Shwetaaranyeshwarar Temple at Thiruvenkadu - Temple of Budha

This temple is a Navagraha temple representing the planet Budha (Mercury). It is also a Padal Pethra Sthalam revered by Nayanmars on the bank of river Kaveri. 

Mulavar (Main deity): Swetaranyeshwarar

Amman (Consort): Brahmavidyambika

Kshetra vruksa (Sacred tree): Peeple (vadavanal), Kondrai (Bahava), Bilva

Pouranik Name: Thiruvenkadu, Adi Chidambaram, Swetaranya

Sacred Teertha: Surya Teertha, Agni Teertha, Chandra Teertha

Village Location: THIRUVENKADU, Tamil Nadu 609114, India

Salient Features:

1) The shiva linga at this place is swayambhu linga. 

2) Just like Kashi where we have Vishnu paduka, here we have rudra paduka below the Vadavanal tree. Hence Lord Shiva is also known at this place as Thiruvenkadar and Thiruvenkattudevar 

3) Abhishek is done on this sphatika linga four times in a day and Nataraja idol six times in a day 

4) This is also considered as Shakti peetha and is known as Pranava shakti peetha

5) This kshetra is one of the six kshetras which are considered to be as auspicious as Kashi. The other five are 1. Thiruvayaru, 2. Mailaduthurai, 3. Chhayavan, 4. Thiruvidaimaruthur and 5. Thiruvanchiam

6) This temple also finds mention in the Valmiki Ramayan.

Explanation of Swetaranya: Sweta means white in english and venmai in Tamil. Aranyam in sanskrit means forest in English and Kadu in Tamil. Thats why is known Swetaranyeshwar or Venkadu

Legends:

1) Once Lord Muruga imprisoned Lord Brahma for not being able to explain the meaning of pranava mantra. Lord Shiva intervened as the brahmasrushti had come to an end. Brahma was released by Lord Muruga. Due to his imprisonment Lord Brahma forgot the Brahmagyan, so he came to this place and did penance. The penance he performed is known as SamadhuNilai (Tamil) i.e. holding the breath. Lord Shiva as Dakshinamurti taught him Brahmagyan again. Goddess Parvati taught Lord Brahma, brahmakala (art of srushti) hence Goddess Parvati is known as Brahmavidyambika. There is a separate shrine (brahmasamadhi) to indicate this.

2) It is believed that Lord Shiva has sixty four forms and five faces. Five faces are Ishaan facing sky and represents purity, Vamadeva - faces north - represents sustenance, Tatpurusha - faces east- represents spirituality and destruction of ego, Aghora murti- faces south - represents destruction and resurgence, Sadashiva - faces west - represents eternal peace. According to the legend a demon named Marutva (son of Salindra) was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva. By performing rigorous penance he got a trishul (trident) and started terrorizing the devas. Lord Shiva sent nandi to punish the demon who inflicted nine wounds on Nandi. Lord Shiva took the form of Aghora murti and killed a demon under the tree. (It is believed that the tree still exists here). The idol of Nandi has nine wounds on his body. It is stated that Lord Shiva destroyed the demon on the nakshatra Purva Phalguni and it was a Sunday.

3) Lord Yama was punished by Lord Shiva for trying to take away the life of King Swetaketu. Yama worshiped Lord Shiva for forgiveness. 

4) It is stated that Lord performed nine tandavas namely - Ananda Tandava, Kali Tandava, Gauri Tandava, Muni Tandava, Sandhya Tandava, Tripura Tandava, Bhujanga Tandava, Samhar Tandava and Bhikshatan Tandava. He performed Anand Tandava for Parvati at this place. While performing Ananda Tandav three drops of water (Ashru) fell from his eyes and they formed three sacred Teertha here. 

5) Budha worshiped Lord Shiva and got the status of a navagraha at this place. He was also relieved of neutral gender (Napunsak).  

6) Indra, Airavat, Lord Mahavishnu, Surya, Chandra and Agni worshiped Lord Shiva at this place.

7) A saint named Pattinathar got Shivadiksha at this place. 

