Friday, February 11, 2022

Sapta Matrika - Vaishnavi - Arulmigu Paramakalyani Samedh Arulmigu Pashupatishwarar Kovil

This is the temple where Narayani (Vaishnavi) worshiped Lord Shiva as per his directive. 


About Narayani:

She is the Shakti of Vishnu. She manifested from the hand of Ambika. She has 1 face, 4 or 6 hands, yellow and blue color complexion. She has Garud as her mount. She wears a Tulasi garland. She has Garud as her emblem on her flag. She has broad lotus-like eyes. She is very powerful and strong. Carries conch, chakra, and shows abhaya and varada mudra.


About Vaishnavi:

She is a Shakti of Vishnu. She manifested from Mahalakshmi. Has 1 face, 2 eyes, 4 hands (bottom hands exhibit abhaya and varada mudra, in her top right hand she bears chakra, top left hand conch). 


About the temple:

Mulavar: Shri Pashupatishwarar

Devi: Shri Paramakalyani

Kshetra Vruksha: Bilva

Location: Pashupatishwaram

Senthangudi-Vallalakaram Poompuhar road, Mayiladuthurai District, Tamil Nadu


This temple has one parikrama and it's a very small temple. In this temple, there is a specialty about the idols placed on shrines. The Rajagopuram is three tiered. In the gopuram of the main temple, i.e. mulavar temple, we have idols of Ashtadikpals, Guruvayur Appan, Anjaneya, Lord Vishnu, Lakshmi Narasimha and Kalabhairav facing East. On the Gopuram of Devi’s shrine, the legends of Ambika associated with the temple are sculptured. On the Gopuram of Vaishnavi, we have the idols of Sapta Matrika. On the Gopuram of Lord Shanmukha, the main six temples associated with Lord Shanmukha are depicted. On the Bhairav shrine gopuram, we find Ashta Bhairava. Chandikeshwar idol is present in parikrama. At the main entrance of the temple on the left side we have Lord Ganesha, with 5 faces, seated on a lion (known as Herambha Ganapati). On the right hand side, instead of the usual Lord Subramanya, we have Lord Hanuman as Lord Shiva’s son. We don’t find a Dhwajastambha in this temple but instead we find the idols of Lord Maheshwar Ganapati, Lord Brahma Ganapati and Lord Vishnu Ganapati. Then we come across the Balipeeth. Balipeeth is also known as Bhadralinga or Balinadar or Mayachakra. Then we have a huge Nandi facing the Shiva Linga. Then we have koshta murti, Ganapati facing south. Lord Medha Dakshinamurti facing south, Koshta Ardhanareeswarar, Lingodbhavar facing west, north facing Brahma, Vishnu-Durga facing north. We come across DwaparaYuga Ganapati. According to Vinayaka Puran, the mount of Ganapati is different in each yuga. During Kali-yuga, he has the Horse as mount. In Krita-yuga, he sits on a Lion, in Treta-yuga he sits on a Peacock and in Dwapara-yuga he has Mushika as his mount. In a separate shrine, we have Lord Arunachaleshwarar. It is beneficial to worship him on full moon days. In a separate shrine, we find Lord Subramanya with his consorts. The special feature of this shrine is that, his consorts face Lord Subramanya instead of standing by his side. In a separate shrine, we have the idol of Vaishnavi. She manifested from the hands of Ambika. She is Shakti of Vishnu. She is blue in complexion. The special naivedya for her is lemon rice. She is the shakti of KrodhanBhairava. Her mount is Garud. Worshiping her with Tulasi garland on Wednesday and Friday is highly beneficial. 


Swarna-Akarshana-Bhairava shrine:

He has Surya as his Navagraha. People worship him to get the same benefit as that of worshiping Surya. He has Bhairavi as his consort. According to the Purana, he is the reflection of Lord Shiva. The meaning of Swarna-Akarshana-Bhairava is that he can captivate (attract) anyone easily. He has a red complexion, a face that is like a full flowered lotus, golden matted hair (jata), and has a crescent moon on his head. He has in his hands - a lotus flower, amrut kalash, conch studded with beads, then abhaya and varada mudra, has a pot in his hands from which gold is pouring down and holds Adishakti by another hand. He bestows boons with Ambika by his side, and she is known as MahaSwarnaAkarshanaBhairavi. She has a pot of gold on her hands and abhaya and varada mudra on her other hands. It is beneficial to worship SwarnaAkarshanaBhairav by facing north. By worshiping him on Ardra nakshatra, we get the grace of Lord Shiva. Worshiping him with the Lotus flower and Bilva garland is the most beneficial. Navivedya: Kheer prepared with jaggery, udid wada, milk, honey and fruits. 


Method of worship of SwarnaAkarshanaBhairav:

One should sit facing the west while worshiping SwarnaAkarshanaBhairav. On Krishna Ashtami, he should be worshiped by dressing him in red color cloth, lighting a ghee lamp, garlanding with a udid wada garland and performing archana with red color flowers. Also it will be more beneficial to worship him by lighting a ghee lamp on white pumpkin. He can also be worshiped on Sundays during Rahu Kaal by lighting 11 ghee lamps or by performing Rudrabhishek and garlanding him with garland of udid wada garland and performing sahasranama archana. It is believed that by worshiping him in this manner, obstacles in marriage are removed. By worshiping with devotion and intense faith, one can get rid of enemies, and can attain ashta-maha-aishwaryas, wealth, improvement in business, and get resolutions for problems at the workplace. People have benefited by worshiping him with Bhairava Gayatri and Bhairavi Gayatri and got immense wealth. 


