Thiruvanpurushothamam

Thiruvanpurushothamam, the Purushottama Perumal Temple, is a small Vishnu shrine in Thirunangur village near Sirkazhi, with paddy fields around it. Vishnu is worshipped as Purushottaman and Lakshmi as Purushottama Nayagi. It is a Divya Desam and one of the eleven Thirunangur Tirupathis associated with Thirumangai Alvar. Like the others, it shares the legend of Vishnu taking eleven forms here to calm Shiva's dance; the eleven Rudras, Indra and the sage Upamanyu are believed to have worshipped here.

The temple has just one sanctum under a three-tiered vimana, where Purushottaman and his consort stand together with the festival images. A small hall leads to the sanctum, and a modern pillared hall runs from the shrine to the Garuda Mandapa. Local belief holds that fresh winds over the paddy fields before festival day promise a good harvest. The temple is open from 8 to 10 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m., and the Thai Garudasevai is its main festival.