Parimala Ranganatha Perumal Temple, Thiruindaloor

Sthala Purāṇam

Thiru Indhaloor, the Parimala Ranganatha Perumal Temple at Mayiladuthurai, lies along the Kaveri and is one of the Pancharanga Kshetrams and a Divya Desam praised in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham. The name Indhaloor derives from Indhu, meaning moon, for this is where Chandra, the moon god, worshipped Vishnu and was relieved of the curse that had robbed him of his lustre; the Lord appeared to bless His devotee. The deity's name Parimala Ranganatha (parimalam meaning fragrance) is explained by the tradition that whereas elsewhere the Lord is Vyomajyothi, here He is full of fragrance; the Sri Vaishnava account also links the fragrance to the sweetness imparted to the Vedas which Vishnu recovered from the demons Madhu and Kaitabha in His Matsya avatar. A celebrated episode concerns Thirumangai Alvar, who came to offer his hymns but found the temple doors shut; after singing continuously without the doors opening, he sang that the Lord might keep the temple for Himself, whereupon the doors opened and he completed his mangalasasanam. Tradition also holds that the Lord raised the Kaveri to flow above His head, like the Ganga upon Shiva, fulfilling a promise to the river. The moolavar reclines in Kidantha (Veera Sayana) posture facing east as a large image. The tirtham is the Indu (Chandra) Pushkarani, the vimana is the Veda Chakra Vimana, and the five-tiered rajagopuram reflects contributions of the Medieval Cholas, Vijayanagara rulers and Madurai Nayaks.

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