Basic information about the temple
| Moolavar: | Valvil Raman | Ambal / Thayar: | Hemanbujavalli, Potraamaraiyaal |
| Deity: | Perumal | Historical name: | Tiruppullamboothangudi, Budhapuri |
| Vriksham: | Punnai | Teertham: | Jatayu Teertham |
| Agamam: | Age (years): | ||
| Timing: | 7.30 to 12 & 4.30 to 7.30 | Parikaram: | |
| Temple group: | Divya Desam | – | |
| Sung by: | Temple set: | ||
| Navagraham: | Nakshatram: | ||
| City / town: | Tiruppulaboothangudi | District: | Thanjavur |
| Maps from (click): | Current location | Kumbakonam (12 km) | Thanjavur (35 km) |
| Ariyalur (38 km) | Mayiladuthurai (47 km) |
Location
Pullaboothangudi is located 13km from Kumbakonam, and 7 km from Swamimalai, on the road to Tiruvaiyaru.
Sthala puranam and temple information
The temple is referred to in the Brahmanda Puranam and Padma Puranam. In the Ramayanam, when Ravana abducted Sita, Jatayu the vulture fought with Ravana. After a fierce fight, Ravana clipped Jatayu’s wings, and the bird fell to the ground, awaiting mukti. Rama and Lakshmana came by here, in search of Sita, and Rama recognised Jatayu as a friend of Dasaratha.
Before his final breath, Jatayu told Rama about what had happened and the direction in which Ravana went. After Jatayu’s mukti, Rama performed the last rights for the departed bird. (There is a similar story at Vaitheeswaran Koil.) Since such rites require one’s wife to be present, in Sita’s absence, Bhudevi came out of the Golden Lotus pond of the temple, and stood by Rama. Hence Thayar here is called Portaamaraiyaal. Worshipping at this temple is considered to relieve devotees of pitru dosham.
After the rites, Rama rested here for a while before proceeding. Hence the moolavar – though it is Rama and not Vishnu here – is in sayana kolam. He has only the sanku and chakram, and not His bow. This is the only Perumal temple to feature Rama in sayana kolam. However, Sita is not in the garbhagriham with the moolavar, as she had been taken by Ravana – so the puranam is faithfully represented here.
Tirumangaiazhvar was passing by and did not realise there was a temple here. Suddenly, a massive light appeared in front of Azhvar, indicating the presence of the temple. Azhvar realized his error, and to make up for it, sang ten pasurams here. In another variant of this story, Azhvar saw a person lying down, and mistook him for a warrior. When he turned back, he saw that it was Rama lying down, with the sanku and chakram in his hands.
Pull or Pulla refers to Jatayu, a bird. Bootha refers to birth. This place gets is name as the birthplace of Jatayu – Pulla-bootha-kudi. The other “Bootha” place in Vaishnavite tradition is Kanchipuram, the birthplace of Ramanujar.
This temple is one of the Vaishnava Navagraha sthalams, this one dedicated to Budhan.
The Yoga Narasimhar of this temple is considered extremely powerful, and devotees worship Him to get good employment opportunities. Over time, this has led to Narasimhar being colloquially referred to as Udyoga Narasimhar!
This is a medieval Chola temple, from the 9th century, with additions by later dynasties including Pandya kings. and is not as large as some of the other temples (particularly Siva temples) of the period.
The nearby village of Thyagasamudram is considered to be where Jatayu breathed his last (after his sacrifice – thyaga), and Pullaboothangudi is where the rinal rites were performed.
Other information for your visit
In addition to several other smaller and/or interesting temples, there are 4 Paadal Petra Sthalams and 2 Divya Desam temples in the vicinity, including this temple. These are:
Vilvavaneswarar, Tiruvaikaavoor, Thanjavur
Saatchinathar, Tiruppurambayam, Thanjavur
Vijaya Natheswarar, Tiruvijayamangai, Thanjavur
Ezhuthari Nathar, Innambur, Thanjavur
Andalakkum Aiyan, Adhanoor, Thanjavur
Valvil Raman, Tiruppulaboothangudi, Thanjavur
Contact
Gopal Bhattar: 94435 25365
Gallery
TN Temples Project 