Thiru Kannapuram Sowri Raja Perumal

Eastern Gateway of the Lord
Vibheeshana was asked to come here to have darshan of the Lord's ‘walking beauty’
Along with Nachiyar Koil, Thiru Kannapuram is  one of the two Divya Desams where Thirumangai Azhvaar has praised the Lord with a century of verses

Located 20kms North West of Nagapattinam (20kms East of Tiruvarur, 30kms South of Kumbakonam and Mayavaram), this is one of the 5 Krishnaranya Kshetrams. Lord Narayana himself re-incarnated as Sowri Rajan at Kannapuram.

Walking Beauty of the Lord

This is the temple where the Lord showed Vibheeshana, brother of Ravana, his walking beauty. After seeing the sleeping beauty of Vishnu as Lord Ranganatha at Srirangam, Vibheeshna wanted to see the walking beauty of the Lord, upon which he was directed by the Lord to his “Keezh(akku) Veedu’ (Eastern Gateway of the Lord). 

Lord Vishnu displayed his ‘walking beauty’ to Vibheeshana here on the new moon day. To mark this event, on every Amavasya day at 12noon, Lord SowriRajan comes out of his sanctum and provides darshan to Vibheeshna.

Sowri Rajan- An extra growth of hair on the Lord

Once a garland of flowers sent by a king to the Lord did not reach the temple and hence the priest could not get the Lord ready in time for the King’s visit. To save himself from the King’s wrath, the temple priest quickly organized a garland of flowers from his house and placed it around the Lord. The king found that there was a hair in the garland and questioned the priest, who told him that this was the Lord’s own.

The priest told the king that he would show it(the Lord's hair) to him the next morning. Lord here is said to have saved the priest by displaying his long plait to the King. Hence, the lord here is called Sowri Rajan.

Special Pongal every night

A devotee who used to have his daily food only after presenting to the Lord was late one evening and found the temple closed. Hence, he presented the food to the Lord from outside the temple. It is believed that when the temple doors opened the next morning, the entire temple smelt of Sweet Pongal.

To mark this, every night, Pongal is served to the Lord - another feature at this temple.

கொங்கு மலி கருங் குவளை கண் ஆகத்

தென் கயங்கள்

செங்கமலமுகம் அலர்த்தும்

திரு கண்ணபுரத்  உறையும்

வங்கமலி தடங்  கடலுள் வரியரவின் அனைத்

துயின்ற செங்கமல நாபனுக்கு இழந்தேன்

என் செறி வளையே  - Periya Thirumozhi

Lord Narayana in 3 forms

On the 7th day of Vaikasi, Lord Narayana provides darshan in all his 3 forms (TriMoorthy Swaroopam)- Maha Vishnu in the day, Brahmaa in the night at around 11pm and Lord Shiva early next morning

Procession to the Sea Shore

Once a year, on the occasion of Maasi Magam, the Lord is taken on a procession to the sea shore near Karaikal, about 20 kms from here.

Quick Facts
Moolavar : Neelamegha Perumal- Standing Posture facing East
Utsavar   : Sowri Rajan
Goddess : Kannapura Naayaki

5 Azhvaars - Thirumangai Azhvaar, Nam Azhvaar, Kulasekara Azhvaar, Andaal and Periyazhvaar

Temple time: 7am –12noon and 5pm-830pm
Contact : S. Sowri Rajan Bhattar@ 04366 270718 / 95971 14670 / Raghava Bhattar @ 89034 70374
 

How to reach
Bus : Buses every 10 minutes on the Kumbakonam/ Mayavaram-Nagapattinam route
Auto : Auto will charge Rs. 50/- for a one way drop from Pugalur bus stop

Place to Stay : Best to stay in Kumbakonam

This is on the Kumbakonam / Mayavaram-Nannilam-Nagapattinam route. One has to get down at Thiru Pugalur and take auto (2kms). The temple can also be reached directly from Thiruvarur.