Tirumangai Alwar mentions Senganan Chola King as instrumental in building the Tirunaraiyur Nachiyar Koil. Tirumangai also says that in addition to this Vishnu temple, this Chola king constructed seventy other Shiva temples too.
At a time when worshippers of Shiva and Vishnu were divided, enlightened rulers such as this Chola king brought their populace together through such secular acts that favored both these sets of devotees.
The Prabandham verses highlight not only the glories of God but also the good deeds of such rulers.
Periya Thirumozhi – The Fifty Sixth Set of Ten
1498. Devotees who wish to attain the feet of the Lord who swallowed the sky, the earth, the eight directions, the ocean & the mountains and who then slumbered on a Banyan leaf! Please go to Tirunaraiyur where honey-bees feast on the nectar of Champa flowers & then take rest on Cherry flowers and where the beautiful palaces of Senganan Cholan are located.
1499. Just like Shiva & Brahma, devotees who desire to attain the feet of the Lord who took the form of a fish (Matsya Avatar) during the deluge and who leapt from the waters to touch the very sky! Please go to Tirunaraiyur which is a part of the Chola kingdom where Bees buzz merrily and where the Cauvery river flings across gigantic logs of Agarwood & Sandalwood to the riverbanks.
1500. Devotees who wish to attain the feet of the Lord who is clothed in waters of the ocean, whose feet rests on the ground, whose shoulders are the eight directions and who is endless! Please go to Tirunaraiyur where the Chola king wielded the valorous sword to defeat his enemies in the battlefield and then fed them to the crows.
1501. Devotees who wish to attain the feet of the Lord who drenched himself in the blood of the fearsome Hiranyakasipu! Please go to Tirunaraiyur which belongs to the Chola king who used his horses to drive away the elephant horde of his enemies.
1502. Devotees who wish to become guests of the Lord who measured the three worlds with his feet as Vamana and who dispatched Hiranyakasipu to the nether worlds! Please go to Tirunaraiyur where the waters of the Cauvery deposit precious stones in its banks & which is ruled by the Chola king who is the master of the south and the north kingdoms.
1503. Devotees who wish to seek refuge of the Lord who created the three worlds and who took the three forms (of Shiva, Brahma & Vishnu)! Please go to Tirunaraiyur which is ruled by the Chola king who’s glittering Vel (spear) dispatched his enemies to eternal sleep.
1504. Devotees who wish to attain the feet of the Lord who suckled wicked Putana to death, who is the ruler of Dwaraka, who plays the flute while grazing his cows & who covets the bangles of cowherd lasses! Please go to Tirunaraiyur where Cauvery deposits precious stones gathered from foothills of mountain and which is ruled by the bow wielding Chola king.
1505. Devotees who wish to bear on their head the feet of the Lord who wedded Nappinnai and who as Parasurama beheaded the fearsome Kartavirya! Please go to Tirunaraiyur which is ruled by the Chola king who has eight shoulders, who chants the Rig Veda and who built seventy temples for Lord Shiva.
1506. Devotees who wish to listen to the praises of the Lord who wears a Tulasi garland, who slumbers in Srirangam, who is the beloved of Bhu-Devi, who is praised by the Rishis, who has thousand names and who is the husband of Nappinnai! Please go to Tirunaraiyur which is ruled by the Chola king who rode his chariot to the battlefield and who killed all the kings who were arrayed against him.
1507. These verses about the Lord who resides in Tirunaraiyur where Brahmins chant the four Vedas have been composed by Tirumangai. Those who chant these verses will not fear the messengers of Yama and instead, they will be dear to the celestials above.
Enjoy the mix of history & devotion at Tirunaraiyur. 😊
4000 Divya Prabandham 