Vaimoornadar Temple at Thiruvaimoor

This Shiva temple is fifth in Sapta Vidanga temples. Thiruvaimoor is about 20 km from Nagapattinam on Thiruthurooaipoondi route. This Vidangar is known as Neelavidangar and dance performed is known as Kamalanatanam (dance like a lotus that moves in a breeze). 

Mulavar: Vaimoornadar

Devi: Kshiropavasini, Paalinum Mohiziyal

Kshetra Vruksha: Jackfruit

Sacred Tirtha: Surya Teertha, Indra Teertha, Prachanda Marut Teertha, Harishchandra Nadi

Puranik Name: Thiruthen Thiruvaimoor

Present Name: Thiruvaimoor

District: Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu

The temple is about 2000 years old. It is one of the Padal Pethra Sthalam on southern bank of Kaveri. Shiva linga is a swayambhu linga. Appar and Sundarar have sung sacred hymns (padigam). The temple is spread over 2 acres. The east facing temple has 3 tiered rajagopuram with 2 parikramas. The original temple was of brick and mortar. Later it was reconstructed by Vikram Chola.

There are several stone inscriptions denoting the repair work and grants made by chola king. 

The Thyagaraja is called as Neelavidangar and is very small in size. The temple is also comparatively very small. The Lord has three shrines in the complex namely Thyagaraja shrine, Vaimoornadar shrine and Vedaranyeshwarar shrine. The last two are small sand shiva lingas. And covered by kavach. Vedaranyeshwarar blessed shaiva saint Appar at this place. When Appar enquired with Lord Vinayaka about Lord Shiva (Lord Vinayaka’s father), he pointed to the place where he was. So Lord Ganesha is known as Kai (hand) kattiya (show) Vinayaka. In this shrine, the idol is pointing his finger towards Lord Shiva.

Three Shiva lingas facing east are next to each other in Thyagaraja sabha. 

Other shrines and idols:

Shrine of Ambika is in the outer Parikrama. She is known as Kshiravachana Nayaki and she is blueish in color. At present this temple is famous as Bhairavar temple. Viral (finger) Kattiya (showed) Vinayaka is in the inner parikrama. The Rishabh Dakshinamurti is in the outer parikrama. There are separate shrines of Ashta Bhairava, Lord Ganesha and Lord Muruga. The shrine of Paalinum Mohiziyal is facing the south. The Navagrahas are housed in a separate shrine and are in a straight line. Koshta murtis are Bhairava, Nalavar, Vinayaka, Lord Muruga with Valli and Deivayani, Mahalakshmi, Lord Dakshinamurti. There is an idol of Shaiva saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar. 

The idol of Nataraja is very beautiful. The sacred teertha are in the west and Marut teertha is on the front side of the temple. 

When shaiva saint Appar was staying in Vedaranyam, Lord Shiva appeared in his dream and directed him to visit this temple. Appar followed the instruction and came to the temple. When he reached the temple, he could not find the shiva linga. Lord Ganapati showed him the exact place inside the temple where the shiva linga was. There is an idol of Lord Ganesha pointing his trunk towards the shiva linga. Sambandhar who followed Appar also had the darshan of Lord Shiva like Appar at this place. It is believed that Surya worshiped Lord Shiva at this place. The ray of the Sun fall on the Shiva Linga and the Devi on the twelfth and thirteenth day of panguni. The place is known as Leela Rahasyapuram in Sanskrit. In this temple, it is believed that Sambandhar got to see the divine dance of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Lord Brahma and other devas who were afraid of Tarakasur came as birds to this place and they took bath in the Prachanda Marut Tirtha. To ward off their sins they worshiped Lord Shiva at this place. 

Festivals:

• Masi (Feb-Mar) Mahashivaratri
• Margazhi (Dec-Jan) Thiruvadharai
• Special puja for Bhairav on Ashtami
• Aippasi (Oct-Nov) Special puja for Thyagaraja on the first day of
• Vaikasi (May-June) Eighteen day Vasantotsav

People pray for knowledge, prosperity and removal of obstacles in marriage.

Courtesy: Following sites  https://tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com/ and https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/

Arulmigu Thyagarajar Kovil at Thiruvarur

This temple is also known as Thyagaraja temple. 

The temple is situated at Thiruvarur in Tamilnadu. This is one of the Padal Pethra Sthalam. This is also one of the Saptha Vidanga sthalam. Thiruvarur is about 70 kms from Tanjavur and 42 kms from Kumbhakonam. Shaiva saints Sambandhar, Appar, Sundarar and Manikvachagar have sung glory of the lord of this temple. The temple is located on the southern bank of river Kaveri. The temple is about 2000 years old. 

