Thirukkavittalam

Thirukkavittalam is a Divya Desam in Nagapattinam district, near the Kaveri's southern bank, associated with one of the most beloved episodes in the Bhagavata Purana — the Gajendra Moksha, the liberation of the elephant. The presiding deity Gajendra Moksha Perumal is shown rescuing the king of elephants (Gajendra) from a crocodile that had grabbed his foot in a sacred lake. Thirumangai Alvar sang Mangalasasanam here in the Periya Tirumozhi. The iconography at this temple is particularly vivid: Vishnu is depicted in the running posture, having leapt from Vaikunta without even putting on his ornaments, Sudarshana Chakra raised, rushing to his devotee. The goddess is Komalavalli Thayar. The Chola-style architecture is well maintained and the sacred tank adjacent to the temple complex is considered especially potent for devotees seeking liberation from past karma.

Gajendra, king of elephants, was bathing with his herd in a sacred lake when a powerful crocodile seized his leg. For a thousand years Gajendra struggled, then called out simply: 'Adimoolame!' — O primordial Lord! Vishnu, hearing the pure surrender, descended instantly on Garuda, sliced the crocodile's jaw with the Sudarshana Chakra, and lifted Gajendra — adorning him with a garland from his own chest. The crocodile, revealed as a cursed gandharva, was also released.