Ninra Narayana Perumal- Tiruthangal

Ninra Narayana Perumal temple is in Thiruthangal which is just 3 Kms from the town of Sivakasi which is famous for  firecrackers.This temple is a 3 tier temple  situated on a small hillock .First , we come across the Lord Ranganatha's sannidhi which is inside a cave and is at the bottom most tier .  It is believed that the Lord of Srirangam stayed here en route to Srivilliputtur, Andal temple He is also known  as Palli konda Perumal. ( God in reclining pose) 

On the second tier is the shrine of  Lord's consort, Mahalakshmi known here as Chengamala Thayar. Lakshmi's idol is about 6 feet tall  and it is believed that the Goddess performed penance here. She is Goddess of wealth and  Her presence here helped to  achieve prosperity to a remote place like Sivakasi. She grants her devotees all their  wishes and the temple gets thronged to seek Her divine blessings. Tiruthangal means abode of the divine.

 Ninra Narayana Perumal's sannidhi is in the top most tier and here He stands with his four wives, Sree devi , Boodevi, Nila devi and  Jambhavathi . This sannidhi also houses the idols of Aniruddha ,Lord's grandson and His wife Usha . It is believed that they got married in the presence of the Goddess here. There are about 11 idols in the sanctum which is a special feature of this temple.This is the 45th divya desam of Vishnu.

The imposing image of Lord Narayana and all other idols are painted and there is no abhishekam performed here for the deities except for Chengamala Thayar.   Facing the Lord's sanctum is Garuda, His mount ,waiting always with folded hands in service of the Lord. Worshipping Garuda is believed to ward off the ill effects of Rahu- Ketu Dosha. The temple sanctum has a beautiful vimanam and there are also shrines for Ramanujar and Aanjaneyar. 

Adjacent to this temple there are two more temples, one dedicated to Siva, known here as Karunalli Nathar  and another one to Lord Muruga, one of the son's of Siva which is at the summit of this hill.

Temple timings are 6am- 12 noon and 4p.m - 8 p.m.

Temples in  Sivakasi

There is an ancient temple of Siva ,in Sivakasi - Kasi Viswanathar koil from which the name of the town  Sivaksi was derived. Amman here is known as Visalakshi . There are shrines for Dakshina Moorthy,Vinayagar,Murugan, ( the two sons of Siva) Durga,and  a separate mandapam for Navagrahas.There is a very old tree in this temple which  is believed to have been planted by the Pancha Pandavas.

Other temples in Sivakasi are the Badrakaliamman and Mariamman temples.

How to reach- Virudhu Nagar is the nearest railway station. 

Nearest airport is at Madurai which is at  65 Kms from Sivakasi. 

Sivakasi and Tiruthangal also have railway stations but very few trains ply on this line. 

Accomodation :  One can choose to stay in Madurai itself as hotels are very few in Sivaksi and Virudhu nagar.