Thirukoshtiyur is a village located near Tirupathur (on Tirupathur-Sivaganga road) on the way to

Sivaganga Sivaganga () is a city and headquarters of the Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sivaganga is a rani velunachiyar kingdom of Tamil Nadu. It is an important city in this district for official and commercial purposes. Its ni ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. It is 9 km from Thirupathur. This place has an importance among

Vaishnavas Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

on account of the

Sowmya Narayana Perumal temple Sowmyanarayana Perumal Temple in Thirukoshtiyur, a village in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the ''Nalayira Divya Prab ...

, which is one of the 108

Divya Desams A Divya Desam or Vaishnava Divya Desam is one of the 108 Vishnu and Lakshmi temples that is mentioned in the works of the Alvars, the poet-saints of the Sri Vaishnava tradition. Of the 108 temples, 105 are in India, one is in Nepal, and the la ...

, the holy shrines of

Sri Vaishnavism Sri Vaishnavism, or the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya, is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who ...

that were glorified by the hymns of the poet-saints called the Alvars.

Legend

According to the village's regional legend, during the

Satya Yuga ''Satya Yuga'' ( ''Krita Yuga''), in Hinduism, is the first and best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by ''Kali Yuga'' of the previous cycle and followed by ''Treta Yuga''. ''Satya Yuga'' lasts for 1,728,000 yea ...

, the

rishis ''Rishi'' () is a term for an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" or ...

devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

, and humans were tortured by the

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indian religions, Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, Buddhi ...

Hiranyakashipu Hiranyakashipu (; also known as Hiranyakashyap) was an Asura king of the ''daityas'' from the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism. His name literally translates to "clothed in gold" (''hiranya'' "gold" ''kashipu'' "soft cushion"), and is often inte ...

as vengeance for his brother

Hiranyaksha __NOTOC__ Hiranyaksha ( sa, हिरण्याक्ष, "golden-eyed"), also known as Hiranyanetra ( sa, हिरण्यनेत्र) was an oppressive Asura who attacked the heavens and thereafter kidnapped and attempted to destroy th ...

's death at the hands of

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

, in the form of his boar-avatar,

Varaha Varaha ( sa, वराह, , "boar") is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu. Varaha is most commonly associated with the lege ...

. The devas and rishis then approached

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

and

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

for a solution. In response, Brahma,

, all the devas, and the sapta rishis decided to meet at a place to discuss the issue. Finally, they chose Thirukotiyur as the place for this meeting. They came together as a group, for which the village was named (''Tiru'' - sacred, ''kōṣṭi'' - group, ''ūr'' - town). Periyalvar, in his work

Periyalvar Tirumoli The Periyalvar Tirumoli () is a Tamil Hindu work of literature penned by Periyalvar, one of the twelve Alvars of Sri Vaishnavism. Composed of 473 verses, it is part of the compendium of hymns called the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, and has been ...

, visualises Thirukoshtiyur as the birthplace of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

Sri Sowmya Narayana Perumal Temple

Sri Sowmya Narayana Perumal Thirukovil, surrounded by high walls on its four sides, with a raja

gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the South I ...

(Main tower) at the entrance is spectacular to behold. The inner infrastructure, mainly sannidhis (separate shrines) are unlike other temples. Inside the temple complex, the shrine for

Narayana Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is co ...

is constructed in three stages, similar to that of three floors in a building. These stages represent Bhulokam (earth), Tirupparkatal, and Vaikuntham. Narayana is represented in three stages in three forms. On the ground floor, Narayana appears as Krishna in a dancing posture. In the next level, he is seen in the ''shayana tirukolam'' posture, where he reclines upon his serpent-mount, Adhishesha. And at the top most level, Narayana is seen standing as Sri Sowmya Narayana Perumal. These forms of Narayana has been poetically described as ''Nindran'' (means Standing posture), ''Kidanthan'' (means sleeping posture), ''Adinan'' (means dancing posture) by

Alwars The Alvars ( ta, ஆழ்வார், Āḻvār, translit-std=ISO, lit=The Immersed) were the Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused ''bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondn ...

. According to Sri Vaishnava tradition,

Ramanuja Ramanuja (Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents o ...

was advised by Thirukachi Nambigal to visit Thirukoshtiyur and learn the Ashtakshara mantra from Thirukoshtiyur Nambigal. He was taught the mantra after being rejected seventeen times because of his egocentric use of the word "I" while introducing himself. Despite receiving an explicit command not to reveal his knowledge of the mantra to anyone else on threat of going to

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

, Ramanuja climbed to the top of temple, summoned the whole village, and recited the mantra. When Thirukoshtiyur Nambigal demanded to know why Ramanuja had defied him, Ramanuja said that if knowledge of the mantra helped people to attain

moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...

, he was only too glad to go to hell. Nambigal was overwhelmed by this kindness showed by Ramanuja and he bestowed the epithet "Emperumanar" on Ramanuja. This event happened in front of the Sri Lakshmi Narasimhaswami sannidhi, small shrine present on the way towards the Sowmya Narayana Perumal sannidhi.

External links

Thirukoshtiyur Divya Desam

Thirukoshtiyur History and Festival Dates

Sri Sowmiya Narayana Perumal

Thirukoshtiyur - Etymology and Significance

Gallery

Image:Thirukkottiyoor.jpg, The Pushkarni, Temple tank Image:Thirukkottiyur3.jpg, Temple tower {{Famous Vishnu temples Hindu temples in Sivaganga district Villages in Sivaganga district

Legend

Sri Sowmya Narayana Perumal Temple

See also

External links

Gallery