Vanamamalai Perumal Temple, Nanguneri – Religious
Importance
The temple is considered one of the eight Swayambu
Kshetras of Vishnu where presiding deity is believed to have manifested on
its own. Seven other temples in the line are Srirangam
Ranganathaswamy temple, Bhu Varaha
Swamy temple,
and Tirumala
Venkateswara Temple in South India and Saligrama, Naimisaranya, Pushkar and Badrinath Temple in North India. The temple is revered in Nalayira
Divya Prabhandham,
the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Nammazhwar in ten hymns. The temple is classified as
a Divyadesam, one of the 108 Vishnu
temples that are mentioned in the book. As per the accounts of the Jeeyar,
the head of the Vanamamalai Mutt, Janakapuri in Nepal, where Rama (an avatar of Vishnu) got married to Sita also has a place called Nanguneri, similar to
the Vanamamalai temple.