Adinatha Perumal Temple

Adinatha Perumal Temple is a Vishnu temple in Alwarthirunagari, Thoothukudi district, about 26 km from Tirunelveli on the banks of the Thamirabarani. Vishnu is worshipped as Adinathar and Lakshmi as Adinathanayaki. Counted among the 108 Divya Desams, it is also the most prominent of the nine Navatirupathi temples, and within that group it is linked to Jupiter. Tradition holds it as the birthplace of Nammalvar, regarded as the foremost of the twelve Alvars, who is said to have sat in silent meditation in a hollow of a tamarind tree here for as long as sixteen years.

A granite wall encloses the shrines, and the rajagopuram rises 95 ft. Inside are 48 composite pillars bearing sculptures, and paintings of scenes from the Ramayana. The standing image of Vishnu faces east, its feet buried in the earth. A tamarind tree in the precincts is believed to mark Nammalvar's birthplace. The main festivals are the ten-day Brahmotsavam in Chittirai (April–May) and Nammalvar's birth celebrations, with a Garudasevai shared by all nine Navatirupathi temples.