Sapta Mangai and Athara Sthalams

Sapta Mangai

There are five places in Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu in which there are Shiva temples which are more than 1000 years old. These places have lot of architectural, puranik, vedic importance attached to them. According to the Puranas, Parvati Devi (Uma Devi) along with Sapta Matrikas performed sharad navaratri at these temples. Hence these temples are collectively known as Sapta Mangai Sthalams.

The following table gives the details of above temples.

Temple	Presiding Deity / Consort	Mangai	Location
Chakravageshwarar Temple	Chakravageshwarar / Devanayagi	Chakramangai	Chakkarapalli. Thanjavur
Arimutheeswarar Temple	Arimutheeswarar / Gnambikai	Harimangai	Ariyamangai, Thanjavur
Krithivageswarar Temple	Krithivageswarar / Alangaravalli	Soolamangai	Soolamangalam, Thanjavur
Jambugeswarar Temple	Jambugeswarar / Akilandeswari	Nandimangai	Tirupullamangai, Thanjavur
Pasumangai Temple	Pasupatiswarar / Palvalainayagi	Pasumangai	Thirukkandiyur, Thanjavur
Chandramouliswarar Temple	Chandramouliswarar / Rajarajeswari	Thazhamangai	Thazhamangai, Thanjavur
Tirupullamangai Temple	Alandurainathar / Soundaranayagi	Pullamangai	Pullamangai, Thanjavur

Athara Sthalams

They are the abodes of Lord Shiva in various manifestations. They are considered to be the guardians of particular chakra.

Athara sthalam indicates the places which are considered to be divine impersonification of Tantric chakras associated with human anatomy. For example Annamalaiyar temple is called the Manipooraga sthalam associated with Manipura, the human anatomical cause for the spiritual ignorance, thirst, jealousy, treachery, shame, fear, disgust, delusion, foolishness and sadness. Athara sthalam are six temples, out of which four temples are located in Tamil Nadu, one in Andhra Pradesh and one at Varanasi.

Tantric Chakra	Description	Temple	Location	Symbol
Anthagam (Sanskrit आज्ञा, ājňā)	Brain directly behind eyebrow	Natarajar Temple	Chidambaram
Visuthi (Sanskrit विशुद्ध, Viśuddha)	Neck region near spine	Sri Kalahastheeswara Swami Temple	Kalahasthi
Anahata (Sanskrit अनाहत, Anāhata)	Central Channel behind spine	Kashi Vishwanath Temple	Varanasi
Manipooragam (Sanskrit मणिपूर, Manipūra)	Spine directly behind navel	Arunachaleshwarar Temple	Thiruvannamalai
Swasthistanam (Sanskrit स्वाधिष्ठान, Svādhişthāna)	One’s own abode	Thiruvanaikaval	Trichy
Moolatharam (Sanskrit मूलाधार Mūlādhāra)	Basal end of the spinal column	Thyagaraja Swamy Temple	Tiruvarur