Sthalasayana Perumal Temple, Thirukadalmallai (Mahabalipuram)

Sthala Purāṇam

The Sthalasayana Perumal Temple at Mahabalipuram, known in the Sri Vaishnava tradition as Thirukadalmallai, is one of the 108 Divya Desams, where Vishnu is worshipped as Sthalasayana Perumal and his consort as Nilamangai Thayar. According to the sthala puranam, sage Pundarika performed intense penance on this seashore, longing to behold Vishnu in the reclining form he assumes in Thiruparkadal, the Ocean of Milk. In his devotion he gathered lotus flowers for worship and, in his ardour, even began scooping out the seawater to drain the ocean and reach the Lord's celestial abode. Moved by this devotion, Vishnu came disguised as an aged sage and asked Pundarika for food. When Pundarika returned with provisions, he found not the old man but Vishnu himself reclining there upon the bare ground. Because the Lord stretched himself out at that very place (sthala) rather than upon Adishesha, he came to be called Sthalasayana Perumal, the Lord who reclines on the ground. The temple is celebrated as the birthplace of Bhoothathalvar (Bhutattazhvar), the second of the Mudhal Alvars, whose Avatara Utsavam is the temple's foremost festival. It is glorified in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham by Bhoothathalvar and Thirumangai Alvar. The temple tank is the Pundarika Pushkarani, named for the sage, and the sanctum tower is the Gagana (GaganaKriti) Vimanam. The shrine was patronised by the Pallavas, Cholas, Vijayanagara, and Madurai Nayak rulers.

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