Sthalashayana Perumal Temple Of Tirusirupuliyur



This blog is about a Divya Desham of Maha Vishnu, which goes by many names such as Sthalashayana Perumal temple, Arulmaakadal Perumal temple, Kripa Samudra Perumal temple and so on. Maha Vishnu is worshipped in the form of Sthalashayana Perumal and His consort is worshipped as Thirumagal Nachiyar. The temple is located at Sirupuliyur, Tamil Nadu. 

Many wonderful legends are associated with this temple. There was a sage who had the feet of a tiger (puli in Tamil), named Vyaghrapada (Vyaghra - Tiger, Pada - feet). He was advised by Lord Shiva to pray to Lord Ranganatha Swami at Srirangam to attain salvation. The sage was accompanied by Rishi Patanjali in his journey. The two sages lost their way and ended up in Kripa Samudram, the place where the temple is currently located. The sages prayed to Ranganatha Swami to grant them His divine vision at Kripa Samudram. The Lord took on the form of a child and gave them His divine vision as Bala- shayana Perumal (Bala - child, shayana - reclining). Accordingly the temple came to be constructed here, with the deity in child-like form in reclining posture. Considering this form of the Lord as well as the tiger-feet of Sage Vyaghrapada, the place came to be called as Thirusirupuliyur. (Siru/chiru - child, puli - tiger, uru - village).

This is one of the two Divya Deshams of Maha Vishnu where the Lord faces southwards in reclining posture, the other one being Srirangam.

There is also an interesting legend about the Garuda. It is believed that Garuda (eagle), the Vaahan of Maha Vishnu, does not fly over this temple. As per one legend, Garuda and Adisesha, the gigantic serpent over which Maha Vishnu reclines, had an argument about who among them was more powerful and more devoted to the Lord. Maha Vishnu sided with Adisesha. Hence, in anger, Garuda does not fly over this temple. As per another legend, when Adisesha won the argument, he got scared of Garuda and requested Maha Vishnu to give him shelter. The Lord told Adisesha to lie beneath Him. Since serpents and eagles are mortal enemies, that is believed to be another reason that Garuda does not fly over this temple. It is believed that bathing in the holy pond of the temple will help people to get relief from Sarpa - Dosha. 

This ancient temple finds mention in the Brahmanda Purana too. As per one legend, saint Thirumangai Alwar was not satisfied with the Bala-shayana vision of the Lord and requested Him to appear in His gigantic and majestic form, to which the Lord directed Thirumangai to Thirukannamangai temple, another Divya Desham,  to witness His Vishwaroopam. 

The temple has a four-tiered Rajagopuram and has a separate shrine for Adisesha. Along with the main deity, there are also deities of Sage Vyagrapadha, Rishi Patanjali and Rishi Kanva. 

The Lord is also referred to as Sharanagatha Rakshaka Perumal, in the same way in which the main deity of Amaruviappan temple, a Divya Desham that we read about in the previous blog, is called as. 

Om Namo Narayana! Om Devyai Namaha!

(Picture Courtesy : Tamilnadu Tourism)

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