I seem to have slipped into my usual lazy mode. After a long time, back to posting my recent experience.
Thiruneermalai is one of the divya desams which is very close to my heart. This is a divya desam which i have been fortunate to visit on a regular basis over the last 13 years.
To give a background, Thiruneermalai comprises of a temple for Ranganathar on a hillock and a temple for Neervanna perumal at the foot hils. It is about 5 kms from Pallavaram.
I have been very blessed to visit this temple during multiple auspicious occassions - the brahmotsavam for Ranganatha Perumal and Neervanna perumal, the navarathri utsavam of the Thayar, Panguni utsavam, Ther thiruvizha, vijaya dasami, ratha sapthami utsavam, samprokshanai etc.
Neervanna perumal is the sthalathipathi, along with the thayar Animamalarmangai. Thirumangai azhwar has sung 10 pasurams and he starts with "anrayar kulakkodiyodu animamalar mangai udanbalavi..." in praise of the thayar. He described the thayar as one who is decked with ornaments (azhagiya abaranangalai soodikondu..) and hence the name animamalarmangai. To my limited knowledge, this is one divya desam where thirumangai azhwar has sung about the thayar. The thayar is so beautiful that you will want to come back to the divya desam just for her. The legend says that the azhwar had come to see the Lord and he was surrounded by water and he waited for 6 months for the water to drain before he could get the darshan of the Lord. Hence the name Neervannan. Legend also states that Valmiki did his penance here and Lord Ranganathar appeared before him as Rama.
The Ranganathar temple on the hillock also has separate sannithis for Narasimhar and Thiruvikramar. Thirumangai azhwar sings that by visiting this temple, one gets to visit the 4 divya desams - Thirunaraiyur (Nindran- comparing Neervannar to Thirunaraiyur Nambi), Thiruvali (Irunthan - Narasimhar) , Kumbakonam (kidanthan - comparing Ranganathar to Aravamudhan) and Thirukovilur (Nadanthan -Thiruvikramar). During one of my earlier visits, I thought of the day when i could visit these 4 other divya desams and prayed to the God that I see Him here in Thiruneermalai as the others that the azwar has compared. Over the years, by His grace, I was able to visit all the other 4 divya desams and could only shed tears of joy for the bhaghyam.
Coming to my recent visit, I had the bhaghyam of visting the temple on one of the saturdays of the tamil month of puratasi. It also happened to be the navarathri utsavam for Animamalarmangai thayar. The utsavam started with the thirumanjanam of the thayar, a wonderful sight for the blessed ones. After the thirumanjanam, the thayar was decked in ornaments, garlands and taken in a procession within the temple. The thayar was so beautiful that i lost myself and time came to standstill. The feeling was such a profound and beautiful that cannot be expressed in words. The entire utsavam was held over 3 hours and i did not notice time had passed so quickly that i had to rush to get a darshan of Ranganathar in the hillock. I was visiting the temple for the first time since the samprokshanam and hence had not had the darshan of the moolavar for more than 18 months. I went up the hill and was blessed with a wonderful darshan despite the crowd on the auspicious day. Ranganatha perumal and was without His kavasams and what a wonderful view of His thirumeni. No wonder that Thondaradipodi azhwar mentions that he does not want moksham but rather be in Srirangam to sing praises of Lord Ranganthar.
Every time I visit this temple, i get a special feeling, as if i am coming home, probably because my father's native was close to this divya desam.
Sri Animamalarmangai thayar sametha Sri Neervanna Perumal thiruvadigale saranam
Sri Ranganayaki thayar sametha Sri Ranganatha Perumal thiruvadigale saranam
