Thirumal
Perumal (Tamil: பெருமாள்), or Perumaal or Thirumal (Tamil: திருமால்), also known as Maayon (as he is described in the Tamil scriptures), was a Hindu deity popular among Tamilians in the Tamil diaspora.
Popularity in Tamil Nadu
Perumal/Thirumal was the only deity who enjoyed the status of Paramporul (achieving a oneness with Paramatma)[1] during the Sangam age. A reference to "Mukkol Bhagavars" in Sangam literature indicates that only Vaishnavaite saints were holding Tridanda and were prominent during the Sangam age. Thirumal was as glorified as "the supreme deity" whose divine lotus feet could burn all evils and grant Moksha (Maru Piraparukkum Maasil Sevadi). During the post-Sangam period, his worship was further glorified by the Alwars.
Perumal Temples
- Of the 108 Divyadesams according to the Alwar Saints, 106 of which are in the Earthly Realm.
Prominent among these Divyadesams are:
- Sri Navamukundan Temple in Thirunavaya, India
- Sri Ananthapadmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, India
- Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple in Kanchipuram, India
- Sri Thirupalkadal temple in Keezhperoor, Thiruvananthapuram I
- Sri Oppiliappan Perumal Temple near Kumbakonam, India
- Sri Narashima Perumal Temple in Ahobilam, India
- Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, India
- Thirumaliruncholai (Kallazhagar Temple) in Madurai, India
- Thiruvengadam (Sri Venkateshwara Temple), in Tirupathi, India
- Thiru Narayanapuram (SelvaPillai Perumal) in Melkote, India
- Aadhi Thiruvellarai (Pundarikatchan) in Thiruvellarai, India.
Prominent Thirumal Temples (though not mentioned by Alwars) in other parts of the India and world are:
- Perumal temple in Jaffna, Sri Lanka
- Sri Sathya-Narayana Perumal Temple in T-Nagar, Chennai, India
- Sri Venkateswara Perumal temple in the USA
- Sri Ranganatha temple in the USA
- Sri Sunderaraja Perumal Temple Klang, Malaysia
- Sri Alarmelamanga Samedha Shri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, Batu caves, Malaysia
- Sri Krishna Temple, Singapore
- Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, in T-Nagar, Chennai, India