Mulavar: Thyagarajar, Vanmikanadar

Goddess: Kamalambika, Neelotpalambal

Sacred tirtha: Kamalaalayam, Shankha Teertha, Gaya Teertha, Vani Teertha

Kshetra Vruksha: Padri Tree (Trumpet Flower Tree)

Historic or puranic name: Aroor (Arur).

Earlier this place was also known as Kshetravarapuram, Devayagapuram, Mukundapuram etc

The name of the vidanga is Veedhividangar which is ShivaLinga.  The dance performed during the festival (by Shiva) is AjapaNatanam (dance without chanting, a-japa, resembling the dance of Thyagaraja resting on Lord Vishnu’s chest)

This place represents the Muladhara chakra and hence this place also known as Muladharasthalam.

The present structure was built by the Chola kings in the ninth century and later on, additions were done by Vijayanagar kings in the thirteenth century. The temple is revered from the olden days for dance and music festivals.

The temple is spread over 30 acres. It has four gopurams and four entrances. The eastern entrance gopuram is 118 feet high and it is four tiered. In this complex, we have a large number of small shrines. The most prominent shrine is that of Thyagaraja (Veedhividangar) and Neelotpalambal. The main deity is Vanmikanadar (Lord Shiva). Totally, there are nine gopurams inside the complex and five parikramas. Lord Shiva (Vanmikanadar) is an ancient structure on an anthill. In this temple, all Navagrahas are in a straight line facing south in the northwest corner of the first parikrama. There are thirteen mandapas and 365 shivalingas representing the days of the year and about 100 shrines, 8 Ganesha idols. The major shrines are Neelotpal Ambal, Asaleshwarar, Adageshwarar, Kamalambal and Annamaleshwarar. The foot of Lord Thyagaraja is always kept covered with flowers. The left leg is kept uncovered on the day of uttara nakshatra in the month of Panguni Uttaram and on the night of Thiruvathurai. People can have darshan of Lord’s feet in Vilamal which is 3 kilometers from this place. Here in this temple we find Nandi in a standing position. There are a large number of pillars which have stone carvings and the walls are covered by sculptures.

The temple complex is in the form of Sri Chakra. Second enclosure represents seven bases of Sri Chakra. When we leave the inner parikrama we come to the Kamalambal Sannidhi. There is a point in this shrine from where we can observe all seven gopurams.  

The Kamalalayam temple tank is the largest temple tank in the country and panel of Sapta Matrika is nearby. In this temple, there are separate shrines of Veedhividangar, Vinayaka and Achaleshwarar.

We have the shrines of Kamalambal, Neelotpalambal, Rudra Durga, Runavimochan, Lord Dakshinamurti, Annamaleshwarar and Vottu-Thyagareshwrar temple where Thyagaraja is worshiped. Shrines of Anandeshwarar, Siddheshwarar, are also present. In the parikrama, we come across lingas worshiped by Lord Indra, Cheranatha, Pandyanatha, Adikeshwarar, Pulastya Rishi, Lankeshwara. We have the linga of Bhaskareshwarar, Vishwanatheshwarar, Padaleshwar shrines. At the entrance to the Rajagopuram we have the shrine of Lord Anjaneya. It is believed that by worshiping him at this place people can get back the kings lost by them.

In Devi shrine’s inner parikrama, we have shrines of Lord Dharmashasta and Lord Vinayaka. There is a canal near the temple. Generally in the temple facing the east, the procession begins from east entrance but in this temple it begins from North East entrance. Lord Dakshinamurti in the Devi’s shrine is seen with six disciples instead of usual four. Devi Neelotpalambal is in a separate shrine where a maid holds an infant Lord Muruga in her hands. Goddess Saraswati is with a Abhaya Mudra without Veena. And she is believed to be doing penance at this place. There is an idol of Lord Hayagriva performing Shiva Puja. Akashbhairav is the custodian deity and is found in the Gopuram of Kamalambika shrine. Lord Bhairava is addressed here as Siddhi Bhairava. On the right side of Sanctum Sanctorum of Kamalambika, we have Kamalamuni Siddhar Peetham. On the corridor of Lord Shiva’s shrine we have a tall idol of Lord Surya. The shrines that are found in this temple are 1. Ganapati, 2. Adikeshwarar, 3. Chandikeshwar, 4. Durga, 5. Kamalambal, 6. Achaleshwarar, 7. Thyagaraja, 8. Vanmikanadar, 9. Chariot and stone carvings. In short, we observe that it will take one full day to go through this temple completely.

