This is one of the Sapta Vidanga. Vidanga at this place is known as Sundar Vidangar. This is also a Padal Pethra Sthalams revered by Nayanmars.
The place was revered by Thiru Dnyansambandhar, Appar and Sundarar. The present temple is about 2000 years old which was built by Cholas and Pallavas.
Mulavar: Shri Kayarohaneshwarar
Utsavar: Shri Chandrashekharar
Devi: Shri Neelaydakshi
Sacred Teertha: Pundarikaksha teertha
Kshetra Vruksha: Mango tree
Puranik Name: Nagakayoranam
Present Name: Nagapattinam
District: Nagapattinam TamilNadu
Kshetra Puran:
Emperor Dasharath came to know that Shani will be aspecting star Rohini which will cause famine. He decided to fight Shani and was advised by Surya not to fight Shani and please him by worshiping. Shani was pleased by the worship of Dasharath and accepted the desire of Dasharath by which he troubled to a lesser extent. Hence all the Navagrahas in this temple are facing the west.
There was a staunch devotee of Shri Shiva who was a fisherman. When he used to fish in the ocean he had the habit of throwing away the first fish back into sea as an offering to Shri Shiva. In order to test him, Shri Shiva made him to catch only one fish on a particular day. But the fisherman (Atibathur) threw the first fish into the sea and did not bother about starving.
Once Shri Shiva gave him a golden fish. The other fisherman advised him to keep it. But Atibathur threw it back into the sea as routine. Pleased by his devotion Shri Shiva and Shri Parvati Devi gave darshan and gave him mukti. He attained the status of Nayanmar.
He has a separate shrine inside the temple complex.
Azhuguni Siddhar: Like children cry to their mother to get their desire fulfilled, this siddha used to cry in mother Shri Parvati Devi’s shrine begging the divine mother to grant him salvation. She gave him salvation with the consent of Shri Shiva. There is a jiva samadhi at this place for Azhuguni Siddhar. Special worship is done on Vishakha nakshatra in the month of Vaikasi and on full moon day with kheer (payasam) as the naivedya.
Sage Pundarikaksha did penance at this place for attaining mukti. Shri Shiva gave darshan to the sage, embraced him and gave him mukti. Generally mukti is attained only for atma but not for the body, but in this case Shri Shiva gave mukti to Sage Pundarikaksha by embracing him (arohan) with human body (kaya). Hence the lord is known as Kayarohananrar.
Once the king of serpents worshiped Shri Shiva and got a female child. The child had three breasts. Shiva assured the king that the third breast will disappear when a king from Surya dynasty visited him. When king Shalisuhan came to this place the third breast vanished. The naga king gave his daughter in marriage to king Shalisuhan. Since Naga king worshiped here, the place came to be known as Nagaikaronan.
Though this is a shiva temple, it is popularly known as Shri Neelaydakshi Amman Kovil. This temple was originally constructed by Lakolica cult. The only other temple constructed by them in Tamil Nadu is at Kanchipuram. The temple is also a shakti peeth.
The temple is also called as Shivarajadhani as Shri Shiva rules as a king. And is located near sea shore.
The shiva linga is a swayambhu. The present lingam is not the original as original was stolen long back. The present lingam is made of gomed (topaz). The temple is located in the city of Nagapattinam. The temple rajagopuram is five tier. There is a balipith, flagstaff and nandanvan inside corridor.
About other shrines and special features:
Sundar Vidangar: The vidangar in this temple is very beautiful and is known as sundar vidangar. To the right side of sanctum sanctorum, we come across the shrine of Shri Thyagaraja. In most of the temples we can have darshan of only the face of Shri Thyagaraja. In this place during Vaisakhi (Vishaskha) and Thiruvathirai (Margazhi), alankar of Shri Shiva is done in such a way so that we can have darshan of right hand and feet of Shri Thyagaraja. During the festival the procession dances back and forth like a wave and is known as paravar nrutya (nadana).
