Alwarthirunagari Permual Temple

Alwarthirunagari Permual Temple
Alwarthirunagari Permual Temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Thoothukudi
Deity	Adinathar (Vishnu), Adinathavalli (Lakshmi)
Features	Tower: Govinda Gopuram Temple tank: Brahma Tirtha
Location
Location	Alwarthirunagiri
State	Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Location in Tamil Nadu, India
Geographic coordinates	8°36′25.6″N 77°56′17.9″E / 8.607111°N 77.938306°E / 8.607111; 77.938306
Architecture
Type	Dravidian architecture
Elevation	44 m (144 ft)

Alwarthirunagari Permual Temple is a Hindu temple, dedicated to Vishnu and Lakshmi in Alwarthirunagari, a town in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

It is located 26 km from Tirunelveli. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Adinathar and Lakshmi, who is worshipped as Adinathavalli.^[1] The temple is also classified as a Navatirupati, the nine temples revered by Nammalvar located in the banks of Thamirabarani river. The temple is the most prominent among the nine Navatirupati temples. The temple is one of the Navagraha temples in Vaishnavism, associated with Brihaspati.

A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines and two of its three bodies of water. The rajagopuram, the temple's gateway tower, is 95 ft (29 m) tall. The temple is considered the birthplace of Nammalvar, considered the most prominent among the twelve Alvars Saints. The temple follows Tenkalai tradition of worship. Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the ten-day annual Brahmotsavam during the Tamil month of Chittirai (April - May) and the Nammalvar birth celebrations with Garudasevai with all nine temple of Navatirupathi, being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.