Special features in this temple:

In Lord Shiva sanctum sanctorum, we have Thyagaraja who is the king of all devas. The temple is also the greatest of all temples as well as one of the oldest. It is believed that even you go to Thirunallar for relief from Shanideva, you have to go to Thiruvarur for complete relief. According to the purana, there was a king named Sadayagupta. He got affected by Shanidosha and he fought with Navagrahas. The Navagrahas, out of fear, complained to Lord Shiva at this place and sought his refuge. Lord Shiva saved them from the attack. Hence the Navagrahas stand in a line at this place facing Lord Shiva. We have an idol of Lord Ganesha in the Navagraha shrine. It is believed that he keeps watch over the Navagrahas so that the Navagrahas do not trouble devotees of Lord Shiva.

There are four famous Vinayaka shrines (out of 84) in this place. In Devi’s parikrama we have  1. Nadukkam Vinayaka, 2. near west Gopuram we have Matru-Uraitha Vinayaka. He checked the purity of gold given to Sundarar by Lord Shiva. 3. Muladhar Ganapati is in the first corridor of Lord Shiva shrine. Here he is in the middle of a coiled five headed serpent performing narthana (yoga) form, 4. Vatapi Ganapati revered by Muttuswamy Dikshitar. 

In the Ashta Durga shrine, Muttuswamy Dikshitar has sung hymn on Mahalakshmi and Ashta Durga. In the northwest corridor, we have a stone chariot. It is believed that if Lord Indra wants to get back vidanga, he stands on the east entrance. Hence the procession of Vidanga avoids eastern entrance. King Muchukunda had installed original vidanga he got from Indra at Thiruvarur. Indra decided to get Vidanga back and he stood at the eastern entrance to pick up the vidanga when it brought out in procession. Hence people take out vidanga’s procession in Ishanya (south east) disha. So most of the people avoid eastern entrance. 

Devi Kamalambika resides in this place as mentioned in Lalitasahasranaam. Hence the sacred teertha is known as Kamalalayam. It is believed that bathing in this teertha during Panguni Uttaram one gets benefit of bathing 12 times in Mahamagha tank at Kumbhakonam during Mahamagha festival. There is a shrine of Nagadevata in the middle of this tank. People worship here for eradication of Naga Dosha. At this place, pradosha puja is held daily between 4.30 and 6.30 in the evening and is known as Nitya pradosha puja. It is believed that all 33 crores of devas come for darshan during this pradosha puja. 

Kamalambika wears a crescent moon like Lord Shiva in her shrine. She has a flower in her right hand and left hand on the waist sitting in yogasana and appears like a queen. This temple is considered to be older than any other temple. The chariot of the temple is the largest in Tamil Nadu. Lord Shiva has performed 364 miracles at this place. It is stated that those who are born in Thiruvarur attain mukti and hence Lord Yama has no work here. So he plays a role of Chandikeshwar at this place. Behind sanctum sanctorum, there is believed to be a secret known as daiva rahasya. 

Kshetra Purana:

Once there was an argument in Devaloka about the greatness of a person or deva in delivering justice. At that time Sage Narada, king of calamity, stated that the Chola king Manuneedhi Cholan was the greatest in all three lokas. In order to test him, Lord Yama took the form of a cow and went to Thiruvarur with a calf which was the kingdom of Manuneedhi. Yama enacted a scene in which the prince accidentally kills the calf by driving his chariot over it. The calf reached the court of the king seeking justice for killing the calf. In order to have same sort of suffering as that of the cow, in losing its calf, the king drove the chariot over his son and killed him in order to experience the same suffering as that of cow which he considered as the only justice that can be done. Yama blessed the king after manifesting in true form. And accepted the king to be the greatest in delivering the justice.

About festivals and puja:

Nitya puja is performed between 4.30 pm and 6.30 pm. There is no daily abhishek for Thyagaraja. Abhishek of the small Shiva Linga worshiped by Lord Indra is done at 8.30 am and 7 pm after that it is placed in a small silver casket amongst the flower. This casket is always kept to the right of Thyagaraja. This is a shakti peeth known as Kamala Shakti Peeth.