Shri Neelaydakshi Devi: It is believed that she bestows boons to the devotees like ocean. To indicate this, her eyes are blue (like ocean) in color. She has a separate shrine with a flagstaff. She is depicted as a virgin girl before marriage i.e. Yuva stage. Hence the Adipuram festival is celebrated on grand scale. She is taken in procession in chariot of china clay. The Ambal's sanctum sanctorum is constructed like a chariot. As Ambika is a virgin, Shri Shiva sent Nandi dev to guard her. But Nandi was reluctant to leave Shri Shiva. Lord advised Nandi Dev to have his darshan also by staying with Ambika. Hence we find that Nandi is facing the Ambal, but his face is toward Shri Shiva. His left eye is towards Shri Shiva and right eye is towards Ambika. People worship this Nandi to get rid of eye related problems.
Shri Vinayaka: He graces from another shrine. He has one serpent coiled around his body and another one above his head like an umbrella. Hence he is known as Shri Nagaabharan Vinayaka (Nagabhushan Vinayaka). People worship him for relief from Rahu and Ketu effects. They perform special pujas during Rahu Kaal and Rahu-Ketu transit.
Shri Bhairav has a lion as a mount instead of a dog. It is believed that when Sage Pundarikaksha worshiped Shri Shiva at this place, Ganges sprang up along with Shri Bhairvav. So Bhairava graces here as a Kaal Bhairav. He is facing south with a furious face. To calm him down we have two Vinayaka standing in front of him.
It is customary in south India to close the temple doors when the procession of a dead person passes near it. But in this place, the dead body is garlanded, with a garland and vastra from the Shiva temple. This is done in honor of a great devotee of Shri Shiva from the fisherman community. Generally during the festival the Lord is taken in procession along the four streets surrounding the temple. But at this place the processional deity is taken through seven villages surrounding Nagapattinam. This is in honor of SalisaMaharaja who had darshan of Shri Shiva in bridal form when he came to this place after performing Shiva puja at the village.
Mohini procession: Generally Shri Shiva goes in procession on a rishabha vahan during pradosha puja in shiva temples, but in this temple Shri Vishnu also joins in the procession in Mohini avatar. After the samudra manthan Mohini avatar took place just before pradosha when Shri Shiva danced to forgive the devas for their mistake of not worshiping him before taking the amrut. Hence we can have darshan of Mohini during the pradosha puja. At other times Mohini is kept in sanctum sactorum of Shri Shiva. There is shrine of Kali (Ashtabhuja Ambika). We come across idols of Shri Ashta Bhairav and Shri Gajalakshmi Devi in this temple. Behind the Shiva linga we have the idol of Shri Somaskanda and Shri Muruga with weapons in twelve hands. We have shrine of Shri Chandikeshewarar on the corridor. The mango tree (kshetra vruksha) fruits are sweet, bitter and sour. When we look at the tree from southeast parikrama, it looks like a Nandi.
In the mandap of sanctum sanctorum ceiling we have the twelve zodiacs sculptured. By worshiping Shri Shiva in this mandap, people believe that they get relief from grahadosha. Two elephants with four tusks each are depicted doing puja to Shri Gajalakshmi Devi who has her legs hanging down.
Koshta murti: Shri Dakshinamurti is in a separate shrine outside the koshta, is with eight disciples instead of four. Sundarar obtained a garland of pearls, garland of diamonds, kasturi and a horse etc from Shri Shiva by praying him with sacred hymns.
Those who worshiped here:
Sapta rishi, Sage Markendeya, Sage Pundarikasksha
Festivals:
Vaikasi (May-June): Wedding festival
Ani (Jun-July): Aiyilyam (ashlesha) nakshatra. On this day, Sage Pundarikaksha entering Shri Shiva’s shrine and attaining mukti is held by ArdhaJama puja, last puja before closing the temple.
Adi (July-August): Adipuram.
Aippasi (October-November): Annabhishek
Karthigai (November-December): Karthigai Deepam
Maasi (February-March): Shivatratri
Daily abhishek at 9 am and 8 pm
Courtesy: Various websites and blogs
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