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