Vishnu temple of Thirukurangudi village

This majestic unnoticed temple of Vishnu is located at Thirukurangudi village in the remote Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. The interesting fact about the temple is, one cannot confirm the dates of the temple’s existence exactly. It is said to have been around since 8th century and slowly kept growing under the patronage of various rulers, till 15th century. It is certainly a pre-Chola era temple. 

This marvelous temple sprawls over eighteen acres, this is easily one of the less-explored temples, even by scholars of art history and Indology.  This temple is one of the 108 holy Shri Vaishnava shrines known as ‘Divyadesams’. One of the grandest festivals celebrated here is the ‘Kaisika Ekadesi.’ Kaisika Nataka, the story of Kaisika Puranam, is presented on Kaisika Ekadesi. In that village, there reside a 250 years old family called TVS family. In fact, till three decades ago, the temple was a dump and a veritable ruin. It had become a dingy hub of bats. It was the efforts of the TVS family that helped resurrect it to its current state. 

Inside the temple, you can find Nayak mahal which would be the best place in the temple to visit and it was built around in 14th century. The pillars of this enclosure are all made of single pieces of large granite stone. On the outside are some exquisite life-size, or some even larger than life-size, sculptures. 

Inside, in a corridor flanked by pillars on either side, are large Yaalis. This is the interesting thing, that I should highlight here. These Yaalis are mythical creatures comparable to griffins. The amazing thing is, you can find a stone similar to a large apple size in Yaali's mouth. You can touch it, roll it even take the stone but you can't pull it out of Yalli's mouth. The interesting fact is, the ball was structured within the statue once the stuatue got completed. Another inscription on the northern wall from 14th century dating back to ruler Sundara Pandya II, mentions the gift of lands to Nambi, and yet another speaks of gifting fifty cows to the temple, the ghee of which was meant for lighting lamps for Nambi. Epigraphers are yet to properly document what is in and around the Thirukurangudi temple. This is not the end to stop writing about this temple, there are many sculptures to amaze you inside. A visit to this place will ever make a good memory.

When to visit?

You can visit this temple anytime. There is no entry fee. Try visiting in October to September because on summer the temperature will rise dramatically. 

How to reach?

From Chennai, one can take the Kanyakumari/Ananthapuri Express to Valliyur. From here, one can reach Thirukkurungkudi (10 km) in 20 minutes by boarding the Papanasam bound bus via Ervadi.

By car, one can reach the shrine in 45 minutes from Tirunelveli. One can also visit Vaanamamalai Divyadesam in Nanguneri.