Navamukunda Perumal Temple, Thirunavay

Sthala Purāṇam

Thirunavay (Tirunavaya), on the northern bank of the Bharathapuzha (Ponnani river) in Malappuram, is the 65th Divya Desam. The deity Navamukunda Perumal stands facing east, four-armed bearing the Panchajanya conch, lotus, Kaumodaki mace and Sudarsana discus; the consort is Malarmangai Nachiyar (also called Sirudevi), and the tower is the Veda Vimanam. The name Navamukunda arises from the Navayogis legend: nine yogis great in Vedic knowledge sought to install the Lord, but the first eight images sank into the earth, and the ninth descended to its knees before being stopped, so the murti is venerated from the knees upward. The second great legend tells how Gajendra, king of elephants, and goddess Lakshmi both worshipped Vishnu here with lotus flowers from the same lake; when the flowers grew scarce and Gajendra appealed to the Lord, Vishnu seated Lakshmi beside him and accepted Gajendra's worship together. The shrine was glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham by Nammalvar and Thirumangai Alvar. Uniquely among Kerala Narayana shrines, Lakshmi has her own separate sreekovil. Thirunavay is also famed as a great site for pitru tarpanam (ancestral rites) on the riverbank, likened to Varanasi, and the riverside hosted the historic Mamankam festival held once in twelve years from early medieval times.

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📍 10.86372, 75.98176

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