This is one of the Panchakrosha Sthalam located at Thirunageshwaram near Kumbhakonam on the Kumbhakonam-Karaikkal route. This is one of the Padal Pethra Sthalam revered by the Shaiva Saints - Shri Appar, Shri Sundarar and Shri Sambandhar. It is on the southern bank of river Kaveri. It is also one of the Navagraha sthala for the planet Shri Rahu.
This temple must have existed even before the 7th century. The temple was reconstructed as a stone structure during the KandarAditya Chola period. It was renovated later by Chola minister Sekkizhar. It was further extended during Vijayanagar kings and Nayaks. There are stone inscriptions in the temple which indicate the gift of land and other endowments made by Chola and Pallava Kings.
Moolavar: Lord Nageshwarar, Lord Naganathaswamy, Lord ShenbagaAranyeshwarar
Devi: Goddess Girigujambika, Goddess Piraiyanivaal Nuthal Ammai
Sacred Teertha: SuryaTeertha
Kshetra Vruksha: Shenbaga Tree (in marathi Sonchafa)
Puranik Name: Shenbagavanam, GirikannikaiVana
Kshetra Purana:
1. All the eight MahaNagas (serpents) - Ananta, Vasuki, Takshaka, Karkokata, Sankalpan, Kuligan, Padman and Mahapadman along with AdiShesha worshiped Lord Shiva in this place. Hence Lord Shiva is addressed as Nageshwara Swamy and the place is known as ThiruNageshwaram.
2. Rahu came to this place along with his wives and worshiped Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva was pleased by his worship and gave him the boon that at this place he will be worshiped as Parihara sthala for Sarpa dosha. He made him stay at this place with his wives in human form and grace the people. Rahu graces at this place along with his wives in Abhaya and Varada mudra to ward off the fear of devotees.
3. According to purana, Lord Indra misbehaved with Sage Gautama’s wife. Hence he was cursed by the sage, to have eyes all over his body. As an atonement and to get rid of the curse, he did penance at this place. He worshiped Goddess Girigujambika and got rid of the curse.
4. The Sthala purana states that Nagaraja Thakkan was once cursed by Sage Sushil for having bitten his son. In order to get rid of the curse, he prayed to Lord Shiva at four places during four quarters of one night as per the advice of the Sage Kashyap. The four places are Kumbhakonam Keezhkottam (Bilva forest), Thiru Nageshwaram (Hibiscus forest), Thirupampuram (Shami forest) and Nagapattinam. At this place he was absolved of the curse.
5. After Samudra Manthan, Rahu prayed to Lord Shiva at this place along with his wives and got the human head and snake body.
6. Goddess Parvati did penance here along with Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati. Sage Bhrungi was punished by Goddess Parvati as the Sage was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and he ignored Goddess Parvati. Due to this Goddess Parvati was asked to do the penance at this place as an atonement. She was told that Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati will accompany her. She came here along with Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati and did penance, Lord Shiva gave her darshan and took her back to Mount Kailash. She is worshiped as Goddess Girigujambika. Her idol is in a separate shrine.
7. The Sthala purana states that Sage Kaalangiri was once angered to such an extent by King Sambhumali and was cursed. As an atonement King Sambhumali was asked to worship Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati at this place, after taking bath in the sacred teertha. By worshiping he attained salvation.
8. Sage Gautama worshiped Lord Shiva at this place and was reunited with his wife Ahilya.
9. Emperor Nala worshiped Lord Shiva at this place and got his wealth back and kingdom.
10. King Chandravarma was cursed to become a dog. He worshiped Lord Shiva at this place and got rid of the curse.
11. Lord Vinayaka got the status of the chief of Ganas by worshiping Lord Shiva at this place.
12. Sage Bhringi did penance and got the darshan of all Goddesses.
13. Lord Shiva told Goddess Uma (Parvati) that this is one of the best kshetra on the earth.
14. Pandavas regained their kingdom by worshiping Lord Shiva at this place.
15. A few years ago, the ShivaLinga (Nageshwarar Linga) which was installed by Sekkizhar was found in damaged condition. Hence the damaged ShivaLinga was immersed in the Surya teertha and a new ShivaLinga was installed in its place. At night on the same day, Lord Shiva appeared in the dream of a Shiva devotee. He directed that the original ShivaLinga must be installed at its original place instead of the new one. Hence the old ShivaLinga was taken out of the Surya teertha and installed again. The new ShivaLinga is kept at present behind the sanctum. It is praised as ArunaChalleshwarar.