Festivals:

1. 10 day Panguni Uttaram festival. Flag hoisting on hasta nakshatra in the month of Maasi. Car festival on the tenth day signifying darshan of Lord Shiva to Sage Vyaghrapada.
2. Arudra utsav - Lord's legs can be seen on that day
3. Vasant utsav - this festival was performed originally by Manmada and Rati for Lord Thyagaraja in the month of Panguni for their reunion. 
4. Thiruvaduthurai festival in the month of Margashirsha (Dec-Jan)
5. Adi puram festival for 10 days - This festival is held for the Utsav Murti of Devi. 
6. Masi Magam festival 
7. Chariot festival in April-May 

Puja is performed during Diwali, Pongal, Makara Sankrant, Tamil and English new year

Besides this, pujas are performed 6 times a day. The chariot is the largest and is about 90 feet in height. It is the second largest in Asia.

Prayers:

People perform Rahu Kaal Durga puja for obtaining boons. People pray to Lord Vanmikanadar for various boons on Purattasi Navami Tithi. People worship with milk and rice for eradicating enmity. At this place, people pray Thyagaraja for marriage, child boon, upliftment in education and for wealth. People worship the Nandi behind the Vanmikanadar for rain. 

Courtesy: Following sites 

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

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

Brahmapurishwarar Temple at Thirukkuvalai

This Shiva temple is one of the Sapta Vidanga Sthala. This Padal Pethra Sthalam is located on the southern bank of Kaveri. This temple was revered by the hymns of Appar, Sundarar and Sambandhar. It is about 35 kms to the west of Thiruvarur. On the road from Thiruvarur to Thiruthuraipoondi. The vidanga at this temple is known as Avani Vidangar. The dance is known as Bhrunga Nadanam i.e. dancing like a bee hovering over a flower.

Mulavar: Brahmapurishwarar, Kolilinadar, Sri Kolilnatheshwarar 

Devi: Brahmagujambika

Kshetra Vruksha: Teakwood tree (sagwan), Thetta (Hazelnut)

Puranik Name: Thirukolili,Thirukuvalai

Present Name: Thirukkuvalai

District: Nagapattinam, Tamilnadu

The temple is about 1500 years old. This is an east facing temple that has 5 tier Rajagopuram with 1 parikrama. 

Sthala purana is depicted in a stucco image on the Rajagopuram. We come across flagstaff, balipeeth and Nandi in the main mandap at their usual positions. The viman (gopuram) on the sanctum is a single tiered stucco vesara viman. Lord Shiva is a swayambhoo linga of white sand. It is always kept covered with a metal kavach (kuvalai in Tamil). Hence the place is known as Thirukkuvalai.

In the koshta, we come across ArdhaNarishwarar, Lord Brahma, Nataraja, Narthana Ganapati, Lord Dakshinamurti, Bhikshadanar, Lord MahaVishnu.

Both Lord Shiva and Devi face east. 

Other Shrines in the temple complex:

In the prakara, we come across shrine of Sundarar along with his wife Paravai. We have shrines of Tyagavinayaka, Vishwanadar and Vishalakshi. Besides this we come across the shiva linga namely Indrapurishwarar, Chokkalingar, Annamalayar. There is a shrine for Nalavar and Gajalakshmi. In a shrine, we come across all the navagrahas in a line facing the south. Tyagaraja shrine is on the right side of Sanctum Sanctorum where Brahmapurishwarar is a main deity. In the temple complex there are a lot of stone inscriptions referring to the work of Chola and Pandya kings. 

Special features:

As the shiva linga is of white sand, it is always kept covered by a kavach. There is no abhisheka of shiva linga. On new moon day a special oil (Thailam in Tamil) is applied on the shiva linga and on other days puja is performed on the kavach. 

Kshetra Purana:

According to Purana, Lord Brahma incurred a curse for telling a lie to Lord Shiva. Due to this, he could not continue with his work of creation resulting in the obstruction of duty of the Navagrahas. Hence Lord Brahma came to this place, created the sacred tirtha, made a shiva linga out of white sand and worshiped Lord Shiva. He got rid of his curse by the grace of Lord Shiva. Navagrahas started performing their duties once brahma got rid of curse. Hence Lord Shiva at this place is known as Brahmapurishwarar.

The place got the name Kolili as Navagrahas got rid of their curse. Bhima had incurred a curse by killing Bakasur. He worshiped Lord Shiva at this place and got rid of the curse.

Shaiva saint Sundarar used to feed devotees at Thiruvarur. For this purpose he used to pray to Lord Shiva and obtain gold for purchasing paddy. During his travel he went to Thirukkuvalai and prayed to Lord Shiva for help in his noble work. There was another Shiva devotee namely Kundaiyur who was also involved in feeding the devotees. Lord Shiva appeared in his dream and told him that he is blessing him with a mountain load of paddy to be handed over to Sundarar. Though Sundarar was delighted to receive the paddy he could not understand how to shift such a huge load of paddy. Sundarar sang a padigam (a sacred hymn) in praise of Lord Shiva and asked for help. A miracle took place and the Shiva gana shifted the entire paddy overnight and placed them in front of each house at Thiruvarur.

