108 Divyadesam - 79) Tiruchireevaramangai(Vanamamalai / Nanguneri)

Details of Kshethram:Moolavar: Totadrinathan / Daivanayakan Thayaar: Srivaramangai Thayaar Vimanam: Nandavathana Vimanam Pushkarani: Indra Pushkarani Travel: This kshetram is located in Nanguneri on the way to Nagarkoil from Tirunelveli.

Azhwar Pashuram: Namazhwar: 11 Pashurams *** This is one among the eight Sri Vaishnava Swayam Vyaktha KshethramsSthala Puranam:There are multiple legends associated with this temple. Let's go through them one by one. How the Lord appeared: Lord Mahavishnu is said to have defeated the demon brothers named Madhu-Kaitabha. When He defeated them, their blood is said to have spilled over the earth causing the earth to smell with a very foul odor. Bhoomi Devi is said to have performed tapas at this kshethram to relieve Herself of the odor. The Lord is said to have answered Her tapas and appeared here for the first time. Vishwakarma is said to have designed the temple here. Over time and improper maintenance, the Lord is said to have gotten buried under the earth. Many years passed and the Lord was forgotten. Then came a king named Karya Maharaja who did not have any children. The king was getting anxious as he was starting to get old and he did not have any children. One night the Lord appeared in the king's dream and told him that He wanted to be reestablished in the temple. The Lord directed the king to Nanguneri and told his where He lied buried below the earth. The king began digging and at one point saw that the tip of one of his tools had blood on it. Upon closer inspection, the king found the Lord, Sri Devi, Bhoomi Devi, Suryan, Chandran, Brighu Maharishi, Markandeya Maharishi, Urvashi, Thilothama, Vishwaksenar, and Garudan. (Among all the Swayam Vyaktha Kshethrams, this is the only kshethram where there have been 11 vigrahams that have emerged.) The king was bamboozled by the blood and did not mean to hurt the Lord in any way. The king immediately begged for the Lord's forgiveness. The Lord told the king not to be worried and asked to apply some gingelly oil and the wound would heal. The king followed the Lord's instructions. To date, the same tradition is being followed where the Lord is massaged with a mix of gingelly oil and sandalwood oil along with a mix of medicinal herbs and abhishekam is performed daily.

After abhishekam is performed, all the oil is collected and poured into a 25ft deep well. This well is known as the . The oil from this well ages over time and undergoes multiple chemical reactions when exposed to sunlight. All devotees who visit this kshethram without fail take some amount of this oil with them to their households. This oil has multiple medicinal benefits such as being used to cure arthritis and it even can be used to treat leprosy.

Another legend goes that once upon a time there was a righteous king in the kingdom of Sind named, Gunaseelan. In his usual pastime, he went out on hunting, followed by his attendants on horseback. The King missed his companions in the trackless forest and, when he was feeling the pinch of thirst and hunger, he could locate a mysterious animal in the form of a deer having eight legs. This phenomenon diverted the mind of the King and he ran after it. But alas! The deer with its swift legs quickly disappeared, drawing the King deep into the forest. At its disappearance, the King felt dejected and retraced his steps to find out his companions. By then he felt thirsty and hungry. He noticed at a distance a small hermitage made of mild leaves. He halted in front of it and, finding the door wide open alighted from his horse and entered it. He could not find the owner of the hermitage. There was no temple there till then. But the sanctity of the place gained great prominence. It was a dense mango forest where many sages like Roma, Narada, Vaikhanasa, Dadhichi, Angeerasa, Jabali, Kalavar, Kanva, and others were engaged in deep meditation and penance. But to his utter surprise, he found in a corner food and drink spread over a leaf as if offered to somebody. His acute thirst and hunger did not allow him to wait long. He unceremoniously helped himself to the food and drink. When he had finished the meal, he realized he was an intruder in the hermitage. Sage Kusasanan, who had been to the river for his daily ablution, was entering the hermitage. The Rishi got angry and immediately cursed the intruder to turn into a dog for his canine action, as only dogs sneakingly creep into the households and desecrate food. The intruder had not only desecrated the hermitage by his action but had also violated the moral code of the country. The curse became immediately effective and the King turned into a roaming mongrel. Gunaseelan begged the Sage to take back his curse in place of his entire domain and wealth, but the words of the sage who had already attained Vak Siddhi were irrevocable. But seeing the humility, distress, and penitence of the King, Sage Kusasanan condescended to lighten the kill rigor of the curse by saying that in due course of time, he would come across a holy place where he would regain his original form after a bath. In the form of a mongrel the King had to roam around the earth, how long none could say. Once, during his wanderings, a juggler came before him and finding him quite healthy and plump, utilized his services for showing sleight-of-hand in teats of jugglery. Time passed, the mongrel in the company of the juggler roamed around the earth and at last, reached Nanguneri. Before starting his show the juggler took his bath in the temple tank and bathed the mongrel too. But to his surprise, the mongrel stood transformed as a king after the holy dip. People thronged around the juggler to see the wonderful jugglery of God. Such is the power of the holy waters of the sacred tank at Nanguneri.