Śatāri — The Blessed Crown of Bhagavān's Sacred Feet
Śatāri (also spelled Śaṭāri or Sātāri; Tamil: caṭāri) is the small sacred metal crown placed on a devotee's head by the temple arcaka at the conclusion of worship or darśana. Its name is connected in the tradition with Śaṭakopa/Nammāzhvār; it does not mean 'the hundred-eared one.' The śatāri bears the sacred imprint of Bhagavān's feet (Śrī-caraṇa) — typically two small foot-marks embossed on the inner surface — so that when the arcaka places the crown on the devotee's head, the devotee receives the literal, physical blessing of Bhagavān's feet upon their crown. This act is called śatāri-sevai or śatāri-prasādam, and is the most desired blessing of a temple visit for a Śrī Vaiṣṇava devotee.
The name Śatāri refers to Nammāzhvār (Śaṭakōpan/Māran), the greatest of the twelve Āzhvārs, born at Āzhvār Tirunagari (Kurukūr) and the composer of Tiruvāymozhi. In Śrī Vaiṣṇava theology, Nammāzhvār is identified with the feet of Bhagavān in the body-metaphor of the Divya Prabandham: if Bhagavān is the body, the Āzhvārs are the limbs, and Nammāzhvār — as the greatest, the foundation of the tradition — is identified with the sacred feet (śrī-pāda). The śatāri crown, bearing Bhagavān's feet-marks and named after the foot-Āzhvār, thus embodies a double blessing: the feet of Bhagavān and the grace of Nammāzhvār, simultaneously placed upon the devotee's head. In many temples, the śatāri is understood as the Āzhvār himself blessing the devotee through the medium of Bhagavān's caraṇa.
Receiving the Śatāri on the bowed head expresses humility, śeṣatva, and the desire to remain beneath Bhagavān's feet. Because it represents Nammāzhvār bearing the Lord's feet, the act unites Bhagavad-sambandha and Āzhvār-sambandha in a visible temple blessing. The theological meaning does not depend on locating the jīvātman anatomically in the head or on an unsupported brahma-randhra explanation.