| Sowmyanarayana Perumal Temple | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Image of the temple gopuram | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Sivaganga district |
| Deity | |
| Features |
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| Location | |
| Location | Thirukoshtiyur |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
  Location in Tamil Nadu | |
| Geographic coordinates | 10°03′39″N78°33′36″E / 10.06083°N 78.56000°E /10.06083; 78.56000 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Dravidian architecture |
Sowmyanarayana Perumal Temple is an ancient temple located inThirukoshtiyur, a village in the South Indian state ofTamil Nadu, dedicated to theHindu godVishnu. Constructed in theDravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in theNalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medievalTamil canon of theAlvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Sowmyanarayana Perumal and his consortLakshmi as Thirumamagal.[1] The temple is known as the place whereRamanuja, the expounder of Vishishtadvaita philosophy preached the holy ashtakshara "Om Namo Narayanaya" to all people, irrespective of their varna.
A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines. The temple features a five-tiered rajagopuram or, the gateway tower and an impressive Ashtanga Vimana, which is even taller than the gopuram itself.The temple tank is located opposite to the temple, outside the main entrance.
Sowmyanarayana Perumal is believed to have appeared asNarasimha avatar to thedevas, the celestial deities. The temple followsTenkalai tradition of worship. Six daily rituals and many yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the float festival during theTamil month ofMasi (February–March),Navrathri during September–October andVaikunta Ekadasi duringMargali (December–January) being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by Sivaganga Devasthanam.
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Hiranyakshipu, theasura king, got arrogant after he got boons fromBrahma, which nearly made him invincible. He troubled thedevas (celestial deities) and they prayed to Vishnu for rescue. Vishnu was ready to take theNarasimha avatar to slay the asura king. The devas pleaded with Vishnu to assume the form before he could take it. Vishnu showed them the avatar, but not satisfied merely one vision, the devas and sages pleaded with him to show it again. Vishnu appeared in three forms of himself standing, sitting, and resting posture at Thirukoshtiur. Since, Vishnu showed his form after hardship (calledThirukkai in Tamil) of Devas, the place came to be known as Thirukoshtiur.[2]
Sowmyanarayana Perumal temple covers an area of about 2 acres (0.81 hectares) and has a five-tieredgopuram (gateway tower). The temple in enclosed in a rectangular enclosure with huge granite walls. The central shrine houses the image of the presiding deity, Uragamellayan Perumal in reclining posture on a snake bed similar to that ofSrirangam Ranganathaswamy temple. The images of Sridevi andBhudevi are also housed in the sanctum. There two life size images ofNarasimha, the avatar of Vishnu. One of them is shown holding the asura Hiranyakshipu and other slaying him. Though it is a Vishnu temple, the temple has image ofShiva in the form ofLingam,Vinayaka andSubramanya.[3] The festival deity is named Sowmya Narayana Perumal made ofpanchaloha.
Thevimana, the shrine over the sanctum is Ashtanga in architecture, which has eight parts, namely,Adhistana (base), threePadas (struct), Prashthana (limb), Griva (leading struct),Shikara (cylindrical holder) and Stupi (top portion). The outer parts of the vimana has various stucco images of Narasimha, sages,Dasavatara and other mythical stories. The Ashtanga Vimana is found in only three places, namely, theUthiramerur,Koodal alagar Temple andCheranmadevi temples.[4] The ashtanga vimana raising to a height of 25 m (82 ft), is taller than the gopuram of the temple, which is not a common feature in Dravidian temples.[2]
The shrine of the consort of Sowmyanarayana Perumal, Thirumamagal, is located to the south of the main shrine. There are smaller shrines of Lakshmi Narasimha,Rama, Lakshmi Narayana andKrishna located close to the sanctum. The shrines ofAndal, Narasimha andManavala Mamunigal are found in separate shrines around the first precinct. The shrines ofGaruda,Anjaneya,Ramanuja,Vedanta Desika andAlvars are found in the second precinct.[2] According to historian K.V. Soundararajan, the Rangantha temples in South India built during the 9th and 10th centuries have a systematic arrangement of subsidiary deities as seen in this temple along with theAppakkudathaan Perumal Temple at Koviladi,Veeraraghava Perumal temple atThiruvallur,Rajagopalaswamy temple atMannargudi andRangantha temple atSrirangapatna.[5]
Sowmyanarayana Perumal temple is revered inNaalayira Divya Prabhandam, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, byPerialvar,Thirumalisai Alvar,Bhoothathalvar, andPeyalvar. The temple is classified as aDivya Desam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the temple finds mention in several works like108 Tirupathi Anthathi by Divya Kavi Pillai Perumal Aiyangar.[4]
The temple is known as the place whereRamanuja, the expounder of Vaishnavadatta philosophy preached the holy ashtakshara "Om Namo Narayana" to all people. The place was the birthplace of Thirukoshtiyur Nambigal, the teacher of Ramanuja and who taught him the gospel and instructed him not to reveal it to anyone.[6] Taking the risk of his life, Ramanuja climbed up the temple and revealed the verse to the whole world. Nambigal was pleased by the spirit of Ramanuja and named him Emperumanar (meaning my superior). Following the event, a life-size image of Ramanuja was housed in the Ashtanga Mandapam of the temple.[3]
The temple follows the traditions of theTenkalai sect of Vaishnavite tradition and followsVaikasana aagama. In modern times, the temple priests perform thepooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to theVaishnavaite community, of the Brahmin varna. Six daily rituals are held at various times of the day and many yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the float festival during theTamil month ofMasi (February–March),Navaratri during September–October andVaikuntha Ekadashi duringMargali (December–January) being the most prominent. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple.[2]
