Soundararaja Perumal - The One Who Glows With Beauty!



Today we will read about a Divya Desham of Maha Vishnu which has been mentioned in the Brahmanda Puraana. The temple is called Soundararaja Perumal temple which has Sounderaraja Perumal as the presiding deity and Soundaravalli as His consort. The temple is located in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu. 

The place Nagapattinam was initially a forest named Sundararanyam. It is a most blessed place, for it has been a place of worship for many devotees. In the Tretha Yug, Dhruva, the child-devotee of Maha Vishnu came here and meditated upon the Lord to get His divine vision. It is also said that Maha Lakshmi too meditated here to be united with the Lord during Tretha Yuga. In the Sathya Yuga, Markandeya Maharishi did penance here. Lord Brahma Himself is said to have worshipped Maha Vishnu in this place. On the auspicious day of Maasi Magham which is celebrated sometime around February - March when a full moon appears when the Magham Nakshatra is dominant, Maha Vishnu is said to have appeared beside the temple's holy pond named Sarapushkarni. It is believed that He was glowing with sheer beauty. He came to be called as Alagiyan as well as Soundararajan, both meaning handsome. His serpent Adiseshan worshipped the Lord here and since he was a Naga, the place came to be called as Nagar Pattinam. 

The temple has an impressive Rajagopuram which is 90 feet tall. There is a rare image of Lord Narsimha with eight hands, one blessing Prahlada, one showing the Abhaya Mudra and the rest of the hands in the process of killing Hiranyakashipu. 

This is considered as the only Divya Desham where the presiding deity (Moolavar) is present in three forms - in a reclining posture (shayanam) as Ranganatha, in a sitting posture as Govindaraja and in standing posture as Soundararaja. 

The Vimaana of the temple also deserves special mention as it has five kalashaas and features Garuda in a rare sitting posture. 

Om Namo Narayanaaya! Om Devyai Namaha!

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