Where the First Āzhvārs Met
Tirukkōvilūr (also Tirukkoyilur, in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu) is the Divya Desam associated with the legendary meeting of the three earliest Āzhvārs — Poygai Āzhvār, Bhūtatāzhvār, and Peyāzhvār. According to tradition, during a dark rainy night, all three arrived separately at the same tiny shelter in Tirukkōvilūr and composed their three antādis in sequence, before the Lord Himself appeared in the crowded space.
The Deity
The presiding deity at Tirukkōvilūr is Trivikrama Perumāḷ (the Lord in His Vāmana-Trivikrama avatāra form, who measured the three worlds in three steps). The deity is celebrated in the Āzhvār pasurams, particularly in the compositions of Poygai, Bhūtat, and Pey Āzhvārs.
Significance of the Meeting
The Tirukkōvilūr gathering is one of the foundational stories of the Sri Vaishnava tradition. It establishes: (1) the spontaneous, grace-driven nature of the Āzhvār experience — the three arrived independently, drawn by the same divine impulse; (2) the power of saintly association (satsaṅga) — each Āzhvār's composition intensified the others' devotion; (3) the Lord's direct presence responding to devotion — He appeared in the narrow space when all three devotees were together.
Pilgrimage Value
For Sri Vaishnavas, Tirukkōvilūr carries the additional dimension of being a place where the very tradition of the Āzhvārs begins — a genesis-point of the Divya Prabandham. Pilgrimage here honors the three earliest Āzhvārs and the divine grace that brought them together.