Sonnavannam Seitha Perumal Temple

A temple cannot be without a legend and this too has a legend behind it. Thirumazhisai alvar was attending to this deity with an old servant. The servant being old could not function effectively, and the Alvar requested the deity to make him young. This was promptly done. The Pallava king, who was old, requested the Alvar to pray to make him also young. The Alvar refused saying his tongue would never intercede for mortals. The king got angry and ordered him to quit the city. When the Alvar moved away from the town, the deity too followed him. The king realised his folly and begged the Alvar to return. When the Alvar returned the Deity too came back on the request of the Alvar. Since the Deity did as he was told by the Alvar, he came to be called �Sonna Vannam Seitha Perumal�.

The Lord lies facing west, and Komalavalli is the goddess. Brahma performed an Yagam without his spouse Saraswati and she wild with anger took the form of a river-Vegavathi, rushed towards the Yagasala to destroy it. But Vishnu to stem the flood lay on the path. To the right is a sub shrine housing Rama. It is a very beautiful image. The main deity is in a lying pose resting his head on the left arm. It is unusual. As he returned to Kanchi in haste to follow Thirumazhisai Alvar, he lay down with the left arm supporting his head. Saraswati is seated near his leg.