Sri Sashvatha Deepaya Narayana Perumal Temple (Thirunangur)

The deity's name (Sashvatha Deepa, "the eternal lamp") marks this out among the eleven Thirunangur shrines as Vishnu's form as an everlasting guiding light, one that never dims or is extinguished. Twelve pasurams glorify this shrine specifically, a relatively substantial share of the Thirunangur cluster's total verses, and the temple's tower carries the name Pranava Vimanam (pranava referring to the sacred syllable Om) tying the shrine's architecture directly to the foundational sound of Vedantic tradition.

The popular local name, Thirumanimadakoil, describes the temple's own multi-storeyed (madam) construction, distinguishing it structurally as well as theologically from its Thirunangur neighbours.

Temple tradition places this temple among the eleven Thirunangur forms Vishnu took to pacify Shiva's tandava, the shared founding legend recounted on the neighbouring Thirunangur temple pages. This shrine's multi-storeyed structure gave rise to its popular name, Thirumanimadakoil, by which it continues to be known locally, distinct from its Sanskritised Divya Desam name.

The temple's Pranava Vimanam and multi-storeyed (madam) construction are its most distinctive physical features among the eleven Thirunangur shrines, most of which are single-storeyed. The main shrine is raised on an elevated platform and reached by a flight of steps, with the deity facing east in the sanctum and Thayar worshipped in a separate shrine within the same precinct.

This temple shares in the Thirunangur cluster's Thai-month Thirumangai Alvar Mangalasasana Utsavam, when all eleven shrines' festival deities are brought together on Garuda mounts.

Daily worship at Thirunangur-cluster temples such as this one customarily follows a four-fold rhythm (an early Ushathkalam, a mid-morning Kalasanthi, an evening Sayarakshai, and a closing Ardha Jamam) though exact timings and the number of daily poojas can vary by temple and should be confirmed locally. Devotees ascend the flight of steps to the raised, multi-storeyed sanctum for darshan of the Sashvatha Deepa, the "eternal lamp" form of Narayana.