Other deities and shrines at this place: 

1. Shrine of Lord Vinayaka
2. Shrine of Lord Vallabha Ganapati with his wife Sri Vallabha devi by his side
3. Shrines of Lord Muruga, Sweta mahakali and Bhairav
4. Idols of Swetavanaperumal, Panchalinga, Nageshwarar and Veerabhadra
5. Shrine of Kashi Vishwanath and Vishalakshi
6. There is a separate shrine for Lord Vishnu

Besides this we have other kosha murtis in their respective places.

The unique feature of this temple is as follows. 1. There are three main deities namely swayambhu linga, nataraja and aghora murti. 2. There are three goddesses namely Brahmavidyambika, Kali and Durga. There are three Teerthas namely Surya, Chandra and Agni. There are three kshetra vrukshas namely bilva, kondrai (bahava), vadavanala

Festivals:

1) 13 day festival Brahmotsav known as Indra festival in the month of Masi (Feb-Mar)

2) 10 day festival on Purva Phalguni nakshatra in the tamil month of Adi (July-Aug)

3) Ganesh Chaturthi festival on Avani month of (Aug-Sept)

4) Skanda shashti and Anna abhishek in Tamil month of Aippasi (Oct-Nov)

5) Arudra darshan (Ardra nakshatra) in Tamil month of Margazhi (Dec-Jan)

6) Laksharchana of Aghora Murti in Panguni (Mar-Aprl)

7) Aghora Puja on Third Sunday of Tamil month Karthigai (Nov-Dec)

8) Vaikashi festival for Indra’s elephant airavat who got relieved from curse at this place

9) Pradosh puja on every pradosha day

10) 10 day navaratri festival in Sharad rutu

Thiruvaidyanadar Kovil - Temple of Mangal (Mars) - at Vaitheeshwaran Kovil

This navagraha temple is for the planet Mars (Angaraka or Mangal). This Shiva temple was revered by Nayanmars and is one of the 275 temples on which sacred hymns were sung by them. The temple is about 2000 years old. 

Temple Name: VAITHEESWARANKOIL [VAIDH (Cure Provider) + ISHWARAN (God/Lord) + KOIL (Temple)]

Mulavar - Sthala devata (Main deity): Shri Vaidyanath

Goddess: Thaiyal Nayaki

Ganapati: Karpaga Vinayaka

Graha name: Angarakan (Chevvai in Tamil)

Kshetra Vruksha: Neem

Village Location: Vaitheeswarankoil, District Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu 609117, India

How to reach the Temple:

This place is located on SIRKAZHI – MAYILADUTHURAI highway.

The Shiva linga is a swayambhu shiva linga. The five gopurams (towers) are in a straight line. There are two flagstaffs in front of shiva linga and are made - one of gold and the other is silver. The navagraha shrine is generally located in front of the main deity. But in this temple they are located behind the sanctum sanctorum. There is an emerald shiva linga in this temple. The shrine of planet mars (angaraka) is located behind the sanctum sanctorum. On the eastern side we have a shrine of Bhairava. On the western side we have the shrine of Veerabhadra, on the southern side that of Lord Vinayaka and on the northern side we have a shrine for Goddess Kali. It is believed that they are acting as guard of this place. The temple has five parikramas. 

Legends associated with this temple:

1. Siddha amruta teertha: It is stated that the siddhas did abhishek at this place with amrut and obtained many boons. At that time some amrut spilt into the teertha and teertha got the name Siddha Amrut Teertha. Due to a curse of Sage Sadananda no frog or snake is found in this teertha. 

2. It is believed that, a potion (a paste) that cures number of diseases made from anthill, abhishek teertha, neem leaves, abhishek chandan and abhishek bhasma, have been prepared by Lord Shiva himself. Even now such a paste is prepared at this place and it is believed that it cures more than 400 diseases.

Kshetra purana: 

When angaraka was suffering from white leprosy (leukoderma) a celestial voice asked him to go to this place and worship Lord Shiva after taking a bath in the sacred amrut teertha. Angaraka reached this place and did penance as directed by the celestial worlds. Lord Shiva prepared a medicine for him and at that time Goddess Parvati brought a vessel containing a special oil for preparing the medicine, hence she got the name Tailanayaki. 

History of Mangala Graha Temple:

According to the scriptures, this place was originally known in history as PULLIRUKKUVELUR [PULL (name of Jatayu) + IRUKKU (Rig Veda) + VEL (Murugan/ Kartikeyan Swami) + UR (Village)]  i.e. town where Jatayu fought with Ravana to protect Sita, and where Brahma created Rig Veda, and where Vel (weapon of Lord Muruga) is worshiped.

