The Nava Tirupati () refers to a group of nine
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
temples dedicated to
Vishnu, located on the
Tiruchendur-
Tirunelveli route,
Tamil Nadu,
India, on the banks of the
Thamirabarani
The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats, above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk. It flows through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi distr ...
river. Each of these temples is classified as a
Divya Desam, counted as one among the 108 temples of
Vishnu, revered by the 12 poet-saints of the Tamil
Vaishnava tradition, the
Alvars
The Alvars ( ta, ஆழ்வார், Āḻvār, translit-std=ISO, lit=The Immersed) were the Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused ''bhakti'' (devotion) to the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, in their songs of longing, ecstasy, and ...
.
Temples
The temples are revered in ''
Naalayira Divya Prabandham'', the 7th–9th century CE Vaishnava canon, attributed by
Nammalvar. The following is the list of the 9 temples.
Festival
The ''Garuda Sevai Utsavam'' (a festival where a form of
Vishnu, seated upon his mount
Garuda, is revered) in the month of Vaikasi (May - June) witnesses 9 ''Garuda Sevai,'' as well as two palanquins, one with Nammalvar of
Alwarthirunagari
Alwarthirunagiri is a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.
It is next to Srivaikuntam on the Tirunelveli - Tiruchendur Highway, Tamil Nadu, southern India. It's about 31 km from Tirunelveli and 29 ...
, and the other with Madurakavi Alvar from Thirukalur. An event in which festival image idols from the Nava Tirupati shrines in the area are brought on ''Garuda Vahana'' (Garuda as a mount) to Alvarthirunagari for ''
Mangalasasanam
Mangalasasanam () refers to a Vaishnava concept in Hinduism, where a devotee offers their salutations and felicitations upon God due to a profound sense of concern for the latter, and also as an exercise of forgetting their sense of self.
Hymns
...
'' (singing of sacred hymns) and to for paying obeisance to Nammalvar in the morning.
An idol of
Nammalvar is also brought here on a palanquin, and his ''pasurams'' (verses) dedicated to each of these 9 temples are recited. In the night 9 ''Garuda Sevai'' by the ''Nava Tirupati Perumals'' and the two Alvars also on procession in circumambulations. A total of 11 temple ''chapparams'' (canopied-cars) move around the outer courtyards. The
utsavar (idol venerated during procession) of Nammalvar is taken in a palanquin to each of the 9 temples, through the paddy fields in the area. The pasurams dedicated to each of the 9
Divya Desams are chanted in the respective shrines. This is the most important of the festivals in this area, and draws thousands of visitors.
References
{{Famous Vishnu temples
Hindu temples in Thoothukudi district
Vishnu temples