Perarulalan, Tirunangur, Nagapattinam

Basic information about the temple

Moolavar:	Perarulalan	Ambal / Thayar:	Alli Maamalar Naachiyar, Sweta Pushpavalli
Deity:	Perumal	Historical name:	TiruSemponsei Koil
Vriksham:		Teertham:	Hema Pushkarini,
Agamam:	Pancharatra	Age (years):	1000-2000
Timing:	7 to 10 & 6 to 8	Parikaram:
Temple group:	Divya Desam	–
Sung by:	Tirumangaiazhvar	Temple set: Ekadasa Divya Desam
Navagraham:		Nakshatram:
City / town:	Tirunangur	District:	Nagapattinam
Maps from (click):	Current location	Mayiladuthurai (24 km)	Nagapattinam (58 km)
	Tiruvarur (60 km)	Kumbakonam (62 km)

Location

Tirunangur is located 10 km from Sirkazhi.

Sthala puranam and temple information

It will be useful to read this overview of the Nangur Ekadasa Divya Desam and Ekadasa Rudra Peethams, if you have not already done so, to set the context for the eleven temples (including this temple) in Nangur.

In the Ramayanam, Rama killed Ravana, who was a brahmin and a devout Saivite. Because of this, Brahmahathi dosham attached to Rama. In order to expiate himself of this sin, he was advised to undertake a penance called goprasavam (born of a cow) at this place, which was the hermitage of sage Drdanetrar. For this, Rama got made the image of a cow using a specified, large quantity of gold, and sat inside it for four days. Then, He came out of the cow (and hence, goprasavam), ritually purified himself, and give out a lot of charity, ending with donating the golden cow itself. Drudanetrar, being Rama’s host, received a bulk of the donation, and also the golden cow. For the benefit of devotees, the sage built this temple using all of the gold. The shining red lustre of the pure gold that this temple was made of, gives the name its place – Sem-pon-sei (made of pure gold).

There is another legend about this place, also relating to gold. A very poor brahman named Kashyapa lived in Kanchipuram. Once, his son Mukundan set out to earn some money, and reached this place where he met a sage. The sage initiated him into the Ashtakshara mantram, and after repeated chanting, Mukundan was blessed by Lord Perarulalan with wealth.

The Perumal here is the Azhagiya Manavalar at Uraiyur. Perumal here is called Sempon Arangar, where the term Arangar refers to Perumal who has been worshipped by Rama (similar to Aranganathar, who was originally at Ayodhya with Rama, before being brought down south to Srirangam by Vibheeshana).

It is considered that worshipping at this temple is equivalent to worshipping at Srirangam, Tirupati and Kanchipuram, put together.

In the Tamil month of Thai (January-February), the Garuda Sevai utsavam takes place at the nearby Badrinarayana Perumal temple at Nangur, where the Perumal and Garuda of each of the 11 Nangur Divya Desam temples arrive here. This festival is a must visit for those who are interested.

Other information for your visit

There are no accommodation options in Nangur. The nearest place for decent budget and mid-range accommodation is Mayiladuthurai. Lately, some hotels and AirBnB type accommodation has come up around Sirkazhi.