108 Divya-deshams: Thiruparthanpalli
BY: SUN STAFF - 7.5 2024
Taamaraiyaal Kelvan Perumal Temple, Thiruppaarththanpalli
A tour of the 108 Divya-desams, the divine abodes of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi.
The Taamaraiyaal Kelvan Perumal Temple or Thiruppaarththanpalli is located close to Thirunangur, a small village 8 km east of Sirkali, en route to Thiruvenkadu. This Divya Desham is dedicated to the worship of Lord Vishnu as Taamariyaal Kelvan with His consort Shegamalavalli (Lakshmi).
The Padma Purana details the legend associated with this temple. Arjuna Pandava reached this place while on pilgrimage. He was thirsty and sought water from sage Agastya, who was doing penance here. There was no water with the sage nor any place around. Agastya realised that this was the trick of Sri Krishna, who was the favoured deity of Arjuna. He advised Arjuna to pray Krishna, which he did. Krishna was pleased with the prayer of Arjuna and offered him a sword. Arjuna dug the land with the sword, which resulted in a gush of water that became the Katka Pushkarani, the temple tank. Arjuna is depicted in the temple sporting the sword.
Shrine of Agastya
Sri Krishna also appeared as Parthasarathy to Arjuna here, initiating his education. The temple was named for this pastime: Parthanpalli (parthan + palli, meaning school). Several sages performed penance at this place, including Agastya, Bharadvaja, Gautama and Varuna,
Thiruparthanpalli is also one among the eleven Divya Desams of Thirunangur Tirupathis, associated with Shiva's fiery dance after the death of his consort, Uma.
Thayer's shrine
Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple complex has a single prakaram (closed precinct) and separate shrines for Tamariyan Kelvan Perumal, facing west, Shenbagavalli Thayar, facing east, and Arjuna.
The vimana of the temple is called Narayana Vimanam and water body associated with the temple is called Katka Theertham. The temple tank is located in the southern side, outside the temple complex. The rajagopuram faces west and the temple complex is surrounded by walls.
Temple gopuram
The festival images of Tamaraiyan Kalvan, Krishna and Rama, are stored in the shrine of Tamarayan Kelvan. This is the only temple where the images of Rama and Krishna are housed in the same shrine. There is a separate hall in the temple complex that houses the festival chariots. The festival deity has four consorts namely, Sridevi, Bhudevi, Niladevi, and Jambavati.
Following the legend of sage Agastya's penance here, a separate shrine of Agastya was recently built, in 2015.