About Puranic importance of Kumbhakonam

According to an old saying a sin committed in a kshetra can be nullified by visiting and praying at another punya kshetra. A sin committed in a punya kshetra can be washed off by visiting and worshiping at Varanasi. A sin committed in Varanasi can only be washed at Kumbhakonam. But sin committed in Kumbhakonam can be washed off in Kumbhakonam itself. It means that other places, to wash off sins, we have to go to other places whereas Kumbhakonam is only place where sins committed here can be washed off only at Kumbhakonam. This indicates the greatness of Kumbhakonam. Every human being (Hindu) always prays and worships to get rid of the sins and dushkarma. Hence above statement was prevailing in those days. Similarly, when Adharma becomes maximum at the end of the Yuga, Lord Shiva creates a pralaya (a great deluge) so that a change takes place, and a new Yuga begins. But at the same time, He also helps in the new creation. 

Once just before pralaya, Lord Brahma, got a doubt in His mind that if all the seeds for creation are destroyed how to start the creation. He rushed to Lord Shiva – the destroyer, for guidance. At that time Lord Shiva advised him about the manner in which the seeds for new creation can be preserved and at the same time how to start the creation after pralaya. He advised Lord Brahma to make a pot by mixing mud (sand) and amrut. Then fill it up with amrut and keep all the seeds necessary for creation inside the pot. Then he advised that he should spread the Vedas, Agamas, Puranas etc on all 4 sides in the kalash. He asked him to place a bunch of Mango leaves and a coconut at the top of the pot so that it gets the shape of the Kalash. He advised him to tie the sacred thread (upavidh) around the pot and inside the pot put flowers etc before sealing it. Then he asked him to keep it at the top of Mount Meru (which is a residence of Lord Brahma) and hang it from the ceiling by tying with a rope made of sacred grass (darbha). He asked him to worship it with bilva leaves by placing it along with flowers over the coconut. He asked him to make this Kalash sacred by sprinkling the amrut over the Kalash. He told him that during the pralay, this Kalash will flow along the water and will stop at a place. Then he will appear as hunter (Kiratmoorthy) and break the pot so that Lord Brahma can start sristi.

Lord Brahma followed the instructions to the point. When the pralay came, there was a chaos around as the nature’s fury was at the highest in all forms. The Meru parvat also was drowned in the pralay water and the Kalash along with the sacred grass tied around it started moving along the water towards the south. It reached a particular point and stayed at a place as pralaya water started receding. The sacred grass, the mango leaves, etc detached themselves and fell at that place. The place where the mango leaves fell, a Shamee tree manifested, and the sacred grass tied around the kalash became a Linga. There was a bilva tree and seven goddesses appeared stood as guard over that place. The darbha that formed the Linga is known as “Darbha Linga”. All this happened on the western side of the sea. Then kalash started moving towards North-West direction and stayed at a place. At very same time there was a celestial voice stating that this is the place where the kalash will stay finally and there is no other kshetra that will be more sacred than this place. As kalash stayed at this place, its known as Kumbhakonam.

The things around the kalash started falling off around their own. The place where the sacred thread holding the kalash stopped, a Shiva linga was formed. The temple at this place is known as Someshwarar temple. The place where sacred thread around the kalash fell, is the present Gautameshwar temple. The place where the bilva leaves fell, the Linga was formed and temple at this place is known as Nageshwar temple. The coconut became a Linga and the temple at this place is known as Nallikeshwaram and linga is known as Abimukeshwarar. In this manner the various parts of the kalash fell and all of them formed a swayambhoo Linga. In the end only kalash containing the seeds remained. 

Lord Brahma started praying Lord Shiva so that he can help him in recovering the beej (seeds) from the Kalash. Lord Shiva appeared in the form of a hunter (Keerat Moorthy) and broke it with His arrow. The pot broke into pieces and the articles inside the pot fell at various places. At each place a shiva linga manifested on its own and at each place a temple was constructed later on. 

Aadikumbeshwarar temple – This is the place the amrut kalash stopped first. It is believed that Lord Shiva himself made a Shivalinga by mixing amrut and mud (sand). He worshipped the Shiva Linga at this place and the linga is in the shape of neck of the pot (kalash).

Someshwarar temple - The place where the sacred thread holding the kalash stopped, a Shiva linga was formed.

Nageshwarar temple – where the bilwa leaves fell.

Abimukeshwarar temple – where the coconut fell

Gautameshwarar temple – where the sacred thread (upavidha) fell

Koneshwarar temple – where the rim of the kalash fell

Amrutkalasnathar temple at Sakkottai – this is the place the middle portion of the kalash fell. The place is known as Kalayanallur as the mid portion of the pot is known as Kalayam in tamil.

Baanpurishwarar temple – the place from where Lord Shiva broke the kalash with his arrow.

Aadikampatta Vishwanadar temple – where the flowers from the kalash fell and the Linga was formed and the place became abundant with Malathy flowers and was known as Malathy vanam.

Kalahastishwarar temple – where the Chandan from the kalash fell.

Ekambareshwarar temple – where the remaining parts of the kalash fell.

Kottaiyur Kodeshwarar temple – where some drops of amrut fell.

Kumbhakonam was earlier known as Kudamukku. It was also known as Kudavayil during Tamil Sangam period more than 4000 years ago. The Kumbhakonam is known as City of temples as it contains 100s of temples and sacred teerthas around it. It contains the Shankaracharya math, a Vaishnav math, Madhavacharya math, Jain temples and Aaryavaishya temple known as Kannikaparameshwari Amman Kovil and it also has 34 of the 273 padal petra sthalams. It also has nine, Divya Kshetra temples out of 108 Vaishnava Divya Kshetras.

