Azhagiya Manavala Perumal Temple, Uraiyur

Sthala Purāṇam

Thirukkozhi at Uraiyur, the ancient Chola capital, enshrines Lord Azhagiya Manavalan, the beautiful bridegroom form of Vasudeva, standing in worship. The name Thirukkozhi (sacred fowl) arises from a celebrated contest documented in the temple's tradition, in which a kozhi (rooster) battled and overcame an elephant at this very spot, the fowl emerging victorious; the place thus became Kozhiyur and then Thirukkozhi. The principal sthala puranam concerns the Thayar, Kamalavalli (Komalavalli) Nachiyar. The childless Chola king Nanda Cholan, while hunting, discovered an infant girl resting within a thousand-petalled lotus in a forest tank; named Kamalavalli for her lotus origin, she was raised as a princess. Growing devout, she beheld Lord Ranganatha at Srirangam and yearned for Him, undertaking penance upon the Kaveri's banks. The Lord manifested here as the resplendent groom, Azhagiya Manavalan, granting her union; hence the shrine bears His name. Remarkably, Kamalavalli's sanctum faces north, the only Divya Desam where the presiding Goddess faces that direction. The sacred bond is honoured each Panguni in the Serthi (union) festival, when Ranganatha journeys from Srirangam to wed His bride. The vimana is the Kalyana Vimana, with the Surya Pushkarini as its tirtham. Thirumangai Alvar and Kulasekhara Alvar have sung this Divya Desam in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham.

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