Srivaikuntanathan Perumal temple

Srivaikuntanathan Perumal Temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Thoothukudi
Deity	Vaikunthanathan (Vishnu) Vaikunthavalli (Lakshmi) Kallapiran (Vishnu)
Features	Tower: Chandra Temple tank: Brighu
Location
Location	Srivaikuntam
State	Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Location in Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates	8°37′52.2″N 77°54′34.6″E / 8.631167°N 77.909611°E / 8.631167; 77.909611
Architecture
Type	Dravidian architecture
Elevation	41 m (135 ft)
Website
navathirupathitemples.tnhrce.in/kallapiran.html

Srivaikuntanathan Perumal Temple (also called Srivaikuntam temple and Kallapiran temple) in Srivaikuntam, a town in Thoothukudi district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. It is located 22 km from Tirunelveli. Constructed in the Tamil style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Vaikunthanathar and his consort Lakshmi as Vaikunthavalli.^[1] The temple is also classified as a Nava Tirupati, the nine temples revered by Nammalvar located in the banks of Tamiraparani river.^[2] The temple is next only to Alwarthirunagari Temple in terms of importance among the nine Navatirupathi temple. The temple is one of the Navagraha temples in Vaishnavism, associated with Surya, the sun god.

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 110 ft (34 m) tall. Thiruvengadamudayan hall houses rare life size sculptures commissioned during the 16th century.

Srivaikuntanathar is believed to have appeared to slay Somukasura, who abducted the four Vedas. The presiding deity is called Pal Pandian as a cow performed ablution daily to the submerged deity during the Pandyan era and Kallapiran as he helped a thief who prayed to Vishnu while he was in trouble. 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 Nava Tirupati, being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.