Uyyavantha Perumal Temple, Thiruvithuvakkodu

Sthala Purāṇam

Thiruvithuvakkodu (Thirumittacode), on the banks of the Bharathapuzha near Pattambi, is the 66th Divya Desam and one of the thirteen Malainadu (Kerala) divyadesams. The presiding deity, Uyyavantha Perumal, stands (Nindra Thirukkolam) facing south, with his consort Vithuvakottu Valli, also called Padmapani Nachiyar; the vimanam is the Thathuva Kanchana Vimanam. The Perumal is celebrated as Abhayapradan, the giver of refuge, and as Aabhathsahaayar, the one who comes to aid devotees in distress. The central legend concerns King Ambarisha, a devoted observer of Ekadasi vows. Having fasted and waiting to break it with sage Durvasa, he completed his vow with water at the close of Dvadasi rather than offend dharma. The angered Durvasa sent forth a demon to slay him, but Vishnu's Sudarsana chakra protected Ambarisha and destroyed the threat, after which the sage blessed him; Ambarisha is said to have attained moksha at this shrine. Tradition also holds that the Pandavas, during their forest exile, reached the Bharathapuzha here and installed the image, the Pancha Pandavas worshipping the Lord in different directions. This is the only Divya Desam sung exclusively by Kulasekhara Alvar, who offered ten pasurams in his Perumal Tirumozhi, including verses expressing unwavering surrender and the resolve to take refuge nowhere but at the Lord's feet.

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📍 10.96000, 78.07500

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