Sowriraja Perumal Temple, Thirukkannapuram

Sthala Purāṇam

Sri Sowriraja Perumal Temple at Thirukkannapuram, near Nagapattinam, enshrines the Lord as Neelamegha Perumal, the moolavar standing form bearing shankha and chakra, while the celebrated utsava deity is Sowriraja Perumal; the Thayar is Kannapura Nayaki. It is reckoned among the five Krishnaranya (Pancha Krishna) Kshetrams. The famous legend explaining the name Sowriraja tells of a poor priest who, having reused a worn garland, was questioned by a visiting king who found a strand of hair upon it; the priest declared it the Lord's own hair, and when the king returned, Neelamegha Perumal revealed his long flowing locks (sowri), thus becoming Sowriraja, the Lord with the splendid tresses. In the Vibhishana legend, that devotee longed to behold the Lord's graceful gait, which the reclining Ranganatha of Srirangam could not display; the Lord summoned him to Thirukkannapuram, where he revealed his divine walk. A further Padma Purana account tells of the flying king Uparisravas Vasu, who mistakenly assailed sages and was subdued by Vishnu appearing as a sixteen-year-old youth. The Nithya Pushkarani fronts the temple, sanctifying bathers on all days, and the shrine rises beneath the Utpalaavataka Vimanam. Among the most glorified of Divya Desams, it is sung in many pasurams, the greatest number by Thirumangai Alvar, with hymns also by Nammalvar, Kulasekhara Alvar, Andal, and Periyalvar. Here the Lord is said to have instructed Thirumangai Alvar in the Thirumandiram, earning it the name Maha Mandira Siddhi Kshetram.

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