Nam Azhvaar Mogur Ananthapuram

Interesting Similarities between Thiru Mogur and Thiru Ananthapuram

Nam Azhvaar has begun the last set of 100 verses of his Tiruvomozhi (which totally comprises of a 1000verses) with praise of two temples, 300kms apart but where the Lords are seen in a similar sleeping posture atop the Serpant King. Nam Azhvaar probably found a lot of similarity between the two temples and hence chose to praise them one after another as part of his last 100verses of praise in the Naalayira Divya Prabhandham.

He follows the first set of 10 verses on the Lord of Thiru Mogur in the Pandya Kingdom near Madurai with 10verses of praise on the Lord of Thiru Ananthapuram (Trivandrum/Tiruvananthapuram) which he refers to as being near the ocean.

Kaalamegha Perumal

In his praise of both Thiru Mogur and Thiru Ananthapuram, Nam Azhvaar specifically makes a mention of Lord being in a sleeping posture atop a venomous hooded Serpant.

 'படர் கொள் பாம்பணைப் பள்ளி கொள்வான் திருமோகூர்' 

'விடம் உடை அரவில் பள்ளி விரும்பினான் சுரும்பு அலற்றும் ....அனந்த புர  நகர்'

                                                     Anantha Padmanabhan

Similarity in the two places over a 1000years ago

'அண்டம் மூவுலகு அளந்தவன் அணி திருமோகூர் என் திசையும்  
ஈன்  கரும்பொடு  பெரும் செந்நெல்  விளையக்...'

'In multiple verses of his praise on Thiru Mogur, he refers to lovely groves and lakes surrounding the temple. Similarly, about Thiru Ananthapuram, he says it was full of fertile fields and he saw fishes jumping up and down in the lakes.  While he talks about Thiru Mogur being a place where Sugar Cane and Paddy was seen in vast abundance, he refers to Thiru Ananthapuram as one where Kurundu, Serundi and Punnai trees were seen in big numbers all around.

'குன்று நேர் மாடம் மாடே குருந்து சேர்  செருந்தி புன்னை 
மன்று அலற பொழில் அனந்த புர நகர்' 

Describing the Lord

If in one verse, he refers to the Lord of Thiru Mogur as being with 4arms, lotus eyes and sweet lips, in another he praises him as being Dasharatha’s son who destroyed Lanka and in yet another he names him as Kaalamegha Perumal, while he refers to the Lord of Thiru Ananthapuram with different names in different verses as Kesava first, then as Govinda, Vamana and Madhava.

Process of darshan

'முற்றும் தேவரோடு உலகு செய்வான் திருமோகூர்
கதறி நாம் வலஞ் செய்ய  நம் துயர் கெடும் கடிதே'

While he asks the devotees to visit Thiru Mogur and go around the Lord just once for our sins to go away, he provides us with a list of things to be presented to the Lord of Thiru Ananthapuram one that includes Sandal paste and incense, lighting a lamp with ghee and placing a lotus flower at the Lord’s feet at Thiru Ananthapuram for our miseries to end and for us to find eternal glory. He also goes on to say that even a simple sweeping of the floor at Thiru Ananthapuram would entitle us to the Lord’s blessing.  

'ஏய்ந்த பொன் மதில் அனந்த புர நகர் எந்தைக்கு என்று 

சாந்தொடு விளக்கம் தூபம் தாமரை மலர்கள் நல்வ ....அந்தம்  இல் புகழினாரே '