Wender·Vista
108 Divya desams
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIndia
across South India, with one point in Nepal

108 Divya desams

— one hundred and eight houses of one god.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The 108 holy abodes of Vishnu praised in song by the twelve Alvar saints between roughly the sixth and ninth centuries. One hundred and five sit in India and one in Nepal; the remaining two are described in the hymns as celestial rather than earthly. Pilgrims who complete the full circuit are honoured in their communities long afterward.

from the studio
108 Divya desams
— bring it home

108 Divya desams, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about 108 Divya desams

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The 108 Divya Desams are the holy abodes of Vishnu praised in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, the Tamil hymnal compiled from the works of the twelve Alvar saints who lived between roughly the sixth and ninth centuries CE. Of the 108, one hundred and five lie within India, concentrated in Tamil Nadu and spread across Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat. One, Muktinath, sits in the Mustang district of Nepal at about 3,710 metres. The remaining two, Tirupparkadal and Paramapadam, are described in the hymns as celestial rather than earthly sites.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the stone

The largest of the Divya Desams is Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam in Tamil Nadu, which covers about 63 hectares and ranks as the largest functioning Hindu temple complex in the world. Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh draws between 50,000 and 100,000 pilgrims a day, more than any other place of worship on earth. The 108 range in style from early Pallava rock-cut shrines to the soaring Vijayanagara gopurams of the deep south and the high-altitude pagoda of Muktinath in the Himalaya.

— the visit

Completing all 108 Divya Desams is a recognised act of religious merit in the Sri Vaishnava tradition. Most pilgrims travel in stages over months or years by road and rail, often beginning at Srirangam and circling south through Tamil Nadu before crossing into Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and the northern sites. Muktinath in Nepal is reached by flight to Pokhara and Jomsom and then jeep or trek up the Kali Gandaki valley. Photography is generally not permitted inside the inner sanctums of the temples.

— informed by Divya Desam temple list
— where
India · Pan-India (105) with Muktinath in Nepal (1) and two celestial
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam
Vaishnavite temple
480 km N
Tirumala Venkateswara Temple
hill temple
320 km NE
Kanchipuram
temple city
500 km SW
Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram
Vaishnavite temple
2400 km N
Muktinath, Nepal
Himalayan shrine
N
108 Divya desams
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam
Tirumala Venkateswara Temple
Kanchipuram
Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram
Muktinath, Nepal
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about 108 Divya desams — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The 108 holy abodes of Vishnu praised in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, the Tamil hymnal of the twelve Alvar saints who lived between roughly the sixth and ninth centuries CE. They are central to Sri Vaishnava tradition.

One hundred and five Divya Desams lie in India, most heavily concentrated in Tamil Nadu. One, Muktinath, is in Nepal. The remaining two, Tirupparkadal and Paramapadam, are described as celestial abodes, not earthly sites.

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, covering about 63 hectares (156 acres), the largest functioning Hindu temple complex in the world and the foremost of the 108 in the Sri Vaishnava tradition.

Twelve Tamil poet-saints devoted to Vishnu, who lived between roughly the sixth and ninth centuries CE. Their hymns were compiled by Nathamuni into the 4,000-verse Naalayira Divya Prabandham.

The only Divya Desam outside India, located in Nepal's Mustang district at about 3,710 metres in the Himalaya. It is sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists and reached on foot or by jeep up the Kali Gandaki valley.

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh receives between 50,000 and 100,000 pilgrims daily, more than any other place of worship in the world. Annual visitation passes 24 million in most years.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well as a gift for families with roots in Tamil Nadu and for those who have completed the Divya Desam yatra. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio ships well overseas.

The warm gold and jewel palette settles into traditional South Asian interiors, Indo-modern rooms with carved teak and brass, and jewel-tone maximalist spaces with deep reds and saffron walls.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads cleanly; a 4-tile Mural carries more presence; a 9-tile Mural is the scale for an open-plan room. Above a console or shrine, a Medium sits well.

Yes. For wet rooms and backsplashes order the Dura Satin finish, scratch-resistant with a soft sheen. The Matte finish works equally well where no shine is wanted. The glossy finish is meant for dry walls.

A soft microfibre cloth and water, no chemical cleaners. The colour lives in the surface and a thin glossy finish protects it, so light dust wipes off cleanly without need for polish or sealant.

Yes. Every WenderVista painting is original to our single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, made by Reid Wender for this place and not licensed from any other artist or library.

— if this one stayed with you

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