Sri Govardhana Perumal Temple (Mathura/Thirumadurai)

Sri Govardhana Perumal Temple at Mathura (known as Thirumadurai in the Sri Vaishnava tradition — "Thiru" meaning sacred, "Madurai" being the Tamil rendering of Mathura) is a Vada Nadu Divya Desam of immense significance as the janmabhoomi (birthplace) of Lord Krishna — the eighth avatar of Vishnu. The ancient city of Mathura on the banks of the Yamuna has been the epicentre of Krishna worship since time immemorial. Nammalvar sang of Krishna's Mathura leelas in Thiruvaimozhi with ecstatic devotion, and Periyazhwar — the father of Andal — celebrated the infant Krishna's exploits in his famous Periyazhwar Thirumozhi, creating the beloved "Thiruppavai" tradition of imagining and participating in the Lord's childhood. Thirumangai Azhwar too praised the Lord of Mathura. The Sri Vaishnava identification of Mathura as "Thirumadurai" reflects the Tamil Azhwars' deep personal connection to Krishna — they did not merely catalogue a distant North Indian site but claimed it as their own, singing of it with the same intimacy as they sang of Srirangam.