Veerabhadrar

Lord Veerabhadra is one of the Shiva Ganas. He is considered to be leader of Shiva Ganas. Shiva Ganas along with Bhoot Ganas are the attendants of Lord Shiva. Nandi is Shiva’s primary Gana as well as his mount (vaahan). They are supposed to be residing in Chothonic and Liminal locations such as cemeteries, burial grounds and cremation grounds. They also attend Lord Shiva at Kailash Parvat.

Lord Veerabhadra is also referred as Veerabhadra Swamy. He originated from the lock of hair thrown on the ground by Lord Shiva on hearing the death of his wife Sati (Dakshayani) by self immolation at the yagna of Daksha. Rudra kali was born along with Veerabhadra who also helped in the destruction of yaagshala and Daksha by assuming the form of Bhadrakali. Thus Veerabhadra is the manifestation of Lord Shiva’s anger i.e. we can say human form of Shiva’s anger. Eventually Veerabhadra destroyed Daksha’s yagnya and some devas along with him. The destruction of Daksha-yagnya led to the formation of shakti peethas.

Kottiyoor in north Kerala is considered to be the place where Daksha yagnya was performed. It is a hilly region which is very attractive. A 27 day huge religious pilgrimage is held at this place in memory of the immolation of Sati Devi. The rites and rituals for this ceremony were classified by Shankaracharya.

Veerabhadra is worshiped mainly by the Veerashaiva cult, Lingayats, Pancha acharyas from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. A temple dedicated to him is situated near Rishikesh in Uttar kashi. The notable temples of Veerabhadra are located at 1) Jejuri in Maharashtra 2) Vettanviduthi at Pudukottai district in Tamil Nadu 3) Vilanguppam at Mittur village in Vellore district in Tamil Nadu 4) Aghora Veerabhadra Swamy temple at Hanumanthapuram in Chengalpeth district of Tamil Nadu 5) Swetharanyeswarar temple at Thiruvenkadu in Tamil Nadu (this is one of the Navagraha sthalas notable for Budha) 6) Pasumbalur near Perambalur district in Tamil Nadu.

The worship of Veerabhadra is also found in Malaysia as well as Ceylon.