Pancha Aranya Sthalangal

There are 5 Shiva temples on the southern bank of river Kaveri which are collectively known as Pancha Aaranya (forest) Sthalangal. It is believed that if one visits all these temples in a single day (at the times mentioned in table below) that it is considered equivalent to having a darshan at Haridwar.

Now with all transportation available it has become easy to visit these places in a single day. We will try to give details of these temples in our blogs in future. At this time we list all these temples in table below.

Name of Place	Location	Name of Temple	Name of Forest (Vanam)	Sthalavruksha (Tree / Plant)	Name of Lord	Name of his Consort	Special Deity	Time of worship
Thirukkarugavur	Papanasam Taluka, Dist Tanjore, TN	Shri Mullai Vana Nathar	Jasmine	Jasmine	Mullai Vana Nathar	Karukatha-nayaki (Tamil) Garbha-Raksha-Ambigai (Sanskrit)	Karpaga Vinayagar	6 am
Avalivanallur	Papanasam Taluka, Dist Tanjore, TN	Shri Sakshi Nathar Temple	Trumpet flower tree	Trumpet flower	Sakshi Nathar	Soundarya-nayaki	Murugan	8 am
Haridwaramangalam	Haridwaramangalam	Shri Paathala Eshwarar	Sami tree	Sami tree	Pataleshwarar	Alangaravalli	Pataleshwarar	Noon
Alangudi	Alangudi	Shri Apath Sahayar Eshwarar	Silk Cotton tree	Silk Cotton tree	Apath Sahayar Eshwarar	Elavarkuzhali	Dakshina-moorthy	5.30 pm
Thirukkollambudhur	Nannilam, Taluka- Tanjore, TN	Shri Bilvavan Eshwarar temple	Bilva tree forest	Bilva tree forest	Bilvavaneshwarar	Soundarya-ambika	Natraj	8.30 pm

Saptha Vidangam

The word Vidangam means something which is not chiseled or created by hand. The whole Lingam i.e the base and the top elliptical portion are in one piece i.e. Swayambhoo. There are 7 temples in South India around Thanjavur which are together known as Saptha Vidanga Sthalam. In all these places the Linga is made of either of Emerald or Jade. The main deity in all these temples is Lord Shiva known as Thyagaraja. As legend goes, to beget a son, Lord Vishnu prayed on an idol (moorthy) of Somaskanda (Shiva, Parvati and Skanda together). As a result He got Manmada (Kaama) as his son. During this period he also prayed on a Vidanga. Later on Lord Bramha got the Somaskanda moorthy along with Vidanga from Lord Vishnu who in turn gave it to Lord Indra. King Muchukunda (who has a face of monkey) helped Indra in defeating the Asuras. Indra wished to give a gift to Muchukunda for the help rendered by him. Being a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva, Muchukunda knew about the Thyagaraja moorthy (Vidanga Lingam) and asked for the same from Indra. Indra did not want to part with the same. So he made 6 more identical Vidangas and placed them before King Muchukunda and asked him to choose the real one from the lot. The King prayed to Lord Shiva and identified the correct one. So Indra gave all the 7 Vidangas to King Muchukunda. He kept all these moorthys in 7 temples which are together known as Saptha Vidanga which are listed below. A separate Sannidhi (Gabhara) is made for Somaskanda moorthy and the Vidanga is kept there. There will be Nandi in front of Somaskanda moorthy. These temples were in existence even before the installation of Vidanga lingam.  All these temples are located along river Kaveri. At present it is believed that only 2 of the original Vidangas are left. Hence there is a strict timing for taking their Darshan. The 2 places are namely Thiruvarur and Thirunallar.