Those who worshiped here:
Pandavas, Sage Vashishtha, AdiShehsha, Daksha, Karkotaga, Sage Shaunaka and Lord Rahu, Nandi, Lord Chandra, Lord Surya, King Nala, Sage Gautama, Sage Parashara, Sage Bhagiratha, Lord Ganesha, Lord Indra, Sage Bhringi.
Salient features:
1. This temple was built by a minister of the Chola king named Sekkizhar.
2. In this temple, Lord Vinayaka is praised as UnaGrahaVinayaka.
3. This is a Parihara sthala for Rahu-dosha.
4. During Rahu-kaal on Sunday, when abhishek is performed with milk on the idol of Rahu, the color of milk becomes blue.
5. Lord Mugura’s shrine is between the shrines of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati which is praised as SomaSkanda arrangement.
6. The 100 pillared mandap has very beautiful sculptures and is mounted on a chariot.
7. Goddess Parvati, Goddess MahaLakshmi and Goddess Saraswati are gracing the devotees from the same shrine. This is very unique and rare.
8. Shaiva saint Arunagirinathar has praised Lord Muruga at this temple in his sacred hymns.
9. In Goddess Girigujambika’s shrine, the idols of Lord Vinayaka and YogaRahu are in a small enclave. This is a very rare site.
10. There are beautiful paintings in the temple which depict the kshetra purana associated with the temple.
11. Only during the Tamil month of Chithirai, the rays of the Sun enter the temple. Hence the temple is praised as SuryaKottam.
12. Worshiping Lord Shiva at Nageshwara temple at Kumbakonam in the morning, Thirunageswaram at noon, and Thirupampuram in the evening is considered auspicious.
13. It's believed that no one can bless like Rahu or no one creates obstacles like Ketu.
14. In this temple Goddess Parvati is depicted as a child in the morning, a young girl at noon and in the evening as a woman with the knowledge of sixteen Kala.
15. Goddess Kamakshi faces south, with her mount, the Lion facing her.
16. In the NavaGraha shrine, all the eight planets face Lord Surya.
About this temple:
The sanctum sanctorum consists of sanctum, antarala and artha-mandap. It has entrances on all four sides with RajaGopuram. This is an east-facing temple with 5-tiered Rajagopuram. There are six other gopurams in the temple complex. It has three parikramas. In the Tamil month of Chithirai, the rays of the Sun enter the temple, hence it is known as Suryakotam. There is an entrance arch before the sanctum. On the eastern entrance, we come across Balipeeth, Nandi, Dhwajastambha, Surya teertha before the entrance arch of the sanctum. There is an idol of Lord Vinayaka praised as Mazhuporutha Vinayaka on the bank of Surya teertha. There is a 100 pillared mandap in front of the sanctum-sanctorum containing exotic sculptures. The hall is designed in such a way that we get the feeling that it is placed on a chariot. The shiva linga is a swayambhu linga. There are Dwarpals at the entrance of the Sanctum.
Koshta Murti: The kostha murtis are Lord Narthana Ganapati, Lord Nataraja, Sage Agastya, Lord Dakshinamoorti, Lord Lingodbhavar, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Goddess Durga. The shrine of Lord Chandikeshwarar is in its usual position. Behind the sanctums, we find the idols of Lord Lingodbhavar with Lord Mahavishnu and Lord Brahma worshiping him.
In the second parikrama, we come across the shrine of Lord Rahu on the Northeast corner. The path leading to the main shrine has sculptured pillars. All the halls have pillars with beautiful sculptures of Yaali and horses. In this parikrama we come across idols of Nagaraja, Sekkizhar, a mandap known as Thirupani (festival) mandap, Sekkizhar along with brother and mother, Nataraja sabha, Shaiva saint Nalvar.
