Jagadeeswara Perumal Temple, Thiruneeragam

Sthala Purāṇam

The presiding deity at Thiruneeragam is Sri Neeragathan, also called Jagadeeswarar, in a standing posture under the Jagadeeswara Vimana, with Thaayar Nilamangai Valli; the sacred tank is Akroora Theertham. The sthalam's lore is built on the symbolism of water (neer), the root of the name Thiruneeragam. As water flows without discrimination toward every opening and fills every vessel, so Emperuman flows into the hearts of His devotees and fills them with bhakti; the coolness of water represents the Lord's soothing grace, and its purifying nature represents the spiritual cleansing required for moksha, for before the divine all beings are equal, just as water reaches all alike. Thiruneeragam is one of four Divya Desams clustered together in Kanchipuram alongside Thiru Ooragam (Ulagalantha Perumal), Thirukaaragam and Thirukaarvanam, all believed once to have been independent temples. Today the Thiruneeragam shrine is housed within the Ulagalantha Perumal (Thiru Ooragam) temple complex, behind the sixteen-pillar mandapam in its prakaram. The tradition links this clustering to the Vamana-Trivikrama legend, the central deity of the complex. This Divya Desam is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham by Thirumangai Alvar, with the broader complex also associated with Thirumazhisai Alvar.

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