Thiruneermalai Divya Desam - Ranganatha Perumal

• Meditation: I meditate on Sri Ranganathan at Thiruneermalai which is a Svayam Vyakta Kshetra where the Lord manifested by himself. I also meditate on Sri Neervannan at Thiruneermalai who in the form of Lord Rama gave darshan to sage Valmiki in this place.

• Thiruneermalai Divya Kshetra: Thiruneermalai is a Divya Desam whose glory was sung by Bhootat Alvar and Thirumangai Alvar. Thiruneermalai is situated in Chennai around 5 km from Pallavaram. The name Thiruneermalai is derived from Thiru (Divine), Neer (Water) and Malai (Hill). So it means a divine hill full of water. It is also known as Thoyadri which is derived from Thoya (Water) and Adri (Hill). It is said that once when Thirumangai Alvar came to visit Thiruneermalai it was filled with water and he had to wait for six months to visit the temple. The place where he waited is known as Thirumangai Alvapuram. Ancient Thiruneermalai was a place of great natural beauty full of groves, flowers and roaming animals as mentioned in the hymns of the Alvars. Thiruneermalai is a Svayam Vyakta Kshetra where Lord Ranganatha is self-manifested. The Lord here is seen in all the four postures - Standing (Ninran) as Neervannan, Sitting (Irundan) as Narasimha, Lying down (Kidanthan) as Ranganathan and Walking (Nadanthan) as Trivikrama. The shrines of Sri Ranganthan, Sri Narasimha and Sri Trivikrama are at the top of the hill (which has around 250 steps) while the shrine of Sri Neervannan is at the foot of the hill. It is said that Sri Ranganathan gave darshan to sage Valmiki at the foot of the hill in the form of Sri Rama. On the request of the sage, the Lord permanently abided there as Sri Neervannan. The tank of Thiruneermalai known as Kshira Pushkarini is also very famous.

• Svayam Vyakta Kshetra: Thiruneermalai is one of the eight Svayam Vyakta Kshetras which means Sri Ranganathan is self-manifested here. Apart from Sri Ranganathan, Thiruneermalai has the shrines of Sri Narasimha, Sri Trivikrama and Sri Rama. The shrines of Sri Ranganathan, Sri Narasimha and Sri Trivikrama are at the top of the hill while the shrine of Sri Rama (as Neervannan) is at the foot of the hill.

• Lord appearing before sage Valmiki: It is said that once sage Valmiki came to Thiruneermalai and had the darshan of Sri Ranganathan at the top of the hill. The sage then came down to the foot of the hill to the temple tank and prayed to Sri Rama. Sri Ranganathan appeared before the sage as Sri Rama himself. Devi Lakshmi took the form of Devi Sita and Adisesha took the form of Sri Lakshmana. The Chakra (Discus) and Sankha (Conch) took the forms of Bharata and Satrughna. Sri Garuda took the form of Sri Hanuman and Sri Vishwaksena took the form of Sri Sugreeva. On the request of the sage, Sri Rama abided there permanently as Neervannan.

• Lord in four postures: In Thiruneermalai the Lord is seen in four postures - Standing (Ninran) as Neervannan, Sitting (Irundan) as Narasimha, Lying down (Kidanthan) as Ranganathan and Walking (Nadanthan) as Trivikrama. Thirumangai Alvar sings in his pasuram that, the Lord is seen in the standing posture in Thirunaraiyur (as Thiru Naraiyur Nambi); the Lord is seen in the sitting posture in Thiruvali (as Narasimha); the Lord is seen in the lying down (reclining) posture in Thirukkudanthai (as Sarangapani); and the Lord is seen in the walking posture in Thirukkovalur (as Trivikrama); but the Lord can be seen in all the four postures at Thiruneermalai.

• Temple tank with four streams of water: The temple tank here is very famous and is known as Ksheera Pushkarini which refers to the Milky Ocean. It is said that four streams of water are present in the temple tank. The first is the water of the Milky Ocean (Ksheera Pushkarini. The second is the waters of the tears of compassion of Sri Narasimha for Prahlada (Karunya Pushkarini). The third is the water of river Ganga from the matted hairs of Lord Shiva (Siddha Pushkarini). The fourth is the water collected in golden vessels from river Virajai by the Nityasuris for the holy bath of the Lord (Swarna Pushkarini).

• Thiruneermalai is located in Chennai in the Chennai district of Tamil Nadu.

Bharatavarsha - The Land of Gods and Sages:

1. Stotras
2. Scriptures
3. Pilgrimages
4. Festivals
5. Saints: Ramakrishna - Vivekananda - Ramana
6. Sadhana
7. Sanskrit
8. Nature