Vanamamalai Perumal Temple

Vanamamalai Perumal Temple temple lies on the banks of river Thamiraparani, in the Nanguneri town of the Tirunelveli district of Southern Tamil Nadu.Vanamamalai Perumal Temple is a famous shrine dedicated to Lord Vishnu. He is worshipped here as Thothadrinathan or Vanamamalai Perumal, and hence this temple is also known as Tothadri Kshetram or Vanamamalai Tothadri Perumal Temple. Goddess Varamangai is the Lord’s consort.This is one of the Sywayambu Kshetrams of Vishnu, too, where the idol of the Lord is believed to be self-manifested. It is said that the Lord appeared here for his serpent couch Adishesha and bird mount Garuda. The Tamil word ‘Nangu’ denotes the number 4, and ‘Yeri’ is the lake. This place was surrounded by 4 water bodies, and this is believed to have given the name ‘Nangu Yeri’ to the town, which later became Nanguneri. The temple is maintained by the Vanamamalai Mutt.

The temple inscriptions reveal that this is fundamentally a Pandya construction, with later additions and expansions from Vijayanagar and Nayak kings. Subsequently, the temple came under the administration of Vanamamalai Mutt in the 15th century, when the idol of the Lord’s consort was installed thanks to the efforts of the first Pontiff of the Mutt.
This is a large temple spread over an area of 5 acres and has 3 precincts and a 5-tiered Rajagopuram. Vanamamalai Perumal, the presiding deity is seated majestically on serpent Adisesha in the sanctum, while his consorts Sridevi and Bhoodevi are on his either side. Surya, the Sun, Chandra, the Moon, sages Brihu and Markandeya, and celestial dancers Urvasi and Trilothama, are also there with him.

As per a legend, Goddess Lakshmi took birth here as Srivaramangai, and so, this place came to be called Varangunamangai. As per another story, serpent Adisesha performed intense penance at this place, seeking Vishnu’s grace, so that the Lord lies on him. Pleased by Adisesha’s devotion, Vishnu agreed to accept his service and started reclining on him. Likewise, the giant eagle Garuda, too, performed penance towards Vishnu, got blessed by him, and became his celebrated bird-mount.

As per the story in circulation locally, once, the issueless king Kaarya, worshipped Vishnu, who directed him to Nanguneri and dig the earth, there. The king complied with the command but found blood oozing out from the spot. He then requested the Lord for a solution to stop the blood flow, and the Lord told him to perform the holy bath to the presiding deity here, every day, with oil. This stopped the blood flow, and the king, too, was blessed with a progeny. The grateful king is said to have erected this temple for the Lord. The practice of sacred oil bath to the main deity is continuing even today.

The 12-day Brahmotsavam and the float festival are among the important festivals of this temple.People also worship in this temple for enhancement in knowledge, career growth, and good family life.