(Ref. Wikipedia for further details)

Temple	Vidangar Temple	Name of Lord	Name of Goddess	Location	Dance Pose	Meaning
Thyagarajar Temple	Vidhividangar	Valmikinadar	Kamalambikai	Thiruvarur	Ajaba Natanam	Dance without chanting, resembling the dance of Sri Thyagaraja resting on Lord Vishnu’s chest
Dharbaranyeswarar Temple	Nagaravidangar	Dharbaranyeswarar	Pranaambikai	Thirunallar	Unmatha Natanam	Dance of an intoxicated person
Kayarohaswamy Temple	Sundaravidangar	Kayarohanaswamy	Neelayadhakshi	Nagapattinam	Vilathi natanam	Dancing like waves of sea
Kannayariamudayar	Adhividangar	Sahastra-netranaada-swamy (Kannayira-nadar)	Kailashnayaki	Thirukkaravasal	Kukudanatanam	Dancing like a cock
Brahmapureeswarar Temple	Avanividangar	Brahmapureeswarar	Brahmakujalambigai	Thirukuvalai	Brunga natanam	Dancing like a bee that hovers over a flower
Vaimoornaathar Temple	Nallavidangar	Vaimoornaathar	Palinumnanmozhial	Thiruvaimur	Kamala natanam	Dance like lotus that moves in a breeze
Vedaranyeswarar Temple	Bhuvanivividangar	Vedaranyeswarar	Vedanayaki	Thirumaraikkadu (Vedaranyam)	Hamsapathanatanam	Dancing with the gait of a swan

Sapta Mangai and Athara Sthalams

Sapta Mangai

There are five places in Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu in which there are Shiva temples which are more than 1000 years old. These places have lot of architectural, puranik, vedic importance attached to them. According to the Puranas, Parvati Devi (Uma Devi) along with Sapta Matrikas performed sharad navaratri at these temples. Hence these temples are collectively known as Sapta Mangai Sthalams.

The following table gives the details of above temples.

Temple	Presiding Deity / Consort	Mangai	Location
Chakravageshwarar Temple	Chakravageshwarar / Devanayagi	Chakramangai	Chakkarapalli. Thanjavur
Arimutheeswarar Temple	Arimutheeswarar / Gnambikai	Harimangai	Ariyamangai, Thanjavur
Krithivageswarar Temple	Krithivageswarar / Alangaravalli	Soolamangai	Soolamangalam, Thanjavur
Jambugeswarar Temple	Jambugeswarar / Akilandeswari	Nandimangai	Tirupullamangai, Thanjavur
Pasumangai Temple	Pasupatiswarar / Palvalainayagi	Pasumangai	Thirukkandiyur, Thanjavur
Chandramouliswarar Temple	Chandramouliswarar / Rajarajeswari	Thazhamangai	Thazhamangai, Thanjavur
Tirupullamangai Temple	Alandurainathar / Soundaranayagi	Pullamangai	Pullamangai, Thanjavur

Athara Sthalams

They are the abodes of Lord Shiva in various manifestations. They are considered to be the guardians of particular chakra.

Athara sthalam indicates the places which are considered to be divine impersonification of Tantric chakras associated with human anatomy. For example Annamalaiyar temple is called the Manipooraga sthalam associated with Manipura, the human anatomical cause for the spiritual ignorance, thirst, jealousy, treachery, shame, fear, disgust, delusion, foolishness and sadness. Athara sthalam are six temples, out of which four temples are located in Tamil Nadu, one in Andhra Pradesh and one at Varanasi.

Tantric Chakra	Description	Temple	Location	Symbol
Anthagam (Sanskrit आज्ञा, ājňā)	Brain directly behind eyebrow	Natarajar Temple	Chidambaram
Visuthi (Sanskrit विशुद्ध, Viśuddha)	Neck region near spine	Sri Kalahastheeswara Swami Temple	Kalahasthi
Anahata (Sanskrit अनाहत, Anāhata)	Central Channel behind spine	Kashi Vishwanath Temple	Varanasi
Manipooragam (Sanskrit मणिपूर, Manipūra)	Spine directly behind navel	Arunachaleshwarar Temple	Thiruvannamalai
Swasthistanam (Sanskrit स्वाधिष्ठान, Svādhişthāna)	One’s own abode	Thiruvanaikaval	Trichy
Moolatharam (Sanskrit मूलाधार Mūlādhāra)	Basal end of the spinal column	Thyagaraja Swamy Temple	Tiruvarur