Alwar
Tirunagari is a
small town famous
for its huge temple
dedicated to Adinathaswamy
or Lord Vishnu and
as the birth place
of saint Nammalwar
and Manavamuni.
It is a famous pilgrim
centre for vaishnavites.
Some of the important
features of the
temple include the
gold plated chariot
of the Lord Adinathahaswamy
and the 48 pillars,
each carved out
of a single block
of granite.
 There
is a huge tamarind
tree within the
temple walls which
is said to date
back to thousands
of years and its
bark is said to
have medicinal qualities.
The mythological
story goes that
the tree is Adisesha,
the serpent couch
of Lord Vishnu.
The divine sculptor
Viswakarma cursed
the Tamil saint
Agastya that Tamil
language will not
attain richness
and perfection despite
Agasthya’s
efforts. In order
to counter this
curse Agasthya prayed
to Siva who told
him that an Alwar
would be born on
Earth who will later
raise the standard
of the language.
Nammalwar is considered
to be chief among
the Alwars. It was
already foretold
that the chief of
the archangels would
incarnate as Nammalwar.
Legend has it that
a divine child was
born to the Pandian
prince Kariar of
Kurugunadu of which
Tirunagari was the
capital. When the
child’s parents
visited the temple
of Adinathswamy,
the child refused
to go back with
its parents and
lay under the tamarind
tree in penance
of Lord Vishnu.
Lord Vishnu is said
to have then appeared
as Nammalwar and
chanted verses through
the boys mouth which
has now come to
be termed as Prabandham
or Tiruvaimozhi.
The esteem of Nammalwar
is so great now
that he has a separate
car for himself
to join the procession
of the original
deity Adinathaswamy.
There are a lot
more interesting
mythologies associated
with Nammalwar and
the temple.
Alwar Tirunagari
is accessible
from Tirunelveli,
Tiruchendur and
Srivaikuntham.
It falls on the
Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur
branch of Southern
Railway.
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