Thalamalai Perumal Temple – Legends
Thala Malai:
The word
‘Thala’ means head. The region gets the name from a hill called Siragiri
located here that seems like the head of a person. The local people believe
that it resembles the face of Lord Vishnu.
Ramar Sunai:
In
Ramayana, great of the two great epics of Hindu mythology, Lord Rama on his way
back to Ayodhya with Sita after rescuing her from Ravana in Lankan lands, he
had to stay at this Sthala, a spring by name Ramar Sunai was made and there is
water flow always. When a person goes close this spring, he can breathe the
pleasurable smell of turmeric.
Head Portion of Sanjeevi Hills:
In
Ramayana, the Yuddha Kanda, Indrajit, son of Ravana and the primary of army of
demons showered deadly weapons (the Brahmastra.) to kill his enemies - Rama, Lakshmana
and Vanaras and they were unconscious. Jambavan sent Hanuman to fetch the Sanjeevi,
a powerful life-restoring herb to revive the unconscious. Unable to find the
specific herb before nightfall, Hanuman brought the entire mountain Dronagiri
which was full of medicinal plants, to the fight field, thus helping find the
herb and even with the approach of the Sanjeevi hill, (fragrance of the herbs)
Rama and Lakshmana and the Vanaras felt the darts slip off their bodies.
Their
wounds healed. Jambavan told Hanuman to replace the Sanjeevi Hill but Hanuman
was tired to go back to the spot and he tied the hill in his tail and threw it
with full vigor. The top portion of the hill fell and that place came to be
known as Thalaimalai. One can find Sanjeevi herb widely spread in this hill and
the pilgrims who visit this temple would be guarded against the sting of
venomous insects and snakes. There is no threatening to their lives.
Nayakars built this Temple:
It was
believed that this temple was built during the period of Nayakars. During those
days, there was a shepherd who used to take the cows for grazing. While all
other cows came back with him, one cow alone went astray to the top of the hill
and giving milk to a boy there. Shepherd was kept searching and found this and
informed the Nayakar. That night Lord appeared before Nayakar in his sleep and
asked him to build a temple on top and perform regular pooja. From then, the
hereditary Nayakars were the treasurers of the temple. At present, the off
springs of Thiru Venkatarama Naidu are the treasurers of the temple.
Yama worshipped Lord Vishnu here:
When
Yama – the Hindu God of Death was suffering because of Sani Deva’s transition,
Yama prayed to Indira Deva who advised him to have a holy dip daily in the
Kannimar mountain spring (Sunai) and offer prayers to Lord Nallendra Perumal,
he would be relieved of bad karmas. Yama did so and was freed from the ill
effects of Sani’s transit. Special poojas would be offered during the Tamil
month of Thai.
Pooja for Thunder God:
During Puratasi (Tamil
month) celebrations, once in three years poojas for Idi (Thunder) Bhagavan
would be performed. During the pooja, one can see cracks on the wall of the
building and in few minutes, with God’s grace the cracks would be set right.
Even today, this occurrence is considered to be a wonder.