Mayakoothan Thiru Kulanthai

Ten kms North of Thiru Pulingkudi and about 12kms North East of Sri Vaikuntam is the Mayakoothan Perumal Koil in Perungulam and part of the Nava Tirupathi(Divya Desams) near Tirunelveli. Garuda seen alongside Utsavar -a unique feature at this Divya Desam

The Story
Vedhacharan and Kumudavalli were childless. They bathed in the river here and undertook penance. Pleased with their prayers, Lord Vishnu blessed them with a daughter.

The daughter, Kamalavathi, turned out to be no ordinary girl. She desired to marry the Lord himself and to this end, she relentlessly pursued the Lord offering daily prayers. Moved by her sincerity, the Lord appeared before her and asked for her wishes. Delighted at having darshan of the Lord, she said that her mind had not changed and HE was the one that she wanted. Granting her wishes, he accepted her and took her in his chest.

It is believed that Lord Vishnu came on his Garuda Vaahanam to defeat Asura Asmachaaran. Having defeated the asura, Vishnu is said to have performed his victory dance standing on the asura’s body. The Devas who watched this ‘dancing victory’ of Lord Vishnu wanted him to provide darshan here as ‘Maaya’ ‘Koothan’.

Special Status for Garuda
Since Garuda was instrumental in bringing the Lord to this place, he was accorded a special status at this temple and is seen as a Utsavar.

Lord is seen alongside Sree Devi, Bhoo Devi and Neela Devi at this temple with Kamaladevi in his chest.

NamAzhvaar Praise

In his only verse on Mayakoothan, NamAzhvaar refers to him as a wonder dancer,riding on Garuda in the West in Southern Kulanthai. His reference to groves and big mansions indicates that this was a prosperous location in centuries gone by. NamAzhvaar says that desiring to see the beauty of the Lord, he went all the way only to lose himself completely on seeing the handsome Lord Mayakoothan.

கூடச் சென்றேன் இனி என் கொடுக்கேன்
கோல்வளை நெஞ்சக் தொடக்கம் எல்லாம்
பாடு அற்று ஒழிய இழந்து வைகல்
பல்வளையார்முன் பரிசு அழிந்தேன்

மாடக் கொடி மதிள் தென் குளந்தை
வன்குட பால் நின்ற மாயகூத்தன்
ஆடல் பறவை உயர்த்த வெல் போர்
ஆழி வலவனை ஆதரித்தே Thiruvoi Mozhi (8-2-4)

Quick Facts

Deity : Saara Nathan, Srinivasan East facing Standing Posture
Goddess : Kulanthai Valli Thaayar, Alarmel Mangai Thaayar
Utsavar : Maaya Koothan
Azhavaar : NammAzhvaar- 1 Paasuram
Temple timing : 7.30am-12.30pm and 4.30pm-7.30pm
Contact : Venkatesa Bhattar @ 94436 19222
Muthukrishnan Bhattar@99940 98664

How to reach:
Perungulam is about 15kms East of SriVaikuntam and near Eral.

After finishing Mayakoothan perumal, one can visit Rettai Tirupathi (about 5kms from here and then move East to finish the Nava Tirupathi trip with Pulingudi and Natham Divya Desams)

Source: prtraveller.blogspot.com