Lord Vishnu

Lord Vishnu, whom Tamil families lovingly call Perumal (பெருமாள்), "the great one", is the protector of the world. According to tradition, whenever goodness is in danger, he comes to earth in a new form to set things right. In Tamil Nadu he is worshipped in some of the grandest temples anywhere, and praised in thousands of Tamil verses by the Alvars, poet-saints whose songs still ring out at dawn in the month of Margazhi.

Who is Vishnu?

Many Hindus describe the work of God in three parts: Brahma creates, Vishnu protects, and Shiva dissolves. For Vaishnava devotees, Vishnu, as Narayana, is the Supreme Being himself.

He is often pictured resting on the great serpent Adisesha (ஆதிசேஷன்) on the ocean of milk, Thiruparkadal (திருப்பாற்கடல்), with his consorts Sridevi (Lakshmi) and Bhudevi, the Earth goddess. In Tamil temples Lakshmi is lovingly called Thayar (தாயார்), "Mother".

His ten best-known avatars, the Dasavataram (தசாவதாரம்), include Narasimha the man-lion, Vamana the dwarf, and the heroes Rama and Krishna, fondly called Kannan (கண்ணன்) in Tamil.

Vishnu is very old in Tamil memory. The Tolkappiyam, the oldest surviving Tamil grammar, links Mayon (மாயோன்), "the dark one", with the Mullai (முல்லை) forest-and-pasture landscape, and the Sangam collection Paripadal includes hymns to Thirumal. Much later, the great teacher Ramanuja, born at Sriperumbudur near Chennai, spread the Sri Vaishnava tradition from Srirangam.

Names and forms

• Perumal / Thirumal (திருமால்) – the everyday Tamil names. Thirumal is often explained as "the beloved of Thiru", that is, Lakshmi.
• Narayana (நாராயணன்) – a very old name, used in the mantra Om Namo Narayanaya
• Ranganatha (ரங்கநாதர்) – the reclining Lord of Srirangam
• Srinivasa / Venkatesa – the Lord of the Tirumala hills, known in Tamil as Thiruvenkadam (திருவேங்கடம்)
• Varadharaja – "the king who grants boons", at Kanchipuram

In temples, Perumal is shown standing, seated or reclining.

Symbols and what they mean

• The Thirunamam (திருநாமம்) – the sacred forehead mark: white lines of a white clay called thiruman (திருமண்), with a red or yellow line in the middle. The white lines are said to stand for the Lord's feet, and the centre line for Lakshmi. Different communities draw it in slightly different styles.
• The conch (சங்கு) and the discus (சக்கரம்) – held in his upper hands. The conch's call is often said to awaken goodness, and the spinning discus to protect it.
• Tulasi (துளசி) – the holy basil plant, sacred to Vishnu, offered to him and given back to devotees as prasadam.

At Perumal temples, the priest gently places the sadari (சடாரி), a small crown engraved with the Lord's feet, on each devotee's head as a blessing.

The Divya Desams and the Alvars

The 108 Divya Desams (திவ்ய தேசம்) are the Vishnu temples praised in the songs of the Alvars. Most are in Tamil Nadu; others are in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, northern India and Nepal, and the last two are believed to be heavenly realms.

The 12 Alvars (ஆழ்வார்கள்) were poet-saints whose name is often explained as "those immersed" in love for God: Poigai Alvar, Bhoothathalvar, Peyalvar, Thirumazhisai Alvar, Nammalvar, Madhurakavi Alvar, Kulasekara Alvar, Periyalvar, Andal, Thondaradippodi Alvar, Thiruppanalvar and Thirumangai Alvar. Their songs were gathered by the teacher Nathamuni into the Naalayira Divya Prabandham (நாலாயிர திவ்ய பிரபந்தம்), "the four thousand sacred verses". Nammalvar's Thiruvaimozhi (திருவாய்மொழி) is so revered that it is often called the Tamil Veda.

Andal (ஆண்டாள்) is the only woman among the Alvars. According to tradition, she was found as a baby in a tulasi garden at Srivilliputhur and raised by Periyalvar. She would secretly wear the garland meant for the Lord, earning the name Soodikodutha Sudarkodi (சூடிக்கொடுத்த சுடர்க்கொடி), "the bright creeper who gave the garland she had worn". Her Thiruppavai (திருப்பாவை), thirty verses beginning மார்கழித் திங்கள் மதிநிறைந்த நன்னாளால், "In the month of Margazhi, on this fine full-moon day", is sung at dawn throughout Margazhi.

Important temples in Tamil Nadu

• Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple – Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli – first among the Divya Desams, on an island between the Kaveri and Kollidam rivers.
• Andal Temple – Srivilliputhur – the home of Andal and Periyalvar.
• Varadharaja Perumal Temple – Kanchipuram – where, by tradition, the wooden image of Athi Varadar is brought up from the temple tank for worship only once in forty years.
• Parthasarathy Temple – Thiruvallikeni (Triplicane), Chennai – Krishna as Arjuna's charioteer.
• Kallazhagar Temple – Alagar Kovil, near Madurai – famous for the Chithirai festival, when Azhagar enters the Vaigai river.

Just across the border in Andhra Pradesh, the temple of Venkateswara at Tirumala, praised by the Alvars, is dear to Tamil families everywhere.

Festivals

• Vaikunta Ekadasi – in Margazhi, on the eleventh day of the waxing moon. The Sorga Vaasal (சொர்க்க வாசல்), "gate of heaven", is opened in Perumal temples, most famously at Srirangam, and many devotees fast and stay awake.
• Purattasi Saturdays – dedicated to Perumal. Many families keep a vegetarian diet for the month and offer maavilakku (மாவிளக்கு), a lamp made of rice flour and jaggery.
• Krishna Jayanthi – Krishna's birthday, in Aavani. Children draw tiny footprints in rice flour from the doorway to the prayer room, as if baby Krishna has walked in.
• Rama Navami – Rama's birthday, usually in Panguni or Chithirai, when panagam (பானகம்), a jaggery drink, is shared.
• Deepavali – in Tamil Nadu, Deepavali celebrates Krishna's victory over the asura Narakasura. Find greetings in our Tamil Deepavali wishes.

Devotional songs and prayers

Alongside the Thiruppavai and Thiruvaimozhi, families treasure:

• Thiruppallandu (திருப்பல்லாண்டு) – Periyalvar's short hymn wishing the Lord a long life, sung at the start of Prabandham recitals.
• Vishnu Sahasranamam – the Sanskrit "thousand names" of Vishnu from the Mahabharata, recited in many Tamil homes.

Worship at home

• Keep a tulasi plant if you can. Water it in the morning and light a small lamp beside it in the evening.
• On Saturdays, especially in Purattasi, light a lamp for Perumal, offer tulasi leaves and chant Om Namo Narayanaya or simply "Govinda!"
• In Margazhi, wake up early with the children, draw a kolam (கோலம்) and read one Thiruppavai verse a day. Thirty verses make a lovely month-long family project.