Thiruninravur Divya Desam - Bhaktavatshala Perumal Temple

• Meditation: I meditate on Sri Bhaktavatshala Perumal and Sri Sudhavalli (or Ennai Petra Thayar) in Thiruninravur Divya Desam.

• Greatness: Thiruninravur is a Divya Desam. It is the 58th Divya Desam and is located in Thondai Nadu. Thirumangai Alvar did not directly sing the glory of the Lord while visiting this place. But later when he visited Mahabalipuram and Thirukannapuram, he sung that he was seeing the Lord of Thiruninravur in those places. This place is also known as Srinivasa Kshetram since Lord Vishnu came here and stayed for sometime. The name Thiruninravur is derived from Thiru and Ninravur. Thiru means Wealth signifying goddess Lakshmi and Ninravur means where She stopped or stayed. According to legend, Devi Lakshmi after a misunderstanding with the Lord left Vaikuntha and stayed in this place for sometime. Thiruninravur is also holy to the Shaivites and they have a different interpretation of the name. According to them, the name Thiruninravur is derived from Thiri which means wick of lamp and Ninravur which means where it stopped. During a dispute with the Jainism two lamps were floated on the Coovam river to test the power of the respective religious sects. The lamp of the Shaivites became brighter and reached this place. According to them name of the place is derived from this incident.
- Perumal is in Standing posture facing East.
- Pratyaksham: Varunan
- Mangalasasanam: Thirumangai Alvar (2 Pasurams)
- Vimanam: Srinivasa Vimanam (Utpala Vimanam)
- Pushkarini: Varuna Pushkarini, River Vrithaksheera

• Puranic Events:

1. Lord Vishnu & Devi Lakshmi: Devi Lakshmi and Lord Vishnu stayed at Thiruninravur for sometime. - Events: Once there was a misunderstanding between Lord Vishnu and Devi Lakshmi in Vaikuntha. Devi Lakshmi left Vaikuntha, came to this place and stayed here for sometime. Knowing this, Samudraraja, her father, also came here and stayed for sometime near the tank known as Varuna Pushkarini. Samudraraja was so overjoyed seeing her daughter that he addressed her as Mother. Later, Lord Vishnu also came here searching for her, and stayed here for sometime. Since the Lord stayed in this place, it is also known as Srinivasa Kshetra.

• Deities:
- Bhaktavatshala Perumal: The Image of Sri Bhaktavatshala Perumal in Standing posture facing East.
- Sudhavalli Thayar: The Image of Sri Sudhavalli Thayar or Sri Ennai Petra Thayar.

• Sacred Geography:
- Varuna Pushkarini: Pushkarini of the temple.

• Location: Thiruninravur is located in Chennai outskirts in the Chennai district of Tamil Nadu. This is in Thondai Nadu. The temple can be visited from Chennai.

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