Ulagalantha Perumal Temple

The Ulagalantha Perumal Temple, also called the Trivikrama Temple, stands at Tirukkoyilur in the Tamil country. Vishnu is worshipped here as Ulagalantha Perumal, the lord who measured the world, with Lakshmi as Poongothai. The shrine is among the 108 Divya Desams glorified by the Alvar saints.

First raised by the medieval Cholas, it was later enriched by the kings of Vijayanagara and the Nayaks of Madurai. Its eleven-tiered tower rises fifty-nine metres. The image, carved from tharu wood with one foot raised, depicts Vamana as the giant Trivikrama, who humbled the Asura king Bali by striding over the three worlds.

The temple is revered as the place where the first three Alvars, Poigai, Bhoothath and Pey, attained salvation. Tradition holds that the shrine was originally dedicated to Krishna as Gopalan, from which Tirukkoyilur takes its name.