The Nava Tirupati () refers to a group of nine

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temples dedicated to

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, located on the

Tiruchendur Tiruchendur (Tamil language, Tamil: ''Tiruccentūr'' �t̪iɾɯtːʃen̪d̪uːr also ''jayantipuram'') is a municipality in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is home to the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, Tiruchendur, Arulmigu ...

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

route,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, on the banks of the

Thamirabarani The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats, above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk. It flows through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi dis ...

river. Each of these temples is classified as a

Divya Desam Divya Desam (, ) or Vaishnava Divya Desams are the 108 Vishnu and Lakshmi temples that are mentioned in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, works of the Alvars, the poet-saints of the Sri Vaishnavism, Sri Vaishnava tradition. By comparison, the Paad ...

, counted as one among the 108 temples of

, revered by the 12 poet-saints of the Tamil

Vaishnava Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, '' Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along wit ...

tradition, the

Alvars The Alvars () are the Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused '' bhakti'' (devotion) to the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, in their songs of longing, ecstasy, and service. They are venerated in Vaishnavism, which regards Vishnu as the ...

Temples

The temples are revered in ''

Naalayira Divya Prabandham The Naalayira Divya Prabandham () is a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses composed by the 12 Alvars. It was compiled in its present form by Nāthamuni during the 9th–10th centuries. The work, an important liturgical compilation of the Tamil ...

'', the 7th–9th century CE Vaishnava canon, attributed by

Nammalvar Nammalvar was one of the twelve Alvars, Alvar saints of Tamil Nadu, India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The verses of the Alvars are compiled as the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, Naalayira Divya Prab ...

. The following is the list of the 9 temples.

Festival

The ''Garuda Sevai Utsavam'' (a festival where a form of

, seated upon his mount

Garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...

, is revered) in the month of Vaikasi (May - June) witnesses 9 ''Garuda Sevai,'' as well as two palanquins, one with Nammalvar of

Alwarthirunagari Alwarthirunagiri is a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is next to Srivaikuntam on the Tirunelveli - Tiruchendur Highway, Tamil Nadu, southern India. It's about 31 km from Tirunelveli and 29 ...

, and the other with Madurakavi Alvar from Thirukalur. An event in which festival image idols from the Nava Tirupati shrines in the area are brought on ''Garuda Vahana'' (Garuda as a mount) to Alvarthirunagari for ''

Mangalasasanam Mangalasasanam () refers to a Vaishnava concept in Hinduism, where a devotee offers their salutations and felicitations upon God due to a profound sense of concern for the latter, and also as an exercise of forgetting their sense of self. Hymns ...

'' (singing of sacred hymns) and to for paying obeisance to Nammalvar in the morning. An idol of

is also brought here on a palanquin, and his ''pasurams'' (verses) dedicated to each of these 9 temples are recited. In the night 9 ''Garuda Sevai'' by the ''Nava Tirupati Perumals'' and the two Alvars also on procession in circumambulations. A total of 11 temple ''chapparams'' (canopied-cars) move around the outer courtyards. The

utsavar In Hinduism, utsava murti,James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 726 utsavar or uthsavar, is a form of a ''murti'' (icon) which represents a deity. The portable utsavar is emplo ...

(idol venerated during procession) of Nammalvar is taken in a palanquin to each of the 9 temples, through the paddy fields in the area. The pasurams dedicated to each of the 9

s are chanted in the respective shrines. This is the most important of the festivals in this area, and draws thousands of visitors.

References

{{Famous Vishnu temples Hindu temples in Thoothukudi district Vishnu temples