Thiruvellarai

trade_routes:

• "Kaveri river trade and temple corridor" connected_events:
  • event: "Alvar hymns and Divya Prabandham composition" significance: "One of the 108 Divya Desams hymned by the 12 Alvars (6th–9th c. CE)" vahana: "Garuda (eagle mount)" connected_events:
  • event: "Temple founding and consecration" significance: "Original temple construction and prana-pratishtha ceremony" associated_kings:
• "Local ruling dynasty" sacred_flowers:
• lotus
• tulasi
• jasmine sacred_flowers:
• lotus
• tulasi
• champaka sacred_trees:
• peepal
• bilva (bael)
• tulasi sacred_animals:
• Nandi (sacred bull)
• peacock
• elephant vahana: "Garuda (eagle mount)" primary_scriptures:
  • title: "Nālāyira Divya Prabandham" type: "stotra" festival_dates:
• "Maha Shivaratri (Feb–Mar)"
• "Diwali (Oct–Nov)"

Thiruvellarai

One of 108 Divya Desams and one of the oldest — mentioned in 3 Alvars' hymns. White-rock sanctum.

Sthalapurana (Temple Legend)

The sacred history of Thiruvellarai is recounted in the Sthalapurana texts and the Divya Prabandham hymns of the Āḻvārs. Devotees believe that pilgrimage to this shrine grants moksha (liberation) and that the deity here has manifested specifically to bless seekers in the Kali Yuga.

Divya Desam Canonical Status

Thiruvellarai is one of the 108 Divya Desams — the holiest Vishnu shrines hymned by the 12 Āḻvār poet-saints of the Tamil Srivaishnava tradition (6th–9th c. CE). The Divya Desams are enumerated in the Nālāyira Divya Prabandham ("Four-Thousand Divine Hymns"), compiled by Nāthamuni in the 9th–10th c. CE.

Āḻvār Mangalāśāsana

Divya Prabandham Pasurams

Architectural and Ritual Features

Like all Divya Desams, Thiruvellarai maintains both a Mūlavar (sanctum deity, fixed) and an Utsavar (processional image, carried in festivals). The temple follows the Pañcarātra or Vaikhānasa Āgama traditions of Vaishnava ritual, with daily worship conducted by hereditary priests.

Location and Pilgrimage

Situated in Chola Nadu (Tamil Nadu), this temple is part of the sacred geography that the Āḻvārs mapped through their hymns — transforming specific Tamil, Kerala, and North Indian landscapes into a unified Vaishnava cosmos.