Sri Thirumohoor Kalamegaperumal Temple – Melur

 

Sri Thirumohoor Kalamegaperumal Temple is located near Melur in Madurai district of Tamilnadu State.

It is one of the 108 Divyadesam temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu

Here Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Kalamega Perumal and his consort is Mohanavalli Thayar.

This temple is known as Mohanapuram and Mohanakshetram

The temple is glorified in the verses of Nalayira Divya Prabandham by Tirumangai Alvar and Nammalvar.

Out of the eighteen Puranas, Brahmanda Purana and Matsya Purana make specific mention about Thirumohur

As per Hindu legend, the presiding deity is believed to have appeared as the divine enchantress Mohini to allure the asuras to support the devas, the celestial deities.

This temple was built in Dravidian style of architecture.

This temple has 5 tier Rajagopuram

This temple was built 2000 years ago

There are four prakarams  inside the temple

The main deity (mulavar) is Kalamegaperumal in panchayudha kolam and in a standing posture, Thayar - Mogavalli, Utsavar - Thirumogur Aabthan, Theertham - Kshirabtha Pushkarini, Thala Viruksham - Vilvam and Vimanam - Kethaki Vimanam. The Prathanasayana appearance of the main deity is not found anywhere in 108 Divya Desam temples.

The sanctum houses the shrine of Kalamegha and also has the images of Bhudevi and Sridevi. The major feature is that the unlike other temples, the goddesses do not touch the feet of the presiding deity. A separate shrine accommodates the image of Anantasayi Vishnu. The consort of the presiding deity, Tirumohurvalli (also called Mohanavalli) is housed in a separate shrine.

To the front of the image of the Sudarshana Chakra stands the deity Chakratalvar, and present on the back is Narasingha Perumal, situated amidst 48 apsaras. Inside the six circles that are present, there are 16 weapons with 154 letters present. The letters are believed to be text from the Bhijakshara Mantra. Perumal is depicted with 16 hands and three eyes glowing like fire.

As per Hindu legend, once, an asura by the name of Bhasmasura did penance. Shiva granted him a boon that when he touched anyone's head, that person would turn to ashes. Bhasmasura wanted to test the boon and wanted to touch the head of Shiva. A bewildered Shiva ran to seek the favour of Vishnu, who took the form of the damsel Mohini. She lured Bhasmasura with her dance and made Bhasmasura touch his head with his hand. The asura Bhasmasura was thus defeated. The place where Mohini lured (meaning Moham) came to be known as Thirumohur.

 

According to another legend, there was a war between the devas (gods) and asuras (demons) before the churning of the Ocean of Milk for amrita (elixir of eternal life). The asuras were able to overpower the devas, and thus the devas sought Vishnu's help. During the Samudra Manthanam, Vishnu appeared as Mohini to lure the asuras and denied them the elixir, allowing the devas to gain the upper hand. It is believed that Thirumohur is the place of the event.

The Vaikasi Brahmotsavam, a ten-day celebration held in May and June, is the main event. The remaining festivals are Gajendra Moksham on Masi Poornima day in February and March, two days of Panguni Thirukalyanam in March and April, Vaikunta Ekadashi in December and January, and Krishna Jayanthi.

 

Timings

7.00 am to 12.00 noon

4.00 pm to 8.00 pm

How to reach the Temple

11 km from Madurai