In Sanskrit – Divyam/ Divya is Divine and Kshetram/Kshetra - is a holy or sacred
place with a temple or a group of temples, along with its associated tank and
deities.
Sri Vaishnava Divya Kshetrams are those with Lord Sri Maha Vishnu and Sri
Mahalakshmi Thayar are the presiding deities. These sacred places of Sri Maha
Vishnu and his consorts abode are classified in many ways. We will see some of
them here
108 Divya Desams – (Divya Kshetram/ Sthalam/ Thirupathi) – These ancient temples have been visited and sung by the 12 Azhwars (except Nammazhwar who was graced by the deities vision in Azhwar Thirunagari where he stayed under the Tamarind tree) in the 4000 Divya Prabandham also known as Arulicheyal they have been given to us by the grace of the Azhwars. Each of these temples has a unique sthala Puranam – story about how the temple came into existence. These Divya Kshetrams are spread all over India and one is in Nepal. Of these the 1st Divya Desam is Srirangam – in Tamil Nadu known as Bhooloka Vaikuntam
Abhimana Sthalams – are those sacred temples of ancient times that are mentioned in various Ithihasas as Ramayana and Mahabharatha and sthala Puranas as told in Padma Purana, Vishnu Purana, Markandeya Purana etc to name some.
The 108 Divya Kshetrams are classified many ways
Geographical location - 106 Divya Desams India and Nepal.
Divya Kshetrams - Thirupparkadal and Vaikuntam are in Paramapadham and not reachable
during one’s lifetime.
| 1. Chozha Nattu Divya Kshetrams | 40 |
| 2. Nadu Nattu Divya Kshetrams | 2 |
| 3. Thondai Nattu Divya Kshetrams | 22 |
| 4. Pandya Nattu Divya Desams | 18 |
| 5. Malai Nattu Divya Desams | 13 |
| 6. Vada Nattu Divya Desams | 11 |
| 7. Vinnulaga Divya Desams | 2 |
| 1. Tamil Nadu | 84 |
| 2. Kerala | 11 |
| 3. Uttar Pradesh | 4 |
| 4. Uttarakhand | 3 |
| 5. Andhra Pradesh | 2 |
| 6. Gujarat | 1 |
| 7. Nepal | 1 |
| Divyadesams | |
|---|---|
| 1. KidanthaThirukkolam (Lying down Posture) | 27 |
| 2. VeetrirundhaThirukkolam (Sitting Position) | 21 |
| 3. NindraThirukkolam (Standing Position) | 60 |
| Divyadesams | |
|---|---|
| 1. Towards East direction | 79 |
| 2. Towards West direction | 19 |
| 3. Towards North direction | 3 |
| 4. Towards South direction | 7 |