1. On Monday and Friday, it is better to recite Bhairav Ashtakam and Bhairavi Ashtakam during sunset


2. People worship him for nine full moon days around 7 pm by lighting a ghee lamp and reciting the Bhairava Ashtakam 18 times helps in getting rid of poverty. On the ninth day, one has to offer the Naivedya of Kheer made of rice (in marathi Poha). 


3. Krishnashtami in the Tamil month of Karthik is celebrated as his janmashtami. 


4. People also worship every month a krishnashtami as Bhairav Ashtami.


5. It is stated that that by worshiping him for 30 days with belief and sincerity, one’s just demands are fulfilled by him.


Shri Krodhana Bhairav Shrine:

He is fourth of the Ashta Bhairavas. He has Saturn as his Navagraha. And Vaishnavi as his shakti. His mount is Garud and he faces the southwest direction. By worshiping him, we can reduce the suffering due to Saturn.


Method of worshiping Krodhana Bhairav:

On a banyan leaf, spread uncooked rice. Place broken parts of coconuts by the side and light a lamp with ghee in them. People who have consumed non-vegetarian food and alcohol are not allowed to take darshan of this Bhairava. By reciting Gayatri for this Bhairav, in multiples of 9, one can get rid of his difficulties and he can get prosperity.


Special information:

These two Bhairavas namely SwarnaAkarshana Bhairava and Krodhana Bhairava who have Surya and Shanishwar as Navagraha at this place, also have the Navagraha with the respective mount in the Eshanya direction is considered to be a very special feature. By worshiping the Navagrahas at this place, one can get rid of problems arising out of Navagraha.


Kshetra Puran:

A staunch devotee of Lord Shiva at Thiruchenkattakudi namely Shiruthondar cooked his only son and gave it as Naivedya to Lord Shiva as per his command. After that, he felt that he is the only person to serve his son as food to Lord Shiva, hence he attained unbound ego. When Shiruthondar reached Kailash, Nandi did not allow him inside as he wanted to remove the ego of Shiruthondar. Later Nandi informed Lord Shiva about this. Lord Shiva appeared at Shaktipuri (Karunkuil Nadan Pettai) as a Shiva Saint to teach a lesson to Shiruthondar. A devotee of Lord Shiva, Sheelavati Ammaiyar, who was staying at Kazukkanimuttam, used to work at seven places in a day. With the amount obtained in this manner she used to feed to Shaiva saint (Lord Shiva in the guise of Shaiva saint). Her only son used to graze the cows and take care of them in the village. In order to show the devotion of Sheelavathi and her son and at the same time to teach a lesson for Shiruthondar, Lord Shiva, on a Bharani nakshatra day in the month of Chitrai, went to the place where the son was grazing the cow. He made the son very hungry and asked him to go home for his food. He told him he will take care of him in his absence. But the boy refused. At that time Lord Vishnu from the nearby temple (he was known as Parimala Ranganathar) came in the disguise of a person known to the boy. He convinced the boy to go home. Since Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu came together at this place, the place got the name Senthankudi. In the afternoon, Lord Vishnu left the place. Since Lord Shiva took care of the cows he came to be known as Pashupatishwarar. The boy on returning home took his food without informing his mother as he did not see her. On hearing the sound of the vessels, Sheelavati, who felt that somebody was taking the food before the Shaiva Saint is served, took a wooden pestle and hit the son. She hid the body of her son and waited for Shaiva Saint. After arriving, Shaiva Saint informed her that he will take his food only along with her son. She informed him that her son would not come for taking food. The Shaiva Saint asked her to call her son three times. She did so and the son appeared and took food along with the Shaiva Saint. Then in place of the Shaiva Saint, Lord Shiva appeared and showed the devotion of Sheelavathi to the world and thereby reduced the ego of Shiruthondar. At the request of Sheelavathi, Lord Shiva along with Parvati stayed at nearby AnandaTandav puram as Shri KailashNathar. 


Festivals:

  • Chitrai pournima - Abhishek of Lord Shiva
  • Aavani - Thiruvonam (Shravan nakshatra in Marathi)- Abhishek of Lord Shiva
  • Aippasi - Annabhishek 
  • Karthigai - Krishnashtami - Abhishek of Bhairav
  • Maragali - Abhishek of Lord Shiva and Parvati
  • Hanuman Jayanti - Abhishek of Hanuman known at this place as RudraveeraSamudhan
  • Vaikuntha Ekadashi
  • In the month Thai on Fridays, abhishek of Arunachaleshwarar, Ardhanareeswarar, Durga, Lakshmi, Vaishnavi
  • In the month of Masi - Magha nakshatra festival is held,  as well as Mahashivaratri
  • Panguni - Abhishek of Paramakalyani
  • Pradosha puja during pradosha kaal
  • Sankatahara Chaturthi - 5 pm special puja
  • Abhishek of Bhairava on every Krishnashtami
  • On new moon day abhishek of Ardhanareeshwarar
  • Every Friday abhishek of Vishnu Durga.


Special Information:

There is another place named Kazhukannimuttam where Shri Vaishnavi worshiped Lord Shiva.


She also worshiped Lord Shiva along with Parvati during Navaratri at Jambukeshwarar temple at Papanasham-Ayyampettai road which is also known as Nandimangai (refer to Nandi Mangai article on October 2, 2019)


Courtesy: Following sites 

https://tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com/ and

https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/

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