Vishnu temples at Nangur are a group of 11 temples near Nangur in Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu, India. These eleven temples are known as Thiru Nangur Divya Desams. The story of the origin of 11 Vishnu temples are associated with Rudra Avatar of Shiva.
In the celestial realms where gods and goddesses roamed,
there existed a profound love between Lord Shiva and his divine consort,
Goddess Sati. However, their idyllic existence was shattered when Sati's
father, Daksha, insulted Shiva in a fit of arrogance at the now infamous Daksha
Yajna to which Shiva was not invited. Unable to bear the disrespect towards her
beloved husband, Sati sacrificed herself in the flames of her own agony.
The news of Sati's sacrifice shook the heavens, and
grief-stricken Shiva, overwhelmed by fury and sorrow, unleashed the cataclysmic
dance of destruction known as the Rudra Thaandavam. His dance, performed near
the confluence of the Cauvery and Mani rivers, reverberated across the cosmos,
threatening to unravel the fabric of existence itself. This place is believed
to be near South East of Seerkazhi.
As Shiva danced, each strand of his hair, charged with
divine energy, fell to the earth below. Miraculously, from each fallen hair, a
new form of Shiva emerged, multiplying his wrath. Sensing the imminent chaos
that could ensue from Shiva's unbridled fury, Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the
universe, intervened.
Appearing before Shiva as Paramapatha Nathan, Vishnu sought
to pacify the raging deity. Moved by Vishnu's presence, Shiva beseeched him to
manifest in multiple forms, mirroring his own multitude. Vishnu, the
compassionate one, acquiesced to Shiva's plea.
Thus, in the sacred precincts of Thirunangur, Vishnu
revealed himself in eleven divine forms, drawing from the essence of eleven
different Divya Desams (sacred abodes) that dotted the landscape. These
manifestations of Vishnu, born from the amalgamation of his divine grace and
Shiva's fervent appeal, became the sanctuaries known as the Thirunangur Divya
Desams.
Each temple stood as a testament to the harmonious interplay
of creation and preservation, symbolizing the eternal bond between Shiva and
Vishnu, the dance of destruction and the grace of salvation. And thus, the
story of the origin of the eleven Vishnu temples at Nangur became enshrined in
the annals of divine lore, a testament to the enduring power of devotion and
the boundless compassion of the divine.