The river chandranadi is as sacred as river ganga. 

Those who worshiped here: Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, Valari, Sage Agastya, Mukund Chakravarti, Pandavas, Navagrahas, and Omakantha.

Festivals:

• Avani (Aug-Sept) Vinayagar Chaturthi
• Purattasi (Sept-Oct) Navaratri 
• Aippasi (Oct-Nov) Annabhishekam 
• Thiru Karthigai (Nov-Dec)
• Margazhi (Dec-Jan) & Sundays - Thiruvadharai
• Thai (Jan-Feb) Pongal & Thaipoosam 
• Masi (Feb-Mar) Mahashivaratri  

Muchukunta Archana, Vasanta Utsavam and monthly pradoshams are also observed

Courtesy:

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

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

Kannayariamudayar Temple at Thirukkarayil

This shiva temple is one of the Sapta vidanga temples. The vidanga at this place is known as Adi Vidangar. The dance performed by Lord Shiva is known as Kukkut nrutya. The temple is located at Thirukkarayil in Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu. This Padal Petra Sthalam is located on the southern bank of river Kaveri.

Shaiva saints Sambandhar and Appar have sung sacred hymns about this temple. 

Mulavar: Kannayaranadar

Devi: Kailashnayaki

Kshetra Vruksha: Jackfruit tree

Sacred Tirtha: Brahma Tirtha, Shesha tirtha

Puranik Name: Thirukkarayyil, Thirukkaraivasal

Present Name: Thirukkaravasal

District: Thiruvarur, Tamilnadu

Kann -eye, ayariam - thousand eyed, udayar - Lord or possessor. Meaning the lord of this temple i.e. Lord Shiva, is thousand eyed.

The temple is about 114 kms from Thiruvarur on Thiruthuraipoondi road and 30 kms from Mannargudi. The temple is in a place where there are dense Karahil trees. This is an east facing temple spread in about 1 acre area. There is no Rajagopuram or flagstaff. The balipeeth has a metal covering and the Nandi is slightly on a higher pedestal. There is a gopuram which is 3 tiered. The shiva linga is a swayambhu linga. When we enter the temple on the right side we have a stone inscription which describes the kshetra. The temple is about 1700 years old. 

Other shrines and idols in a temple:

Shrines of Lord Mahavishnu, Shanmukha, Bhairava, Goddess Saraswati and Gajalakshmi are on parikrama. There are a number of shiva lingas in the corridor. Shrine of utsavar (known as sundarar) is found in this corridor.

There is a mandap known as Tyagaraja sabha. The Vinayaka is known as Pramoda Vinayaka (Pramoda means great happiness or joy). It is believed that by worshiping Pramoda Vinayaka one’s wishes are fulfilled and he gets extreme happiness. The Tyagaraja is known here as Adi Vidangar. The teertha located to the north of the temple is known as Indra Teertha. Lord Brahma created a teertha to get rid of his curse and to worship Lord Shiva and it is known as Brahma Teertha. According to Purana, the serpent king Adishesha used to come to this temple through a well to worship Lord Shiva, hence the well is known as Sarpateertha. Lord Dakshinamurti is addressed as Dnyana Dakshinamurti. Lord Bhairava is known as SwarnaAkarshana Bhairava. By worshiping him, it is believed that one can recover the losses made by him. There is a shrine of Vinayaka known as Kadukkai (Harda Vinayaka).

Those who worshiped at this place: Lord Mahavishnu, Mahalakshmi, Lord Indra, Sage Patanjali and Sage Vyaghrapada.

Kshetra Puran:

When powdered harda is put in water, it makes water crystal clear and it has high medicinal value. A merchant came to this temple with bags of jaay-phal (jathikai in Tamil) which also has high medicinal value. It used to attract higher taxes. Lord Vinayaka came to the merchant in the disguise of a boy. He enquired about the content in the bag. The merchant who did not wish to pay more tax stated that he had harda in these bags. The boy went away. Later when the merchant opened the bags, he found there were harda instead of jaay-phal. Realizing that the boy was none other than the Lord Ganesha, the merchant begged for pardon. Soon the harda in the bag became jaay-phal. Since that day, Lord Ganesha in this place is known as Karakkai Vinayaka. Lord Indra worshiped Lord Shiva on the full moon day in the month of Kanya. 