Reportedly, all Vedas were initially Brahmin/ Human Being/ God.

All 3 (Jatayu, Rig Veda and Murugan) have worshiped Lord Shiva at this place. Besides these three, Parvati and Angarakan have also worshiped Lord Shiva here.

Rig Veda worshiped here and got rid of his deficiency. 

Also at this place, Lord Shriram cremated Jatayu (mentioned in Valmiki Ramayan). Jatayu fought with Ravana to protect Sita and in that battle lost his life. 

Also at this place, Lord Murugan got the sacred spear (Vel), from Parvati, for annihilation (samhar) of demon SuraPadman. It is believed that Gods who were injured in the battle with SuraPadman were cured by Lord Shiva while His Consort Parvati helped by attending/ nursing them at this place. The name VAITHEESWARAN signifies the nature of work done here by ShivaShakti as a VAIDH – healing/ tending to wounds, restoration of health/ well-being, providing cure/ remedy.

There used to be 18 sacred ponds (Punya Teerthaa) here, some of which are not traceable. Some of the known ones are

1. SiddhaAmritTeertha – the first teertha created by KAMADHENU.
2. GoDandaTeerth – (Dand = Bow/Stick) According to mythology, Shri Ram had taken a bath here when He was en route to Lanka.
3. Gautama Teertha – Created by Gautam Muni (Sage).
4. BilwaTeerth, 

and so on.

According to the legends one’s desires are fulfilled by worshiping at this place. It is believed that the following boons can be obtained by worshiping the deities as mentioned below.

1. Karpagavinayaka will fulfill all boons
2. Angaraka removes angaraka dosha
3. Vaidyanadar swami cures all diseases
4. Selva muttu kumaran (Lord Muruga) fulfills boons to  get the children
5.Tailanayaki for the welfare of the children

Festivals:

1. A 10 days festival is held on a Tuesday in the month of Thai (Jan-Feb) for Lord Selvamuttukumaran

2. Brahmotsav is held for 28 days in the tamil month of Panguni (Mar-Aprl)
3. Skanda shasthi festival is held for six days in the Tamil month of Aippasi
4. Kartikeya Abhishek is done in the month of Vaikashi (May-June)
5. Every month special puja is performed on the day of Kartika (Krittika) nakshatra
6. Pradosha puja is performed on every pradosha day

Kailasnadar - Temple of Chandra Moon - at Thingalur

This is a Shiva Temple representing the chandra graha (Moon). This temple is about 1500 years old. It is located at about 33 kms from Kumbhakonam towards Thiruvaiyaru.

Mulavar (Main deity): Kailasanadar

Devi (Consort): Periyanayaki

Kshetra Vruksha: Bilva

Sacred Teertha: Chandra pushkarini

Place: Thingalur, District Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu

How to reach the Temple:

This place is on the Thiruvaiyaru – Kumbhakonam highway in Tamil Nadu, India. It is 2 kms from Thirupazhanam.

Special features:

In the month of Purattasi (Sept-Oct) and Panguni (Mar-Aprl) rays of the moon fall on the deity. There is a separate shrine for Chandra where special worship is done.

History of Chandra Graha Temple:

According to the Scriptures, Chandra was very beautiful. So, many girls wanted to marry him. Thakkan, namely Prajapati had 27 beautiful daughters who were enchanted by Chandra’s beauty. Hence they all wanted to marry him. Chandra was more affectionate towards his last wife namely Revathi. This broke the agreement he had made with all his other wives and Prajapati. Therefore the girl’s father (Prajapati) cursed him stating that he will lose all of his 16 kalas (arts) one after the other, daily. He surrendered to Lord Shiva and performed penance at this place. It is presumed that the teertha on the eastern side of the temple – Chandra Teertha – was created by Chandra himself. He took a bath in that pond and worshiped Lord Shiva to get rid of his curse. Lord Shiva, on getting pleased by his penance/worship, gave him a boon that his kalas will increase and decrease alternatively – the waxing and waning of moon (Chandra).

Festivals:

1. Special abhishekams are performed on Amavasya, Krittika nakshatra, Pournima, Mahashivaratri and Ardra darshana 
2. Panguni uttaram festival
3. Kartikeya festival are held regularly