day of the festival. The other Vaishnavite festivals like Krishna Janmashtami, Karthigai, Tamil New Year, Margazhi ten-day festival, Sankaranthi, Panguni Uthiram and Rohini Utsavam are celebrated. Religious significance The temple is revered in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th–9th century Sri Vaishnava canon, by Thirumangai Alvar in eleven hymns. The temple is classified as a Divya Desam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the compilation. He has mentioned about the devotees of Saranatha who are deeply immersed in Narayana. Divya Kavi Pillai Perumal Aiyangar in his Ashta Prabanda states that people should not waste their time glorifying wealthy men, but should laud the greatness of the almighty. This is the only Divya Desam where Vishnu is seen with five consorts. The temple is represented in five divine elements of Perumal, Nachiyar, Vimana, Tirtha and land and hence called Tirucherai. A Chola king named Satyakeerthi is believed to have worshiped the presiding deity for child birth and was blessed with a son. During the coronation of Rama, the avatar of Vishnu, Vibishana was presented the sacrosanct Sri Ranga Vimana. He was carrying it all the way to his kingdom of Lanka and midway, to rest, he placed the image on the banks of Kaveri. After performing his routine puja, he tried to lift the Vimana, but it could not be lifted. Mahavishnu appeared to him and said that he desired to stay as Ranganatha in the place, which went on to become Srirangam. Vishnu also desired to watch the Brahmotsavam at Tirucherai. The festivals of the temple are thus considered sacred. The temple is counted as one of the temples built on the banks of the river Kaveri. As per a local legend, the king of Thanjavur sent material through his minister Narcapapular to the Rajagopalaswamy Temple, Mannargudi, but the minister used the material to build the Thirucherai temple. The king discovered this and wanted to punish the minister. The minister is believed to have prayed to Tirucherai deity to save him from the punishment. But upon seeing the form of Mannargudi temple in this temple, the king relented. References External links Vishnu temples in Tiruvarur district Kaveri River