 Thirunindravoor is one of the important 108 Vaishnavite pilgrimage centres - divya desa - that have the distinction of being sung by Alwars - mangala saasanam as it is known. Thirunindravoor is the 64th divya desa. The presiding deity is known as Bhaktavatsala Perumal. The Lord’s consort is known by the name ‘Ennai petra thaayar.’ (Mother who bore me.) Thirunindravoor derives its name from Her and therefore is considered to be an important
sthala.
The temple
Thirunindravoor is in the Chennai - Arakkonam road. It is well connected both by the rail and road transport systems. The temple is within 1 KM from the railway station and the bus stand. One can find rows of houses built in ‘those days’ with tiled roofs and raised platforms close to the doorsteps, with a touch of rustic flavour still retaining its healthy village look. The area around the temple wears that distinct ‘old look’ especially.
Neatly planted cotton trees - bombax malabaricum - in straight rows with uniform distance in between abound the temple complex. There is a four-pillared mandapam beyond this. A large number of well-sculpted icons adorn the Raja gopuram of the temple. It pains one to see this precious treasure from the past is not maintained properly. Deterioration has started setting in and many of the icons on the raja gopuram are dilapidated.
In search of His Consort
There is an impressively wide prakara inside the temple punctuated by several mandapams. Lord Bhaktavatsala Perumal’s image stands 10’ tall in the sanctum sanctorum. The Vaishnavites attribute four different names according to the posture of the main deity - nindraan, irundhaan, kidandhaan and nadandhaan. The Lord in his standing, sitting, lying and walking postures. The Lord in Thirunindravoor falls under the nindraan category, in the standing posture. He is flanked by His Consorts Bhoodevi and Sridevi. The utsava moorthy made of aimpon - an alloy of five metals - known as Patharavi Perumal stands in front.
 The presiding deity, Bhaktavatsala Perumal, according to the legend, came here in search of his Consort. It is said that the Lord was in His ‘yoga nidhra’ when His Consort was affected by pranaya dhosha. She decided to go on a penance to cleanse the effects of the ‘dhosha’. Since the Lord was in ‘yoga nidhra’ she did not wake him up from is ‘all knowing sleep’ and came down to the earth without informing him of her decision to perform a penance in the world. She chose Thirunindravoor as the place for her penance. Since ‘Thiru’ - Lakshmi - came here and stood in penance this place is known as
Thiru-nindra-oor.
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As the very Mahalakshmi came to this place for her penance, it soon was blessed with all bounties and became prosperous. And there in a ‘vrndhavan’ (garden of Tulasi plant) with a pond full of lotus flowers, the Divine Mother continued her penance for a long time. In the meanwhile, the Lord woke up from his ‘yoga
nidhra’ and looked for His Consort. He could not find her. Varuna and the Lord of oceans - Samudra raja - went around all the three worlds to find Her and they were so happy to find the Divine Mother in
Thirunindravoor. Samudra Rajan, on seeing Her was delighted and addressed her as ‘Ennai petra
thaaye’ (O Mother who bore me!) since She is the Mother of the entire Universe. And thus the pirattiyaar is known as ‘Ennai petra
thaayar.’
The Lord came to know that the Divine Mother was found in Thirunindravoor and He quickly reached there. The people of Thirunindravoor stood in awe at the handsome person who walked their streets and thought that this must be a divine personality. Samudra Rajan understood that the Lord has come in search of his consort, took Her hand and placed it in His hands. A ‘vimana’ (celestial plane) arrived there to take the Divine couple to their abode. The Lord stepped into it when Samudra Rajan submitted to Him to remain in Thirunindravoor to bless the people. The Lord remains in His Srinivasa Vimana - the ‘gopuram’ of the sanctum sanctorum, accordingly.
 On the right side there is a ‘sannadhi’ for ‘Ennai petra thaayar’ and in the ‘prakara,’ there are ‘sannadhis’ of Sudarsanam, Adisesha and Andal. ‘Parijatham’ is the ‘sthala vrksha’ in
Thirunindravoor.
Varuna Theertha, the temple tank
The temple tank is known as Varuna pushkarini. The story is that there was a wise man by name Purandhan who decided to undertake a journey all over the country to have his holy dip in all the holy rivers. But on the way, he fell in love with a damsel and lost sight of the purpose. He repented for what happened and decided to acquit himself of it. An aerial voice told him that if he had his holy dip in the ‘Varuna pushkarini’ in Thirunindravoor and worshipped Lord Bhaktavatsala there, he would be absolved of his sin. Purandhan did so and received His divine grace. It is considered that the ideal time for a holy dip in the ‘Varuna pushkarini’ is in the Tamil month of Panguni (beginning from middle of
March and ending in middle of April) on ‘Krishnapaksha dhwadasi’ with the Thiruvona star on the ascendant.
The temple is around 1500 years old. The ‘moorthy’ of a temple, which is that old is and worshipped for such a long time, is believed to bestow all prosperity to His devotees. Let Him bless us all.
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