Divyadesam36
After the churning of the ocean, in order not to give amritam to the Asuras, Vishnu took the form of Mohini and started distributing the amritam to the Devas first. When the Asuras realised what was happening, one of the asuras (son of Simhika, an asura woman) disguised himself as a Deva and sat with the Devas waiting for amritam.
Suryan and Chandran noticed this and indicated this to Mohini, who tapped the ladle on her pot. As a result, the asura’s head and body split, becoming Rahu and Ketu. Since Suryan and Chandran were the cause of this, till date it is considered that Rahu extracts revenge on them by causing eclipses!
Suryan and Chandran were afraid, and so they hid in two tanks they created – the Surya Pushkarini and Chandra Pushkarini – which are the tanks of this temple and the nearby Tirumanikoodam temple. Vishnu came here and blessed Suryan.
As part of the Dasavataram, in the time of Varaha Avataram, Vishnu was leaving Vaikuntam to slay Hiranyakshan at Kalakeyapuram. But Sridevi and Bhudevi were worried about being separated from Him. So the Lord lay down here in sayana kolam on Adiseshan, had the Goddesses sit by His side, and told them to be here while he took care of Hiranyakshan.
This is the only temple among the 11 Nangur temples, where Perumal is in sayana kolam. This is also the only Perumal temple in Tamil Nadu to have the title “ambalam”, which means both stage and temple (in Malayalam).
Tetri refers to a raised place. The temple is located on a raised level, like a mound, and hence this place is called Tirutetriambalam. Also, normally Perumal in sayana kolam is only seen with two arms. At this temple, He is seen with four arms.