Festivals:

1. Special pujas are held on the first day of every Tamil month. The abhisheka of Tyagaraja, Nataraja and Guru puja are held on that day.

2. Pujas are held in the month of Karthigai on Karthigai Deepam. 

3. Bhairav puja is held on every Kalashtami day.

4. Special worships are held on new moon and full moon day.

5. Special prayers

1. People pray to swarna akarshana bhairava for recovering lost articles

2. People worship Pramoda Vinayaka for fulfillment of desires

3. Worshiping Lord Shiva after taking bath in the Teertha eradicates curse and sin.

4. People believe that praying to Pramoda Vinayaka helps in curing eye related problems.

Address of the temple:

Arulmigu Kailashnayaki Samed Kannayaranadar Thiru Kovil

Thirukkaravasal, Thiruvarur District, Tamil Nadu, 610202

Courtesy:

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

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

Kayarohaneshwarar Temple at Nagapattinam

This is one of the Sapta Vidanga. Vidanga at this place is known as Sundar Vidangar. This is one of the Padal Pethra Sthalams revered by Nayanmars. The place was revered by Thiru Dnyanasambandhar, Appar and Sundarar. The present temple is about 2000 years old which was built by Cholas and Pallavas.

Mulavar: Kayarohaneshwarar 

Utsavar: Chandrashekharar 

Devi: Neelaydakshi 

Sacred Tirtha: Pundarikaksha tirtha 

Kshetra Vruksha: Mango tree 

Puranik Name: Nagaykaronam 

Present Name: Nagapattinam 

District: Nagapattinam TamilNadu 

Though this is a shiva temple, it is popularly known as 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 Lord 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 Lord Shiva's sanctum sanctorum, we come across the shrine of Lord Tyagaraja. In most of the temples we can have darshan of the face of Lord Tyagaraja’s only. In this place during Vaikasi (Vishaskha nakshatra) and Margazhi (Thiruvathira nakshatra) alankar of Lord Shiva is done in such a way so that we can have darshan of right hand and feet of Lord Tyagaraja. During the festival, the procession dances back and forth like a wave and is known as paravar nrutya (nadana).

Devi Neelaydakshi: 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 a grand scale. She is taken in procession in chariot of china clay. The Ambal sanctum sanctorum is constructed like a chariot. As Ambika is a virgin, Lord Shiva sent Nandi dev to guard her. But Nandi was reluctant to leave Lord 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 Lord Shiva. His left eye is towards Lord Shiva and right eye is towards Ambika. People worship this Nandi to get rid of eye related problems. 

Lord 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 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. Lord Bhairav has a lion as a mount instead of a dog. It is believed that when Sage Pundarikaksha worshiped Lord Shiva at this place, Ganges sprang up along with Lord Bhairvav. So Bhairava graces here as a Kaala Bhairav. He is facing south with a furious face. To calm him down we have two Vinayakas 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 honour of a great devotee of Lord 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 honour of SalisaMaharaja who has darshan of Lord Shiva in bridal form when he came to this place after performing Shiva puja at the village. 

Mohini procession: Generally Lord Shiva goes in procession on a rishabha vahan during pradosha puja in shiva temples, but in this temple Lord Vishnu also joins in the procession in Mohini avatar. After the samudra manthan, Mohini avatar took place just before pradosha when Lord 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 sanctorum of Lord Shiva. There is a shrine of Kali (Ashtabhuja Ambika). We come across idols of Ashta Bhairav and Gajalakshmi in this temple. Behind the Shiva linga we have the idol of somaskanda and Lord Muruga with weapons in twelve hands. We have shrine of 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. 

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 Lord 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 Lord Shiva. In order to test him, Lord Shiva made him to catch only one fish on a particular day. But the fisherman (Athipathar) threw the first fish into the sea and did not bother about starving. Once, Lord Shiva gave him a golden fish. The other fisherman advised him to keep it. But, Athipathar threw it back into the sea as a routine. Pleased by his devotion Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati 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 Parvati’s shrine begging the divine mother to grant him salvation. She gave him salvation with the consent of Lord 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. Lord 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 Lord Shiva gave mukti to Sage Pundarikaksha by embracing him (arohan) with human body (kaya). Hence the lord is known as Kayarohanarar. 

Once the king of serpents worshiped Lord 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. 

In the mandap of sanctum sanctorum ceiling, we have the twelve zodiacs sculptured. 

