Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple, Thiruninravur

Sthala Purāṇam

The Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple at Thiruninravur is a Divya Desam where Vishnu is worshipped as Bhaktavatsala Perumal, the Lord affectionate to his devotees, and his consort as Ennai Petra Thayar (also called Sudhavalli). The sthala puranam links the temple to the churning of the Ocean of Milk (Samudra Manthan), from which Goddess Lakshmi emerged; her father Samudraraja, identified with Varuna the lord of the waters, is said to have worshipped Vishnu here. The place-name is explained by the legend that Lakshmi, having parted from the Lord, came and stood (nindra) at this spot, so it became Thiru-nindra-ur, the place where she stood, and the Lord is said to have followed to her abode. Another tradition relates that King Dharmadvajan, a descendant of the Surya dynasty, prayed here during the month of Panguni and regained his lost wealth, and the deity is also believed to have granted darshan to Kubera. The temple is revered in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham by Thirumangai Alvar. The sacred tank is the Varuna Pushkarani, and the sanctum tower is the Utpala Vimana. Built in Dravidian style with a four-tiered rajagopuram, the temple dates to the Pallava period, bearing inscriptions from the reign of Nripatungavarman in the ninth century, with later Chola and Vijayanagara contributions.

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