Azhagiya Singar / Vayalali Manavalan Temple

The temple at Thiruvali Thirunagari, in the Chola country, enshrines the Lord in two intimately linked sacred sites that tradition regards as a single Divya Desam. At Thiruvali the presiding deity is worshipped in his fierce, beautiful lion-man aspect as Azhagiya Singar (the comely Narasimha), while at the neighbouring Thirunagari he stands in serene grace as Vayalali Manavalan, the bridegroom-Lord amid the fertile paddy fields whose name the place itself carries. This twin abode holds a special place among the 108 Divya Desams as the birthplace and spiritual home of Thirumangai Alwar, the warrior-poet and last of the twelve Alwars, whose copious outpourings make up a large portion of the Naalayira Divya Prabandham. Tradition holds that it was here that the Lord drew Thirumangai to himself and transformed the chieftain Neelan into the great devotee Parakala, and the saint sang the glory of this his native soil with deep attachment. Kulasekara Alwar, the royal saint and author of the Perumal Tirumozhi, likewise consecrated the shrine in his hymns, so that the place is doubly hallowed in the divine corpus. Pilgrims revere Thiruvali Thirunagari both for the protective strength of Narasimha and for the tender, accessible presence of the Lord as the eternal bridegroom, and the abode remains inseparably bound, in the memory of the Srivaishnava community, to the life and conversion of Thirumangai Alwar.

Festivals

Thiruvali-Thirunagari, the twin sacred place celebrated as the birthplace of the Azhwar Thirumangai, traditionally observes an annual Brahmotsavam with grand processions of the utsava deity Azhagiya Singar around the temple streets. As one of the Nangur-region shrines associated with Thirumangai Azhwar, it shares in the great Garuda Sevai tradition, when the processional deities of the surrounding Divya Desams are taken out together on the Garuda vahana — a much-loved congregational festival in this cluster. Vaikunta Ekadasi is kept with special reverence, along with the recitation of the Nalayira Divya Prabandham hymns of the Azhwar who sang of this very place. The temple also traditionally observes Pavithrotsavam for ritual purification, the float festival (Theppotsavam) where facilities allow, and the seasonal Tamil-month observances common to Srivaishnava temples.

Location & Access

The temple stands at Thiruvali-Thirunagari in the Nangur cluster of the historic Chola Nadu, within the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, in the fertile delta country near Sirkazhi. It is reached from the nearby towns of Sirkazhi and Mayiladuthurai, with Nagapattinam and the wider Cauvery-delta region serving as the principal transport reference. Like most Vishnu temples it generally observes morning and evening darshan hours, remaining closed during the midday interval. Verify current darshan timings and travel details with the temple or official sources before visiting.