By worshiping Lord Shiva in this mandap, people believe that they get relief from grahadosha. 

Two elephants, with four tusks each, are depicted doing puja to Gajalakshmi who has her legs hanging down. 

Koshta murti of Lord Dakshinamurti, 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 Lord Shiva by praying him with sacred hymns. 

Sages who worshiped here: Sapta rishi, Markendeya, Pundarikasksha 

Festivals: 

1. Ani (Ayilyam nakshatra, Ashlesha in Marathi). On this day Sage Pundarikaksha entering Lord Shiva’s shrine and attaining mukti is held by ArdhaJama puja, last puja before closing the temple. 

2. Vaikasi (May-June) Wedding festival 

3. Aadi (July-Aug) Adipuram festival, 

4. Maasi (Feb-Mar) Shivatratri festival

5. Aippasi (Oct-Nov) Annabhisheka

6. Karthigai (Nov-Dec) Deepam 

Daily abhishek at 9 pm and 8 pm

Courtesy:

https://tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com/ 
https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/

Darbharanyeshwarar at Thirunallar

This Shiva temple is located at Thirunallar in Karikal district in Pondicherry. This temple is one of the seven temples from Sapta Vidanga Sthalam. The vidanga here is known as Nagara Vidanga and the dance performed by Lord Shiva here is known as Unmatha Pada Natanam (i.e. dancing like an intoxicated person). This is also one of the Padal Petra Sthalam revered by Nayanmars. Though this is a Shiva temple, it is more famous as Navagraha sthala for the planet Saturn. 

Moolavar (Main deity): Darbharanyeshwarar, Thirunallar-ishwarar

Devi (Consort): Pranambika, Bhogamarta - Poonmulaiyal, Praneshwari

Kshetra Vruksha (Sacred tree): Darbha grass

Sacred teertha: Nala teertha, Brahma teertha, Vani teertha. Anna teertha and Ganga teertha are in a well near Nalavinayaka temple. Besides these there are eight ashta dikpal teertha.

Speciality: On the shiva linga we observe markings of Darbha grass as it is stated in Purana that the Shiva linga was found among darbha grass. This is a swayambhu linga.

This kshetra is one of the sapta vidanga sthalas. This place is also considered as one of the Shakti Pithas and is known as Praneshwari peetha. The temple is facing the east. 

Legends:

There are a number of legends associated with this place which are mentioned in the puranas.

According to the scriptures, Brahma, after having created the world, went around to tour it. When he came to this forest (Aranya) full of Darbha, he was enchanted by its beauty and performed a penance and worshiped a SwayamBhu¹ Shiva Lingam².

The Lord appeared and explained to Brahma the inner meaning of Vedas and taught him other shastras. Brahma stayed in this place for a long time worshiping Shiva-Parvati and built temples for them. Brahma created Brahma Teerth and Saraswati created Vani Teerth. Indra, Ashta Dikpal (eight directions) and the sacred swan (Hansa) established their own Shiva Lingam and worshipped.

Nomenclature: Because Brahma worshipped at this place long ago, the place is known as AadiPuri (Aadi = Beginning, Puri = City). As the sacred grass Darbha (not Durva used in Ganesh Puja) was abundant, this place was called DarbhaAranyam. Because Nala had also worshipped here, the place used to be called Nallar and Shiva here called Nalleshwara.

According to Puran, Lord Vishnu worshiped Lord Shiva and Parvati at this place and got Manmatha (kamadeva) as his son. Hence as a token, Lord Vishnu created the Somaskanda form ie. with Lord Muruga seated in between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Later on Vishnu gave this to Indra and by worshiping this form he obtained Jayant and Jayanti as children. Later on he created six more forms of the same somaskanda and gave all of them to Muchaganda.

The king placed them at seven places which are known as Sapta Vidanga sthala. One such form of Somaskanda is in this temple and people worship it for obtaining offspring. This vidanga is known as Thyagaraja vidanga. 

Other shrines in this temple:

To the south of the main temple there is a shrine which houses the idols of a shepherd, his wife and an accountant of the temple. The legend says that the shepherd was cheated by the accountant while paying for the milk supplied to the temple. Lord Shiva in order to save the shepherd from the wrath of the king and at the same time to punish the accountant threw his trishul at the accountant in the presence of the king. In order to make way for the trishul the nandi and bali peeth shifted slightly. This we can observe even today. The trishul severed the head of the accountant and Lord Shiva gave darshan to the shepherd. This explains why we find the nandi and bali peeth not in a straight line with the shiva linga. 

