Nilaathingal Thundam is traditionally enumerated as number 70 among the 108 Divya Desams — the sacred abodes of Sri Maha Vishnu sung by the Alvars.
Another of the divya desams of the Vaishnavites is the shrine of Nilathingal Thunda Perumal.This shrine of Lord Vishnu is to be seen in one of the prakaras of Ekambaresvara temple in Kanchipuram. The peculiar feature of this sannidhi is that it is inside the main Shiva Temple and even today it is a Saivite priest who does the worship in this vaishnavite shrine. The Lord, here, is known as Nilathingal Thundathan or Chandrachooda Perumal. God is seen in a standing posture, facing west. The Lord is under Purushasukta Vimana. There is no Utsavar as such, there are no utsavams in this temple.
It is said that during the churning of the milky ocean, Lord Vishnu was oppressed by the scorching heat of Halahala poison. At that time, the cold lunar rays gave him some comfort. The Lord is therefore called Nilathingal Thunda Perumal, Nila meaning the moon.
Yet another story is that Goddess Parvati for fun covered the eyes of Lord Shiva with Her hands. As the two eyes of Lord Shiva are considered to be the Sun and Moon, the whole world was plunged in darkness. Lord Shiva opened His third eye to illuminate the world. The Lord was angry with Parvati and asked Her to perform penance, on the earth, to atone for Her unthinking act. Accordingly, Goddess Parvati came to Kanchipuram to do penance. She came as a child to Badarikasrama. Katyayana rishi brought Her up and gave Her,the name Katyayani. As the child grew up, the rishi was aware of the purpose of Her
Sri Nilathingal Thundathan Perumal Temple 83
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