyebrows are long and beautiful. his nose seems to be a creeper with a bewitchingly beautiful countenance the body having a blue hue. in totality a golden appearance.
Thirumangai alwar attained moksha here.
Ramanujas connection to this place is also very interesting.
In the middle of Thirupparkadal river one sees a stone or a big bolder. it was here that Nambi perumal had kept Ramanujar hidden when he was being chased by his enemies who wanted to kill him.
the place is known as thirupparivattapari. here the images of Perumal and Ramanuja are unique. Perumal is seen standing in a humble pose like a student and Ramanujar is seen sitting on the Simhasanam like a teacher. the story connected says Perumal in the guise of a sishya once asked ramanujar as to how he proposed to reform people to make them forget the bonds of Samsara when God himself was not able to reform them. Ramanujar seems to have haughtily replied if the question is asked in a manner in which it should be asked there would be a fitting reply. immediately Nambi perumal is said to have taken a sishya position and made Emberumanar swamy take the asanam and Vaduga nambi stood as a sishya. this is seen even today in this temple. another story too of this place is once Ramanujar was applying the Vaishnava caste mark and it is said when one applies the caste mark if excess is found on ones palm after applying the mark, the hand should not be washed but the application made ready on ones palm should be used for some other person. Thus Ramanujar also applied the excess on to a old brahmin who appeared before him and actually requested that the mark be applied to him. Ramanuja obliged. Later when he went to the Moolastanam to offer worship he was suprised to see the Nambi Perumal with the caste mark who actually sported only the srichurnam. hence the names Ramanuja nambi and Vaishnava Nambi. This incident is celebrated as a festival even today during the month of chitirai when thiruvadirai star is ascendent.
How the Dwajasthamba was moved.
we find the Dwajasthamba to one side and not exactly opposite the lords idol here. the story goes that Nampaduvan a gifted Harijan was fond of singing and as he was not allowed into the temple he used to stand near the dwajasthamba and sing to the lord. he had a melodious voice and God was fond of what he sang. He usually sang in Kaisika raga. God wanted to see this devotee with out any interruption so he asked the dwajasthamba to move so that he could have a vision of his devotee. that is how we find the change here. Now Nampaduvan used to sing in Kaisika raga every night to the lord when all the temple poojas were over for the day. after this Kainkaryam he used to go home and have his meal. One day however on an Ekadasi day he was waylaid by a Brahma rakshasa.(br) as he had not offered prayers to the lord on that day he requested the br to spare him so that he could go perform his singing break his fast and on the way back offer himself to the br. after testing him the br allowed him to go on condition he would keep to his word. Nampaduvan went to the temple sang his song and returned on the way however an old brahmin tried stopping him and requested him to change his route, he would not agree as he had promised the br. knowing him to be a favoured devotee of the lord the br tricked him and attained moksha too from the Lord. this incident is enacted even now on Karthikai sukla panchami ekadasi day.
another famous story of Araiyar seva here is mentioned in one of the earlier listings with the same name. Yes God is fond of Music dance and festivities. lets present ourselves before him in like manner and be blessed.