Legend says that Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma, Indra, Goddess Saraswati, Ashta Dikpal, Sage Agasti, Sage Pulasti, Hansa and Arjun worshiped Lord Shiva at this place. 

Special features: 

After bowing to the rajagopuram, as we enter the temple we have to touch and pray the entrance step. It is presumed that the Lord Shani resided in the upper portion of this entrance. According to legend Lord Shani hid himself at the top in order to escape from the wrath of Lord Shiva for having punished King Nala. 

Other shrines at this place: Lord Swarna Ganapati, Muruga, Nataraja, Somaskanda, The idols of Adi Shesha, Nayanmars, Mahalakshmi, Surya and Bhairava are also found. We come across the idol of King Nala and the Linga worshiped by him. Besides this just like any other Shiva temple we come across the koshta murtis. A separate shrine is there for emerald vidang ie. Thyagaraja vidang. 

Festivals:

1) Saturn transit - Saturday special worship of Shani

2) On full moon day, in the tamil month of Purattasi (Sept-Oct) a special worship for emerald lingam

3) In May-JUne (Vaikashi) brahmotsavam is held for 10 days

1 SwayamBhu: Not created by human hand or touched by chisel; Swayam = Self and Bhu = Be, SwayamBhu = Be by self.

2 Shiva Lingam Worship: 

Shiva = Cosmic Reality (Form) created by AadiParaShakti (Aadi = Beginning, Para = Beyond and Shakti = Energy) ie Parvati. AadiParaShakti = Energy beyond beginning (of matter), The Essence/ Truth (state of no matter, only energy). Energy, in and of itself cannot be perceived without a Form. Therefore AadiParaShakti created Cosmic Reality to manifest itself. 

Lingam = Leen (Become One With) + Gamya (navigable), Lingam = To navigate and become one with. Thus Shiva/ Shiva Lingam worship is a way of becoming one with the Cosmic Reality/ AadiParaShakti (Truth). Shiva, by Himself cannot do anything without AadiParaShakti. Same is true for AadiParaShakti. Therefore, The ArdhaNarishwara manifestation (Advaita in the Dwaita) is THE (fundamental/ eternal) TRUTH.

Courtesy:

https://tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com/ 
https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/

Kshetra Puran of Sapta Vidanga Sthalam

Kshetra puranas, also known as sthala puranas, are stories associated with a particular place i.e. kshetra. These stories are considered puranas as they are as authentic as main puranas in conveying dharmic principles. 

Sapta Vidanga sthalams also have kshetra purana associated with them. We covered kshetra purana in previous article. In this article we are covering it again to bring out its significance.

Once Lord Vishnu was asked to perform worship to obtain the male child. To perform worship, Lord Vishnu asked sculptor Vishwakarma to make an idol in which Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati were seated with their son Skanda (Muruga) in between them. This is known as Somaskanda murti i.e. Sa (means shiva), Uma (means chit) and Skanda (means anand) murti. Meaning it is Sat-chit-ananda murti.

Pleased by the penance undertaken by Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva granted him a boon of a male child. The male child was none other than Manmada. Later on Lord Brahma got the Somaskanda moorthy along with Vidanga from Lord Vishnu who in turn gave it to Lord Indra.

At other time, a demon named Vallan (Vaalasur) invaded the Indrapuri (heaven). Indra sought the help of Lord Shiva to defeat the demon. 

Indra was directed by Lord Shiva to seek the help of King Muchukunda. King Muchukunda was a male monkey in the previous birth. He was born with a monkey face due to the grace of Lord Shiva. He ruled the Chola kingdom with Karuvarai as his capital.

Muchukunda defeated the demon and saved the Lord Indra. As a token of gratitude Lord Indra asked Muchukunda to take anything that he wanted from him. Lord Shiva conveyed secretly to Muchukunda to ask for Somaskanda murti which was in the possession of Lord Indra. Lord Indra was not ready to part with the idol and he prepared six more similar idols and asked the king to choose one from seven. Lord Shiva indicated to the king the real Somaskanda murti. Lord Indra had no other alternative but to part with original hence he gave all seven to the king. King Muchukunda took all the seven vidanga and placed them at seven places. All these lingas are only handful in size. The term vidanga represents the image of Lord Shiva as Thyagaraja. It is maragada (emerald) linga. And is placed generally in silver casket. Thyagaraja is taken in procession in the palanquin with the people performing special dance steps. Every vidanga is associated with special type of steps during the dance.

In upcoming articles we will attempt to provide introduction to each of the seven temples of Sapta Vidanga Sthalam.

Courtesy: 

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

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