Sthala Purana refers to the historical significance and the holiness of the region in which it is situated. Usually, the term “Sthala Purana refers to the history of the temple and it covers the origin and developments of the temple, and about its repairs, maintenance and renovation works etc.”
A Sthala Purana offers detailed information regarding the events associated with a sacred place, which is usually a temple.
The details about Sthala Puranas of the temples would be told by the priests to the devotees, and sometimes the details about the history of the temples would also be preserved in ancient palm leaf manuscripts, stone inscriptions and even in the form of paintings. At present, we could get enormous details about the Sthala Puranas of the temples on the spiritual websites which is derived from the Internet. Some Sthala Puranas quote that a temple was arisen in a particular place, either in the form of self-manifestation, or it might have been formed miraculously due the will of the god. They may also explain the names of the kings or the devotees who built the temple. The various forms of temple rituals would also be mentioned.
Vaishnava Sthala Puranas are primarily associated with the Sri Vaishnava tradition, about the Alvars, their wonderful txt, Naalayira Divya Prabandham and about the 108 Divya Shetrams of Lord Vishnu.
Shaiva Sthala Puranas, would contain the details about the 275 popular Shiva temples, the significance of Nayanmars and about the Divine text Tevaram.
Examples
- The Sthala Purana of the Alagiya Manavalan Perumal temple in Uraiyur describes the history of the temple.
- The Sthala Purana of the Srivilliputhur Andal temple describes the details about Ma Andal Thayar.
- The Sthala Purana of Thiruvottiyur Vadivudaiyamman Temple tells about the sweetness of Ma Vadivudaiyamman and about Lord Thyagarajar.
- The Sthala Purana of Mumba devi Temple, tells about the significance of Ma Mumba Devi.
- The Sthala Purana of the Sthalasayana Perumal temple at Mamallapuram tells the story of the flower offering to Lord Vishnu.
- The Sthala Purana of the city of Kumbhakonam indicates the details about the surrounding temples situated at Kumbakonam, especially about the Kumbeswarar Temple and the world famous Sri Mahamaham Tank.
- The Sthala Purana of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai makes a mention that the temple was built by the divine architect Viswakarma as per the instructions given by Lord Sri Indra Bhagavan.
- The Sthala Purana of the Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Vari Devasthanam Temple in Simhachalam mentions about the importance of Sri Bhakta Prahalada, about his Vishnu Bhakti and about Lord Narasimha who is in the form of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha.
“OM”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR