Alwars and Divya Desams in Chennai

The Divya Desams are sacred places of the Vaishnavas on which the Alvars sang the glory of Sri Vishnu.

Birth place of Peyalvar (Peyazhwar): Mylapore Adi Kesava Perumal Temple, Mylapore Madhava Perumal Temple
Sri Peyalvar was one of the 12 Alvars of the Vaishnavite tradition. Peyalvar was found on a lily flower in the pond of the Adi Kesava Perumal Temple in Mylapore, Chennai, in Tamil Nadu. He is considered to be an incarnation of Nandakam, the sword of Sri Vishnu. The devotional songs of Peyalvar form the Divya Prabandham "Moonram Thiruvandhadhi".

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Birth place of Thirumazhisai Azhwar: Thirumazhisai Jagannatha Perumal Temple, Thirumazhisai Veetrirundha Perumal Temple
Thirumazhisai Alvar was one of the 12 Alvars of the Vaishnavite tradition. Thirumazhisai Alvar was born in Thirumazhisai, Chennai suburb in Tamil Nadu. He is considered to be an incarnation of Sudarshana, the Chakra of Sri Vishnu. The devotional songs of Thirumazhisai Alvar form the Divya Prabandham "Thiruchchanda Viruththam".

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Birth place of Bhoothathalvar (Bhootathazhwar): Mamallapuram Sthalasayana Perumal Temple
Sri Bhoothatalvar is one of the 12 Alvars of the Vaishnavite tradition. Bhoothatalvar was born in Mamallapuram, Chennai suburb in Tamil Nadu. He is considered to be incarnation of Kaumodaki, the mace of Sri Vishnu. The devotional songs of Bhoothatalvar form the Divya Prabandham "Irandam Thiruvandhadhi".

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Birth place of Acharya Ramanujar: Sriperumbudur Adi Kesava Perumal Temple
Sri Ramanujar is one of the greatest Acharyas in the Vaishnavite tradition who preached the Vishisthadvaita philosophy of Vaishnavism. Sri Ramanujar was born in Sriperumbudur in Chennai suburb. The Adi Kesava Perumal Temple at Sriperumbudur has a special shrine of Acharya Ramanujar.

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Divya Desam: Thiruneermalai Sri Neervanan Perumal Temple
The Neervanan Perumal Temple at Thiruneermalai, Chennai suburb is one of the Divya Desams in Tamil Nadu. There are two temples in Thiruneermalai; one at the hill top dedicated to Sri Ranganathar, Sri Narasimhar and Sri Trivikrama; and the other at the hill base dedicated to Sri Neervanan Perumal (Sri Rama). It is said that sage Valmiki after worshipping the three forms of sri Vishnu at the hill top came down to the hill base and meditated on Sri Rama. Sri Vishnu gave darshan to sage Valmiki in the form of Sri Rama with Devi Lakshmi as Janaki, Adisesha as Lakshmana, conch and discus as Bharata and Satrughna, Viswaksena as Sugreeva and Garudan as Hanuman.

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Divya Desam: Thiruninravur Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple
The Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple at Thiruninravur, Chennai suburb is one of the Divya Desams in Tamil Nadu. It is said that Devi Lakshmi did penance here and united with Sri Vishnu. Also Varuna Deva worshipped Sri Vishnu here and got his darshan.

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Divya Desam: Thiruvallikeni (Triplicane) Parthasarathy Temple
The Parthasarathy Temple at Thiruvallikeni (Triplicane), Chennai is one of the Divya Desams in Tamil Nadu. Sri Parthasarathy is the sarathi (charioteer) of Partha (Arjuna) during the battle of Kurukshetra described in the epic Mahabharata. It is in this battlefield that Sri Krishna gave the message of Bhagavad Gita to humanity.

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Divya Desam: Thiruvidanthai Nitya Kalyana Perumal Temple
The Nithya Kalyana Perumal Temple at Thiruvidanthai, in Kovalam, Chennai suburb is one of the Divya Desams in Tamil Nadu. It is said that Sri Nithya Kalyana Perumal married the 360 daughters of sage Galava (on the request of the sage), one on each day of the year. On the final day, Sri Vishnu combined all the daughters into one and placed her on his left side. Thiruvidanthai is a Varaha Kshetram where Sri Vishnu assumed the face of a Varaha (boar).

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Divya Desam: Thiruvallur Veeraraghava Perumal Temple
The Veeraraghava Perumal Temple in Thiruvallur, Chennai suburb is one of the Divya Desams in Tamil Nadu. It is said that Sri Vishnu came to sage Salihotra in the guise of an old Brahmin and asked for food and shelter. Sage Salihotra who just completed his penance by silently fasting for one full year (after taking bath in the Hrittapanasini tank of the temple), gave away all his food for the Brahmin to eat and his hut for the Brahmin to sleep. In this way, sage Salihotra gave away everything to Sri Narayana and conveyed the message of complete surrender to Sri Vishnu.

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