This temple is at a distance of about 4 kms from Kandiyur, 15 kms from Tanjore and 31 kms from Kumbhakonam.
This is the third shiva temple of the sapta sthanam. It is situated on the southern bank of river kaveri. This is one of the 276 padal pethra sthalams on the southern bank of Kaveri, revered by three Shaiva saints Shri Appar, Shri Sundarar and Shri Sambandhar. Hence this temple must have existed even before the 7th century. It was reconstructed as a stone structure by Chola king Aditya Chola. There are stone inscriptions belonging to the Chola dynasty. They give an account of endowments made by them and the work done by them.
Moolavar: Shri Odhanavaneshwarar, Shri Chotruthurai-nathar, Shri Tholayachelvandar, Sri Oppilllachelvar
Devi: Shri Annapurni, Shri Tholayalachelvi, Shri Oppilaambika
Kshetra Vruksha: Bilva, Rishyagandha (Paneer flower tree in Tamil)
Sacred Teertha: Kaveri, Kudamurutti, Surya Teertha,
Puranik Name: Thiruchotruthurai, Gautamashram
Kshetra Purana:
1. Lord Indra got rid of his curse which he had incurred due to Sage Gautama.
2. After Lord Shriram went to the forest, King Dasharatha came to worship Lord Shiva at this place.
3. It is believed that once upon a time rice instead of unhusked rice was grown at this place due to the grace of the Lord Shiva and Goddess Annapurni Devi.
4. It is believed that once upon a time the lake nearby was filled with rice instead of water due to the grace of Lord Shiva, so that no one in the region died of starvation without food. So Lord Shiva is known as Shri Chotruthurai-nathar (who gave not only food but also salvation to the souls).
5. Once there was a very severe famine. All men, women and children were starving. The priest of the temple too had stopped coming to the temple. The staunch devotee of Lord Shiva, Arulalan who was sitting in the dark corner of the temple, cried to Lord Shiva and dashed his head against the steps of the entrance to the temple requesting Lord Shiva to save them. Suddenly there was a rain and the whole area was flooded. A bowl (patra) came floating in the flood water. At that time Arulalan heard a celestial voice stating that patra was an akshaypatra which will help him to feed the people. He did as per the command of the celestial voice and got rid of the starvation and the famine in the region. Hence Lord Shiva is known as Shri Chotruthurai-nathar and Devi as Goddess Annapurni.
6. As Goddess Parvati provided abundant food (rice) she is known as Goddess Annapurni. This is one of the seven places where Lord Shiva fed his devotees.
Those who worshiped at this place:
Shri Ramlinga Vallarar, Lord Ganesha, Lord Surya, Lord Indra. Sage Gautam attained salvation at this place. Hence the place is known as Gautamashram.
Salient features:
1. This is one of the temples where the three shaiva saints Moovar have rendered sacred hymns.
2. It is unique that the shrine of Lord Murugan is in the ardha-mandap. The idol looks very beautiful with 6 heads and 12 hands.
3. The shrines of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati are facing the east. Goddess Parvati’s shrine is to the right of Lord Shiva, symbolizing wedding posture.
4. Idol of KalaSamharaMurti is beautiful.
5. In the main hall there are many beautiful stone sculptures like a sage worshiping Lord Shiva and the scene of two warring groups.
6. Saint ArunagiriNathar has sung a sacred hymn on Lord Murugan of this temple.
About the temple:
The temple consists of sanctum sanctorum, antarala and ardha-mandap. The temple is facing east with a 3-tiered RajaGopuram. Dhwaja Stambha, Balipeeth, Nandi are in front of sanctum sanctorum under a temporary shed. Nandi and Balipeeth are after the RajaGopuram. At the entrance, on either side of the sanctum sanctorum there are idols of Lord Murugan and Lord Vinayaka. The shiva linga is a swayambhu linga. The Koshta murtis are Lord Vinayaka, Lord Dakshinamurti, Lord ArdhaNarishwarar, Lord Brahma and Goddess Durga.
Shrine of Lord Chandikeshwarar is in the usual position.
Shrines and Idols:
In the main hall (artha mandap) we have Lord Murugan’s shrine. The idol is very huge with six heads and twelve hands known as Lord Shanmukha.
The Nataraja sabha and the Utsav murti in a mandap. Next to the Lord Murugan’s shrine there is a bass relief of sage Gautama and sage Gautama worshiping Lord Shiva.
In the prakaram, we come across the following idols and shrine:
Lord ValamPuriVinayakar, Lord Murugan, Lord MahaVishnu, Lord Nataraja, Shaiva saint Nalvar, Lord Ayyanar, Shivalingas, Sapta-Matrika, Goddess MahaLakshmi, NavGraha, Lord KashiVishwanath, Lord Lingobhavar, KalaSamharaMurti, Arunalar and his wife who got the akshya patra from Lord Shiva.
All the PanchaBhootaLinga and Sapta-Sthan Shivalinga, Lord Ayyarappar are also in the parikrama.
Ambika is in a separate shrine on the right side of Lord’s shrine and she faces the east. She is in her wedding attire. Her shrine has sanctum sanctorum, antarala and a mandap. She is in a standing posture. In her shrine we come across idols of Goddess MahaLakshmi, Lord Vinayakar and Lord Murugan. Nandi is facing her Shrine.
To the right of Lord Shiva’s sanctum, there are Shiva ganas worshiping Lord Shiva.
Prayers:
Devotees believe that witnessing the festival of marriage of Nandi will remove marriage obstacles.
Pooja:
Regular, daily rituals and pradosh pooja are performed.
Arudra darshan is also celebrated.
Festivals:
Chitrai (April-May): Sapta Sthanams festival and Brahmotsav
Avani (August-Sept): Ganesh chaturthi
Purattasi (Sept-Oct): Navaratri
Aippasi (Oct-Nov): Annabhishek and Skanda shashthi festival
Karthigai (Nov-Dec):Festival of light known as Karthikeya Deepam
Thai (Jan-Feb): Makar Sankranti
Masi (Feb-Mar): Shivaratri.
Temple timings: 7 am to 12 noon, 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Address: Sri Chotruthurainathar/ Odhanavaneshwarar Temple, At-post Thiruchotruthurai, Via Kandiyur, Taluka : Thiruvariyaru, District : Tanjore, TN 613202.
Contact: Trustee : Shri Kannan, +91-9943884377.
Priest : Shri Manohar Agora Shivam, +91-8344658671
Courtesy: Various websites and blogs