On the occasion of upcoming Navaratri we are making a humble attempt to post information about the places in Tamil Nadu where Goddess Parvati performed Navaratri.
There are seven places (in fact 9) in Tanjavur district of Tamil Nadu where Shiva temples are more than 1500 years old and they have puranic, vedic and architectural importance attached to them.
According to the purans, Goddess Parvati (Uma Devi) along with sapta-matrikas performed Sharad Navaratri at these temples.
These seven temples are collectively known as sapta-mangai sthalam.
They are located around Ayyampettai/Pasupathi kovil area in Papanasham taluka of Tanjavur district on Tanjavur-Kumbhakonam road.
As per Devi Bhagwat, in order to defeat asuras - Chanda, Munda, Shumbha, Neeshumbha, RaktaBeeja and others, Goddess Parvati manifested as Chamunda (Kali) during Navaratri. To assist Kali, devi manifested in shakti-rupa, formed from shaktis emerged from other gods. Those shaktis are -
1. Brahmi - shakti of Brahma also known as Abhirami. She is four faced and has akshamala and kamandalu in her hands. Her mount is Hansa - divine swan.
2. Maheshwari - shakti of Maheshwar (Lord Shiva). She has a trident and bears a crescent moon on her forehead.
3. Kaumari - shakti of Kumar (Kartikeya/Subramaniam). She has a divine spear in her hand
4. Vaishnavi - shakti of Lord Vishnu. She has in her hands - conch, chakra and mace.
5. Varahi - shakti of Varaha. She has face of Varaha (Boar). Her weapons are Hal (plough) and Musal (Iron pestle).
6. Indrani - shakti of Lord Indra. She is also known as Mahendri. She has thousand eyes and her mount is white elephant with four tusks. She is blue in color (Indraneel), carries Ankush, Paash (noose), a lotus flower and has Abhaya mudra. Her main weapon is Vajra (thunder) and she has army of Vajra.
The nine places where they, sapta matrikas, performed Navaratri are as follows :
Day 1: ChakraMangai - Brahmi performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on the first day. They had darshan of Lord Shiva's third eye and is called NetraChakra darshan.
Day 2: HariMangai (AriyaMangai) - Maheshwari performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on the second day. They had darshan of divine Ganga on Lord Shiva's matted hair. This is known as divya-ganga darshan.
Day 3: ShoolaMangai - Kaumari performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on the third day. They had darshan of Trident in Lord Shiva's hand, it is known as Shiva-Trishul darshan.
Day 4: NandiMangai - Vaishnavi performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on fourth day. They had darshan of leg ornament, Anklet (Kazal in Tamil) of Lord Shiva. This is known has Shiva-Kazal darshan.
Day 5: PasuMangai - Varahi performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on fifth day. They had darshan of Damaru (small drum of Lord Shiva, known as Udukkai in Tamil) on Lord Shiva's hand. This is known as Shiva-Udukkai (Damru) darshan.
Day 6: ThazhaMangai - Indrani performed Navaratri with Goddess Parvati on the sixth day. They had darshan of the crescent moon (PiraiChandra in Tamil) on Lord Shiva's head. This is known as PiraiChandra darshan.
Day 7: PullaMangai - Chamundi performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on seventh day. They had darshan of divine serpent on Lord Shiva's neck. This is known as Shiva-Naga bhushana darshan.
Day 8: Goddess Parvati along with Vajreshwari devi, one of the Adi-Moola-Dwarapaliki (gatekeeper) offered worship at Thiruchelur Shiva temple.
Day 9: Shri Makutheshwari devi, one of the Adi-Moola-Dwarapaliki (gatekeeper) offered worship at Melattur Shiva temple.
It is believed that even now, during Navaratri, Goddess Parvati along with Sapta-Matrika visits these places and performs NavaRatri.
Courtesy: Inputs were taken from tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com
There are seven places (in fact 9) in Tanjavur district of Tamil Nadu where Shiva temples are more than 1500 years old and they have puranic, vedic and architectural importance attached to them.
According to the purans, Goddess Parvati (Uma Devi) along with sapta-matrikas performed Sharad Navaratri at these temples.
These seven temples are collectively known as sapta-mangai sthalam.
They are located around Ayyampettai/Pasupathi kovil area in Papanasham taluka of Tanjavur district on Tanjavur-Kumbhakonam road.
As per Devi Bhagwat, in order to defeat asuras - Chanda, Munda, Shumbha, Neeshumbha, RaktaBeeja and others, Goddess Parvati manifested as Chamunda (Kali) during Navaratri. To assist Kali, devi manifested in shakti-rupa, formed from shaktis emerged from other gods. Those shaktis are -
1. Brahmi - shakti of Brahma also known as Abhirami. She is four faced and has akshamala and kamandalu in her hands. Her mount is Hansa - divine swan.
2. Maheshwari - shakti of Maheshwar (Lord Shiva). She has a trident and bears a crescent moon on her forehead.
3. Kaumari - shakti of Kumar (Kartikeya/Subramaniam). She has a divine spear in her hand
4. Vaishnavi - shakti of Lord Vishnu. She has in her hands - conch, chakra and mace.
5. Varahi - shakti of Varaha. She has face of Varaha (Boar). Her weapons are Hal (plough) and Musal (Iron pestle).
6. Indrani - shakti of Lord Indra. She is also known as Mahendri. She has thousand eyes and her mount is white elephant with four tusks. She is blue in color (Indraneel), carries Ankush, Paash (noose), a lotus flower and has Abhaya mudra. Her main weapon is Vajra (thunder) and she has army of Vajra.
The nine places where they, sapta matrikas, performed Navaratri are as follows :
Day 1: ChakraMangai - Brahmi performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on the first day. They had darshan of Lord Shiva's third eye and is called NetraChakra darshan.
Day 2: HariMangai (AriyaMangai) - Maheshwari performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on the second day. They had darshan of divine Ganga on Lord Shiva's matted hair. This is known as divya-ganga darshan.
Day 3: ShoolaMangai - Kaumari performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on the third day. They had darshan of Trident in Lord Shiva's hand, it is known as Shiva-Trishul darshan.
Day 4: NandiMangai - Vaishnavi performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on fourth day. They had darshan of leg ornament, Anklet (Kazal in Tamil) of Lord Shiva. This is known has Shiva-Kazal darshan.
Day 5: PasuMangai - Varahi performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on fifth day. They had darshan of Damaru (small drum of Lord Shiva, known as Udukkai in Tamil) on Lord Shiva's hand. This is known as Shiva-Udukkai (Damru) darshan.
Day 6: ThazhaMangai - Indrani performed Navaratri with Goddess Parvati on the sixth day. They had darshan of the crescent moon (PiraiChandra in Tamil) on Lord Shiva's head. This is known as PiraiChandra darshan.
Day 7: PullaMangai - Chamundi performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on seventh day. They had darshan of divine serpent on Lord Shiva's neck. This is known as Shiva-Naga bhushana darshan.
Day 8: Goddess Parvati along with Vajreshwari devi, one of the Adi-Moola-Dwarapaliki (gatekeeper) offered worship at Thiruchelur Shiva temple.
Day 9: Shri Makutheshwari devi, one of the Adi-Moola-Dwarapaliki (gatekeeper) offered worship at Melattur Shiva temple.
It is believed that even now, during Navaratri, Goddess Parvati along with Sapta-Matrika visits these places and performs NavaRatri.
Courtesy: Inputs were taken from tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com
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