Thiru Talai Changa Nanmadhiam

Thiru Talai Changa Nanmadhiam is one of the 108 pilgrimage centres of Alwars in the Vaishnava sampradaya. It is a small village that is 13 kms from Seergazhi on the Seergazhi-Nagapattinam road. It is also close to Akkur railway station and is approximately about 3kms on Mayavaram-Akkur route. Kaveri Poompattinam (famous as the capital of early Chola kings) is also very near to this place.

Introduction

"Thiru Talai Changa Nanmadhiam is a very old but beautiful hamlet surrounded by acres and acres of endless pastoral fields and coconut groves. Located in a serene and remote spot, the silent village temple is quiet in tune with its pious austerity. The mild smell of exotic trees, shrubs and flowers, the chirping of wood pecker, mynahs and myriad other birds, the whistle of the unpolluted breeze, no mans land, a silent village temple, the gentle river flowing, the mango groves, the plantain farms, the sugar cane fields, the strong smell of wild flowers present a calm but an exotic atmosphere.", says Prof. S. Narayanan.

Temple at a glance

Vishnu here is referred to by the names	Nan Madiya Perumal, Vyoma Jothi Piran, Vensudar Perumal, Lokanathan, etc.
Lakshmi here is referred to as	Talai changa Nacchiar, Senkamalavalli Thayar, etc.
Vimana is called	Chandra Vimana
Pushkarni is called	Chandra Pushkarni
Hymns	Two
Location	3 kms on Mayavaram-Akkur route

Structure

Mahavishnu enshrined here as Nan Madiya Perumal is also known as Ven Chudar Perumal, Vyoma Jyoti Piran and Lokanathan. Mahalakshmi is known as Sengamalavalli Thayar. The temple tank goes by the name of Chandra Pushkarni and the vimana is Chandra vimana. Nestled in a one-acre land, the shrine has a very small prahar and the Lord is seen standing facing east. Though the temple does not have a tower or the customary Dvaja Stambha and Bali Pita, it has a separate shrine for Mahalakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and prosperity and the Anjaneya and Garuda shrine at the entrance.

Legends

It has not been possible to determine the exact period to which the temple belongs as there is no inscriptional evidence.

Like all great places of worship, this Divya Desha at once goes back in history to the days of yore. Though it cannot boast of any superior architecture, this temple goes back in history to the ancient days of Chola kingdom. Once a dense forest, the temple in its present form is rich in mythological legends and hoary traditions.

It is said that here the omnipotent Lord appeared before Chandra, the Moon god and cured him of his wasting disease. Therefore he came to be known as Nan MadiyaPerumal. The hallowed shrine did not have adequate patrons. Over a period of time, it was lost to antiquity and in fact the Supreme Lord had to plead with ThirumangaiAlwar to compose a few hymns in his praise and the kshetra. Brahmandapuran glorifies the sanctity of the place in unending terms and ThirumangaiAlwar obliged the Lord with two of his hymns. The temple is six kms. fromMayavaram.