DIVYA DESAMS

Temples celebrated by the Alvars and cherished by the Sri Vaishnava tradition

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Out of respect for the Divya Dampatis, please DO NOT print or download these images unless you plan on framing them for personal worship. Please consult me if you have any doubt as to the proper use and handling of the holy representations of the Divine Couple. Your cooperation is appreciated.

Note: These temples are only a few of the 108 divya desams mentioned by the Alvars. I hope to slowly build this list as I collect photographs. Please also note that predominantly the utsavars (processional images) are shown. By tradition, moolavar sEvai (darsanam of the Lord in the temple proper) can only be obtained by actually going to the holy site itself. Paintings, not photographs, of the moolavars are presented here.

Ranganayaki and Ranganathan

dot Srirangam : The temple par excellence.

All the Alvars have sung poems in praise of Sri Ranganatha, and the greatest philosopher-saints of Sri Vaishnavam spent much of their life in His presence. The Lord pictured here is so universally loved that He is simply known as Nam PerumaaL, "Our Lord", and in many circles, "Ranga" is literally a synonym for "God". Musicians such as Purandara Dasa, Tyagaraja and Muttusvami Dikshitar visited here and partook of Him. From the north, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and other saints visited and spent time in His company. This greatest of all temples attracts countless worshippers and has the largest festivals of any Vaishnava shrine.

A wonderful article in The Hindu recently described the fascination devotees have with Srirangam.

Thiruvengadam (Tirupati): Srinivaasa PerumaaL.
Brief Overview of the temple


Thiruvahindrapuram: Devanaayakan and Hemaambuja Naayaki.

Sri Parthasarathy Swami of Thiruvallikeni, in modern Madras. The Lord of this temple, presiding majestically here as the teacher of the Bhagavad Gita, is also known as Geetaachaaryan and Venkatakrishnan. The utsava moorthi and ubhaya naacchiyars give darsanam in this picture.


The Lord at Thirukkudandhai (modern Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu) is particularly dear to my heart. At this ancient and magnificent temple, the moolavar is in udyoga Sayanam, a partially reclining position, taken in response to a paasuram addressed to him by Thirumazhisai Alvar:

The utsava moorthis are shown in this picture -- Araavamudan ("unending nectar") and Komalavalli Thaayaar. The Lord is also known here as Saaranga PaaNi.

Kanchipuram: Varadaraaja PerumaaL and Perundevi Thaayaar.

Yathoktakaari: This PerumaaL resides about 3/4 mile west of Varadaraja PerumaaL sannidhi in Kanchipuram. Thaayaar is known here as Komalavalli; the Lord is also called Sonnavannam Seyda PerumaaL and Vega Sethu. This is one of the most ancient and revered of divya desams, once more prominent in Kanchi than even the Varadaraja Temple, though today it is not as well attended as the latter.

Thiruvindhalur: Parimala Rangan, Pundarikavalli Thaayaar

Thiruvaali: KalyaaNa Ranganaathan

Thirukandiyur: Aran-saapa-vimocana PerumaaL (moolavar: Kamalanaathan), Kamalavalli Naachiyar


Maduraantakam: Yeri kaattha Raamar. At this holy site, Sri Periya Nambigal initiated Sri Ramanuja into Sri Vaishnavism by performing his samaasrayanam. Sri Rama, Sita Devi, and Lakshmana bestow their grace upon us in this image.


Melkote

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