Perumal also Thirumal is the Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 deity

Deity

A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....

 most popular amongst Tamil

Tamil people

Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...

s of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 state in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and in the Tamil diaspora

Tamil diaspora

The Tamil diaspora is a demographic group of Tamil people of Indian or Sri Lankan origin who have settled in other parts of the world. Significant Tamil diaspora populations can be found in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Middle East, Réunion, South Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles, Fiji, Guyana,...

. Perumal is also another name of Lord Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

.

Early mention in Sangam literature

Tamil Sangam literature

Sangam literature

Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years c. 600 BCE to 300 CE. This collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets, some 102 of whom remain anonymous The period during which these poems were composed is commonly referred to as the Sangam...

 (200BCE to 500CE) mentions mAyOn, or the dark one, as the supreme deity who creates, sustains and destroys the universe. Paripadal 3 describes the glory of Thirumal in the most superlative terms.

Paripadal(3)by kaduvan iLaveyinanAr:

"thIyinuL theRal nI poovinuL naaRRa nI kallinuL maNiyu nI sollinuL vaaymai aRaththinuL anbu nI maRaththinuL mainthu nI
vEthaththu maRai nI boothaththu madhalu nI vencudar oLiyu nI thingaLuL aLiyu nI anaiththu nI anaiththinut poruLu nI"

The last line clearly states that Thirumal (Lord Vishnu) is the supreme deity who is the inner controller (antaryamin) of the entire universe. This is one of the Lord's glory (mentioned in Vedas) later propounded by Alwars in Prabhandams and Sri Vaishnavaite Acharyas in various commentaries.

Popularity in the Tamil Nadu

Thirumal/Perumal is the only deity who has enjoyed the status of Paramporul during the Sangam age. The reference to "Mukkol Bhagavars" in Sangam literature clearly indicates that only Vaishnavaite saints holding Tridanda existed during the sangam age and Thirumal was glorified as the supreme deity whose divine lotus feet can burn all our evils and grant Moksha (Maru Piraparukkum Maasil Sevadi). During the post-Sangam period, his worship was further glorified by the alwars and great Vaishnavite acharyas.

Perumal Temples

• 108 Divyadesams in India

Prominent among these Divyadesams are

• Sri Varadaraja perumal temple in Kanchipuram, India
• Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in SriRangam, India
• Thirumaliruncholai (Kallazhagar temple), Madurai
• Thiruvengadam (Sri Balaji Temple), Tirumala, Tirupathi
• Thiru Narayanapuram (Selva pillai), Melkote
• Aadhi Thiruvellarai (Pundarikatchan), Thiruvellarai

Prominent in other parts of the world are

• Perumal temple in Jaffna
  Jaffna
  Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
  
  , Sri Lanka
• Sri Venkateswara perumal temple in the USA

External links

• Sri Vaishnava Home page
• Perumal - Directory on Sri vaishnava sites