Neela Megha Perumal Temple - The Vaikuntham In Bhooloka!

The next temple in the list of Divya Desham is the Sowriraja Perumal temple, also called as Neelamegha Perumal temple which is located in Thirukannapuram village in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Maha Vishnu in the form of Neela Megha Perumal (referred to as Sowriraja Perumal) and His consort is Maha Lakshmi in the form of Thirukannapura Naayagi. 

There are several legends associated with this temple. There was a priest named Rangabhatta who was an ardent devotee of Maha Vishnu. Every day, a dancer would give him a garland to be put over the deity. The dancer always used to put the garland on herself before offering it to the Lord. One day the king visited the temple and on inspecting the deity closely, he found a hair in the garland. He enquired about it with Rangabhatta who said that the hair belonged to the deity. The king asked the priest to prove it else he would be punished. To his amazement, the king found hair on the deity's head when he looked again. The deity thereby earned the name Sowriraja Perumal (sowri meaning hair).

Another legend states that a king named Uparishiravasu had attained the Ashtakshara Mantra from the Lord Himself and during one of his fights, he mistook some sages for enemies and started attacking them. Maha Vishnu took on the form of a young boy and fought valiantly against the king's army. When the king realised that nothing was working against the boy, he deployed the power of the Ashtakshara mantra. However, he found the Mantra heeling down to the power of the boy. Then the king realised that this was none other than Maha Vishnu and humbly bowing to him, asked for His forgiveness. He also insisted that the Lord stay there forever and arranged to build a temple by none other than Vishwakarma, the celestial architect. Lord Vishnu blessed the king with His vision as Neela Megha. Thus the temple came to be called as Neela Megha Perumal temple.

There is a scar visible on the deity. It is said that one of the rulers of the past was against Vaishnavism and wanted to destroy the temple. The presiding priest of the temple prayed to the deity in desperation, seeking for some kind of help. In frustration, he threw a discus at the deity and gave it the scar. It is believed that when the enemies came to attack, Maha Vishnu in the form of the deity, threw His discus at the army and destroyed them. The presiding deity of Sowriraja Perumal holds a discus.

There are eight temples of Maha Vishnu which are considered as gateways to salvation - Tirupati, Srirangam, Srimushnam, Naguneri, Saligram, Pushkar, Badarikashram and Neela Megha Perumal temple. Each of these temples represents one letter from the Ashtakshara Mantra 'Om Namo Narayanaya'. This temple is believed to be the place where Maha Vishnu represents all the eight letters of the Maha Mantra. It is considered as Bhuloka Vaikuntham. During Vaikuntha Ekadashi, the ritual of Swargarohanam which signifies Maha Vishnu descending to the earth from Swarga, is not followed in this temple as the temple itself is considered to be Vaikuntham. 

The Naivedyam (food offering) prepared for the Lord deserves special mention. It is called Munayodharan Pongal and is made of rice, lentils and ghee. There are two legends associated with this. As per one legend, a devotee named Munayodharan used to prepare Pongal everyday and would offer it to the Lord. One day he fell sick and was unable to offer the food to the deity. It is believed that Maha Vishnu Himself came to Munayodharan's house and partook off the pongal prepared by him. Since then, Pongal came to be offered every day to the Lord as Naivedyam. As per another legend, Munayodharan was appointed by the king to collect taxes from the people but the former spent the money for the welfare of the poor people. When the king came to know this, Munayodharan was arrested. A lady named Viragadibhogam who had immense respect for Munayodharan, prayed to Maha Vishnu for his release and offered Pongal to the Lord. Maha Vishnu appeared in the king's dream and ordered him to release Munayodharan. The Naivedyam came to be called as Munayodharan Pongal after this incident.

This temple is also regarded as one of the five Krishnaranya Kshethram wherein the deity of Lord Krishna is taken out during processions and festivals. While Srirangam temple bears the distinction of having maximum number of hymns sung by the Alvars, Neela Megha Perumal temple is the next in the list. 

Many people say that they feel a vibration inside the garba-griha and that this vibration has existed since ancient days. The Navagrahas in the temple are said to have been installed by Lord Indra. The Vimaana of the temple is named as Utpalavadaga Vimaana and is covered from all sides. It is believed that even today, sages from the ancient past are present in the Vimaana and are worshipping the Lord. The deity appears as Lord Shiva in the morning, as Brahma in the afternoon and as Vishnu in the evening for the devotees. 

The Garuda has a special legend associated with him. Once he was flying over this temple carrying nectar for his mother. He felt a momentary pride that he achieved the nectar from the Ocean of Milk (Ksheera Sagara or Parkadal which is considered to be the resting place of Maha Vishnu). Suddenly Garuda lost his balance and fell into the sea. As he sat on a rock beside the sea and pondered over his fall, he realised that his pride had brought his downfall. He prayed to Maha Vishnu who appeared before him, comforted him and took him as his Vaahan. This event is celebrated in the new moon day (Pournami) that comes in the months of February/March. Similarly, on Amavasya, the temple celebrates the event where Maha Vishnu blessed Vibhishana with His vision at the temple. 

It is in this temple that Maha Vishnu taught the Ashtakshara mantra to Tirumangai Alvar, one of the 12 great saints of Vaishnavism. There is a beautiful song named 'Thaalelo' which is sung as a lullaby in temples to put the deities to sleep. This song has been written by Kulashekaralvar who, in this temple, perceived the Lord as Shri Ram in the form of a child and had the blessed opportunity of seating the child in his lap and singing hymns to him. 

Om Namo Narayana! Om Devyai Namaha!