Sri Neelamega Perumal Temple

Overview

The Sri Neelamega Perumal Temple is located in Devprayag, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. This temple is also called by the names Thirukkandam, Devprayag and Kadinagar and also revered as one of the 108 Divya Desam temples, dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

About the Temple

The temple has been glorified in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, a Vaishnava canon, and mangalaasanam (devotional songs) was sang by Periyazhwar.This is a sacred place where the heavenly rivers namely river Alaknandha and river Bhagirathi join together and hence it is called as Devprayag, the event of merging of two rivers. And the spot where the two rivers mingle with each other, is said to be the site where Lord Neelamega Perumal was emanated. Devprayag is surround by three holy peaks namely Giddhanchal Parvat, Dashrathanchal Parvat, and Narsinghancal Parvat, where Raghunnath Ji temple is located just beside the Giddhanchal Parvat. The idol of Lord Raghunath was said to be installed near this shrine by Adi Shankara, was a philosopher and theologian from India who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta (an ancient Hindu tradition of scriptural exegesis and religious practice).There are also shrines of Lord Shiva, Lord Hanuman, Lord Badrinath, and Lord Kala Bhairavar at this sthalam.The Theertham (temple tank) of this temple is called Mangala theertham and Ganga Nadhi theertham. And the Vimanam (tower above the sanctum sanctorum) of the temple is called Mangala Vimanam.

About the Deity

The presiding deity of this temple is Lord Neelamega Perumal also called as Lord Purushothaman, found in a standing posture facing towards the east. And the goddess of the temple is Pundareega Valli Thayaar.

Legend and Stories

It is said that Lord Rama, Brahma deva, King Dasaratha, who are related to the epic Ramayana, have performed penance at this holy place. Perialwar says in his pasuram that the smoke from the Yagnas’ agni kunds, used to spread on both the shores of the river Ganga here. There is a witness to Lord Raghunatha here. Sri Rama after killing Ravana, came here and meditated to wash off the sin arising out of killing Ravana. As we proceed to the temple after a bath in the river, we can notice the Footprints of Sri Rama on a huge rock. We now get into the temple, whose staircase is quite steep and high. In the temple we see Sri Purushottama. We can also see the rock seat on which Sri Rama meditated. It has a backrest also. We also see a big Vata vruksham [banyan tree]. This tree is existing for many thousands of years.Lord here is in Chaturbhujam (4 hands), Nindra tirukkolam (standing posture) and is facing his Thirumugam (face) towards the east direction. A bow and arrow of Sri Rama is kept near the vigraham. Prathyaksha darshanam was given to Bharadwaja Maharshi and Brahma. The Thayaar found in this kshetram is Pundareekavalli (Sri Vimala — Seetha thayaar). The garbhagriham also has vigraham of Badri Narayan. The utsava murthi is Sri Rama accompanied by Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman. The utsava murthis are kept in Ram Gaddi during important festival days.

Significance

The Neelamega Perumal Temple devotees Beliefs and Faith Fulfills Wishes, Prosperty, security,

Nearby Place To Visit

Lakhamandal Temple

• Kartik Swami Temple
• Dhari Devi Temple
• Surkanda Devi Temple
• Jwalapa Devi Temple
• Gopinath Temple
• Chandrabadani Devi Temple
• Mahasu Devata Temple

Accessibility

The nearest airport to reach Sri Neelamega Perumal temple is the Jolly Grant Airport near Dehradun, which is 116 km away. The nearest railway stations is at Rishikesh. The next nearest station is Haridwar railway junction, which is 24 km from Rishikesh. Devprayag lies on national highway NH58 that connects Delhi with Badrinath and Mana Pass in Uttarakhand near Indo-Tibet border. Rishikesh is the major starting point for road journey to Devprayag and regular buses operate from Rishikesh bus station to the temple.

Temple Address