Shrines of Lord Nrutya Ganapati, Lord ShenbagaVinayaka, Lord Nandi, Lord Adi Vinayaka, Lord Muruga along with his consorts, Lord Nataraja, Lord Somaskanda, the Shaiva saints Nalwar, Sapta Matrika, Goddess Mahalakshmi, Goddess Saraswati, NavaGrahas, Lord Chandra, Lord Surya and Lord MahaBhairav.
There are shiva lingas worshiped by sages Agastya, Parashar, Gautama, Vyaghrapada, Patanjali, Markandeya, along with the idols of sixty three Nayanmars. There is a shrine for Lord Ganesha near the sacred teertha, known as Lord Mazhuporutha (The lord who forgives mistakes) Vinayaka. In the Navagraha, all the planets are facing Lord Surya.
Devi’s Shrine: There are two separate shrines of Goddess Parvati Devi. One shrine houses idol of Goddess Piraiyanivaal Nuthal Ammai ("Pirai" means crescent moon, "Anival" means wearing, "Nuthal" means forehead, Ammai means Ambika i.e. Mother). It is adjacent to the sanctum on the left hand side. On the full moon day of the Tamil month of Karthigai, rays of the moon fall on the idol of Ambika. There is a shrine of Lord Muruga in between the shrines of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati (known as KundramamulaiAmman). This arrangement of the shrines is similar to the Somaskanda murti. The other shrine of Devi is of Girigujambika, it is on the northern side opposite to the temple tank. This shrine faces the east. Devi in this shrine is in yogic posture. As the idol is made of special clay, no abhishek is done on the idol. Once in a while only civet (Punugu in Tamil) is applied. In this shrine we have the idols of Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati on either side of Goddess Parvati. Goddess Saraswati is with Veena in her hand and Goddess Lakshmi has a lotus flower on her hand. In this Devi’s shrine we come across the idols of Lord Ganesha, Lord Balamuruga, Goddess Navashakti, Goddess Sanganidhi, Goddess Tatpurushashakti, Goddess Padmanidhi, Goddess Ganga, Goddess Vaishanavi along with Sanakadi rishis, Goddess Kriyashakti, Goddess Dyanambika, Lord Bhairav, Lord Balashasta (In Tamil Ayyanar) and Goddess Durga. Inside this shrine, we have an idol of Lord Vinayaka and Lord YogaRahu in a small enclave.
Rahu’s shrine: It is in the northeast corner of the second parikrama. In this shrine, we find an idol of Rahu with a human face instead of the hood of a serpent. Lord Rahu is along with his consorts Simhi and Chitralekha. Special pujas are performed on Sundays between 4.30 pm and 6 pm (known as Rahu kaal) with Milk. This milk turns blue during an abhishek.
Sacred Teerthas: There were 12 sacred teerthas, of which three are rivers namely Nattaru, Arisilaru, and KirtiManaru which were believed to be created by Lord Shiva with his trident. The Surya teertha is before the entrance arch of the sanctum. Excepting the surya teertha, all other teerthas have become extinct.
Prayers:
1. This is a parihara sthala for Rahu Ketu sarpadosha, kalathra dosha, pitru dosha, kalasarpadosha.
2. Marriage obstacles are removed
3. People pray here for child boon and education.
Festivals:
Masi (Feb-Mar) - Mahashivaratri, MahaMagham festival
Vaikashi (Mar-June) - On Pushya Nakshatra, festival for the shaiva saint - Sekkizhar.
Avani (August-Sept) - Ganesh chaturthi
Karthigai (Nov-Dec) - 10 day brahmostava, Karthigai deepam
Margazhi (Dec-Jan) - Thiruvarudurai in Margazhi
Panguni (Mar-April) - Panguni uttaram in Panguni.
Special worship is done during Rahu transition
Daily pujas and pradosha pujas are performed.
Temple timings: 6am to 12pm , 4pm to 8.30pm.
Address: Shri Nageshwar Swamy Temple, ThiruNageshwaram, Kumbhakonam Taluka, TamilNadu 612 204
Phone: 91-4352463354, 9443489839
Courtesy: Various websites and blogs
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