24 December 2021, Plava varusha, Margazhi -09, Friday ;
Nathan Kovil is one of the 108 divya desams, at Kumbakonam or Thiru Nandipura Vinnagaram Temple in Nathankovil, a village in the outskirts of Kumbakonam, which is dedicated to the MahaVishnu. Main deity is Lord JagannathaPerumal and MahaLakshmi named as Shenbagavalli Thayar.
Theertham:- Nandi theertham; Vimanam:- Nandi Vimanam; Pushkarani:- Nandi Pushkarani.
Other names are Vinnagara perumal, Nandinathan. There are separate shrines for Thayar and Hanuman. The temple is revered by the verses of Thirumangai Azhwar.
Perumal was earlier facing East direction. When Goddess Lakshmi was doing penance facing East, to attain status in MahaVishnu’s chest, He turned facing west to have Lakshmi in His chest. Lord Jagannatha is in sitting position facing west. In the month of Aippasi- all Fridays, Thirumanjanam is performed for Thayar which is considered to be auspicious for the devotees.
Sthala puranam:
1. Once, when Nandi wanted to have darshan of lord Vishnu, he ignored dwarapalaka in the entrance, which made them furious and cursed Nandi to suffer from oppressive heat. Nandi prayed to Lord Shiva for a solution to get relieved from the curse. Lord Shiva advised Nandi to perform Tapas in Shenbakaranyam (also called Nadhivanam-now kumbakonam) where Mahalakshmi did earlier, and got the blessings of MahaVishnu. Nandi, is believed to have got his curses relieved by worshipping Vishnu in Nathan kovil and hence the place is called Nandipuram. Thus, the place is known as “Nandipura Vinnagaram”. All the shrines and water bodies associated with the temple are named after Nandi. It is believed that Perumal gave darshan to Nandi in this place.
2. King Sibhi, was very pious and a philanthropist. LordIndra was in the disguise of hunter and Agnibhagavan was in the disguise of pigeon to test King Sibhi. To save a pigeon from the hunter, he was ready to sacrifice his whole body, instead of pigeon’s flesh, which was demanded by the hunter. Seeing his unselfishness, MahaVishnu appeared before him and blessed him. Perumal gave darshan to King Sibhi here.
Bus Route: The Nathan temple in Nandhipura Vinnagaram is about 9kms from Kumbakonam. This temple is very near from Kumbakonam.
Nearest Airport: Trichy International Airport – 99 km
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