Sri Neelamega Perumal Temple Raghunath ji is one of the famous Lord Vishnu temples. It is Situated in Deva Prayag which is in Tehri Garhwal District of Uttarkhand.
This temple is one of the 108 divya desams temples .
This temple is also called as Thirukandam.
Thirukandam is also called as “Kadinagar” and “Devaprayag”.
About Devaprayag
Devaprayag is situated aroud 1700 feet from the sea level. Devaprayag is the place wherfe rivers Alaknanda and Bagirathi meet.
Thus this place of Confluence is considered very Sacred and bath here in ganga is considered purifying.
About Sri Neelamega Perumal Temple Diety
The presiding deity of this temple is Lord Neelamega Perumal .
Lord Neelamangala Perumal is also called as Lord Purushothaman. He is in a standing posture facing towards the east.
And the goddess of the temple is Pundareega Valli Thayaar.
Sri Neelamega Perumal Temple Legend
It is said that performing Annadhanam at the temple brings good fortune.
A king by name of Sweth Kethu did a number of good deeds. After his death, his soul was possessed by an insatiable hunger.
Sweth Kethu approached Lord Bharma to solve his problem of hunger.
Lord Brahma told Swetha kethu that his suffering was because he did not perform any Annadhanam.
Sweth Kethu at the advice of Lord Brahma approached Agasthya Muni.
Agasthiya Muni told him to gift his punyams in the form of a gold ring. This gold ring was sold by Agasthiya Muni and Annadhanam was performed at Deva Prayag.
This Sorted the problem of Sweth Kethu.
This is also the place where Pandavas bathed and prayed to the Lord to get rid of their sins of killing their relatives in the war.
It is said that the banyan tree located in the temple here would survive the pralaya at the end of kali yuga.
It said that Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma reside inside this tree. The Perumal would swallow the entire universe and as baby lie down on one of the leaves of this tree as Vadapathra Sayee and save the entire universe from destruction.
The king of this place came and workshiped Lord Purushothaman guidance.
Lord Perumal appeared in the dream of the king and asked him to get Periyazhwar here.
And accordingly, Priyazhawar came and praise this perumal by his song.
This brought rain to this region. The Perumal on whom Periyazhwar sung Mangalasasanam is called Raghunathji.
It is said that Rama, Dasaratha, Brahma did Penance here. Raghunathji is said to have been consecrated by Adi Shankara. A beautiful Hanuman is seen behind the temple.
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How to reach Shri Neelamega Perumal Raghunath ji Temple?
Google Maps link: https://g.co/kgs/hv7NGBN
By Air
- Nearest Airport: Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun (Approx. 90 km from Devprayag).
- From the Airport:
- Hire a taxi directly to Devprayag.
- Alternatively, take a bus or shared taxi to Rishikesh and then to Devprayag.
By Train
- Nearest Railway Stations:
- Rishikesh Railway Station (Approx. 74 km away).
- Haridwar Railway Station (Approx. 94 km away, better connectivity).
- From the Station:
- Hire a cab.
- Take a bus or shared jeep towards Devprayag.
By Road
- From Delhi:
- Distance: ~294 km (via NH 334).
- Drive: About 8-9 hours.
- From Rishikesh:
- Distance: ~74 km.
- Drive: 2-3 hours.
- Public Transport:
- Regular buses and shared taxis are available from Rishikesh, Haridwar, or Dehradun.
