Divya Desam

A Divya Desam or Vaishnava Divya Desam is one of the 108 Vishnu and Lakshmi temples that is mentioned in the works of the Alvars, the poet-saints of the Sri Vaishnava tradition.

Of the 108 temples, 105 are in India, one is in Nepal, and the last two are believed to outside the earth, in Tirupparkatal and Vaikuntham. In India, they are spread over the states of Tamil Nadu (84), Kerala (11), Andhra Pradesh (2), Gujarat (1), Uttar Pradesh (4), and Uttarakhand (3). Muktinath, Saligramam is the only Divya Desam in Nepal. The Divya Desams are revered by the 12 Alvars in the ''Naalayira Divya Prabandham'', a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses. The Divya Desams follow either Tenkalai or Vadakalai modes of worship.

Etymology

In Sanskrit, ''divya'' means "divine" and ''desam'' indicates "realm" (temple).

Geography

Divya Desams are classified into six regions:

#Chera Nadu
# Chola Nadu
# Pandya Nadu
# Pallava Nadu
# Vada Nadu
# Vinnulaga Divya Desams

Alvars and Divya Prabandham

The word ''Alvar'' in Tamil, means "the immersed", referring to the their deep devotion of God. ''Alvars'' are considered to be the twelve poet-saints of Vishnu, who were instrumental in popularising Vaishnavism during the 5th-8th centuries CE. The religious works of these saints in Tamil, their hymns of love and devotion, are compiled as the ''Naalayira Divya Prabandham,'' containing 4000 verses and the 108 temples revered in their songs are classified as ''Divya Desams''. Dalal 2011, pp. 20-21 The saints had different origins and belonged to different varnas. According to tradition, the first three ''Alvars'' (''mudhal alvargal''), Poigai, Bhuthathalvar, Peyalvar and Andal were said to be born "out of divinity", Tirumalisai was the son of a sage, Thondaradi, Mathurakavi, Periyalvar were of Brahmin birth, Kulasekhara from the Kshatriya community, Nammalvar was from a cultivator family, Tirupanalvar from the ''panar'' community and Tirumangai was from the ''kalvar'' community.

The ''Divya Suri Saritra'' by Garuda-Vahana Pandita (11th century CE), ''Guruparamparaprabhavam'' by Pinbaragiya Perumal Jeeyar, ''Periya tiru mudi adaivu'' by Anbillai Kandadiappan, ''Yatindra Pranava Prabavam'' by Pillai Lokam Jeeyar, commentaries on the ''Naalayira'' ''Divya Prabandam'', Guru Parampara (lineage of Gurus) texts, temple records and inscriptions give a detailed account of the ''Alvars'' and their works. According to these texts, the saints are considered to be incarnations of attributes of Vishnu. Poigai is considered to be an incarnation of ''Panchajanya'' (Krishna's conch), Bhoothath of ''Kaumodaki'' (Vishnu's mace), Peyalvar of '' Nandaka'' (Vishnu's sword), Thirumalisai of ''Sudarshana Chakra'' (Vishnu's discus), Nammalvar of ''Vishvaksena'' (Vishnu's commander), Madhurakavi of ''Vainatheya'' (Garuda), Kulasekhara of '' Kaustubha'' (Vishnu's gemstone), Periyalvar of Garuda (Vishnu's demigod eagle), Andal of Bhudevi (Vishnu's wife, Lakshmi, in her form as Bhudevi), Thondaradippodi of '' Vanamalai'' (Vishnu's garland), Thiruppaan of ''Srivatsa'' (An auspicious mark on Vishnu's chest) and Thirumangai of '' Sharanga'' (Vishnu's bow). The songs of ''Prabandham'' are sung in several Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu daily and also during festivals.

Significance

In Hindu texts, these temples are often referred to as ''Bhuloka Vaikuntham'', which in Tamil means ''heavens on earth''. Each of the Divya Desam has its own significance related to Sri Vaishnava legend. Almost all of these temples have separate shrines for Vishnu and Lakshmi.

List of Divya Desams

The 106 earthly Divya Desam temples are spread over the Indian states of Tamil Nadu (84), Kerala (11), Uttar Pradesh (4), Uttarakhand (3), Andhra Pradesh (2) and Gujarat (1), and the country of Nepal (1) (Muktinath). The last two are believed to be outside earthly realms.

See also

*Mangalasasanam
*Char Dham
* Nava Tirupati

Notes

References

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External links

4000 Divya Prabhandam from Project Tamil

R.K.K. Rajarajan (2012) Antiquity of the Vaiṣṇava divyakśētras in Pāṇḍinādu
Acta Orientalia, Societates Orientales Danica Fennica Norvegia Svecia, Vol. 73, pp. 59–104.

{{Azhwars

Vishnu temples