Sri Thyagaraja Kovil at Thiruvarur

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. As one of the Athar Sthalam, it represents Muladhar chakra. 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: Thyagarajajar, Vanmikanadar
Devi: Kamalambika, Nelottapala-ambal
Sacred teertha: Kamalaalayam, Shankha Teertha, Gaya Teertha, Vani Teertha
Kshetra Vruksha: Padri Tree (Trumpet Flower Tree)
Historic or puranic name: Aaroor (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 Ajabanatanam (dance without chanting resembling the dance of tyagaraja resting on Lord Vishnu’s chest)

This place represents the Muladhar Chakra and hence this place also known as Muladhara-sthalam

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 (Veedhivdangar) 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 Ganesh 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 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-Thyagarajeshwarar temple where Thyagaraja worshiped. Shrines of Anandeshwarar, Siddheshwarar, are also present. In the parikrama we come across lingas worshiped by Lord Indra, Cheranatha, Pandyanatha, Adikeshwarar, Pulastya rushi, 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 we people can get back the things lost by them.

In Devi shrine’s inner parikrama, we have shrines of Lord Dharmashasta and Vinayaka. There is a canal near the temple. Generally in the temple facing the east the processions begin from east entrance but in this temple they begin 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 Abhayamudra 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 Bhairav is addressed here as Siddhi Bhairav. 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, Durga, Kamalambal, Achaleshwarar, Tyagaraja, Vanmikanadar, 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 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 puran, there was a king named Sadayagupta. He got affected by Shanidosh 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 Navagrahs 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  Nadukkam Vinayaka, near west Gopuram, Matru-Uraitha Vinayaka. He checked the purity of gold given to Sundarar by Lord Shiva. 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. There is also Vatapi ganapati revered by Muttuswami 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 Lord Indra wants to get back Vidanga and hence he stands on the eastern 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 (North 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 Nagasosha. At this place pradosh 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 is 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 Tamilnadu. Lord Shiva has performed 364 miracles at this place. It is stated that those who are born  in Thiruvarur attain mukti so that Lord Yama has no work. Hence Yama is Chandikeshwrar at this place. Behind sanctum sanctorum there is believed to be a secret known as Daiva Rahasya. 

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 Shaktipeeth known as Kamala Shakti Peeth.

Festivals:

10 day panguni uttaram festival. Flag hoisting on hasta nakshatra in the month of masi. Car festival on the tenth day signifying darshan of Lord Shiva to Sage Vyaghrapada. 

Arudra Darshan (Dec)

Vansat utsav - this festival was originally performed by Manmada and Rati for Lord Tyagaraja in the month of panguni for their reunion. 

Thiruvaduthurai festival in the month of Margashirsha (Dec-Jan)

Adi puram festival for 10 days - This festival is held for the utsav murti of Devi. 

Masimagam festival 

Chariot festival in April-May 

Puja 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.

Kshetra Puran for Tyagaraja Temple

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 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.

Prayers:

People perform rahu kaal durga puja for obtaining boons. People pray to Lord Vanmikanadar for various boons on Purattasi Navami teethi. 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. 

Sri Jambukeshwarar Temple At Thiruvanaikoil

This Shiva temple is located at Thiruvanaikoil (Jambukeshwarar) in Trichy district of Tamil Nadu. This is one of the Panchabhoota sthala representing the element water. As one of the Aathar sthalams it represents Svadhisthana chakra. It is a Padal Petra Sthalam i.e. one of the 275 Shiva temples revered by Nayanmars i.e. Shaiva saints. 

Moolavar (Main Deity): Jambukeshwarar

Utsava moorti: Chandrashekharar, Somaskandha

Name of consort: Parvati (Akhilandeshwari)

Sthala-vruksha (Sacred tree): Safed (white) jambhool fruit

The temple is about 1700 years old and the Shivalinga is the swayanbhu linga. Other deities in the temple are Maha-Saraswati (without Veena) behind Lord Shiva’s sanctum, Chandra with wives Kritika and Rohini, Panchamukha Vinayak, Lord Shani with his wife Jyeshtha devi.

On the bank of Jamboo-teertha, there is a Kuber linga (worshiped by Lord Kubera). Abhishek is performed on a full moon day of June-July with the fruits, plantain, mango and jackfruit on the Kuber linga. It is stated in Sthala puran that Goddess Ambika performed penance in the Tamil month of Aadi (July-August) at this place. Mother Parvati graces this place as Maha Lakshmi in the morning, as Parvati in the afternoon and as Saraswati in the evening. The sanctum of Jambookeshwarar lingam has an underground water stream. In spite of pumping the water under the lingam, it gets filled again and again. 

Kshetra Puran:

A number of legends are associated with this place in kshetra puran. 

When Lord Shiva was in deep meditation at Kailas, Parvati thought why he should seat in meditation when I am by his side. She teased him on this account. Due to this, Lord Shiva got angry and cursed her to go to Bhulok as an atonement. She asked for forgiveness and he stated that he will give her dnyanopadesh in the Bhulok and will pardon her. Parvati reached bank of Kaveri and discovered a Shiva Linga in the waters. The place where she performed penance and installed the Appu Linga (Shiva Linga in water) is Thiruvanaikaval. Lord Shiva became her Guru and gave dnyanopadesh at this place which indicates that the Guru is necessary for obtaining dnyanopadesh. There was no need for Parvati to have a Guru as she was Adi Parashakti herself but to teach the world a necessity of Guru for dnyanopadesh she must have enacted this drama. In this temple we come across the scene where Parvati worshipped Lord Shiva and this is enacted by the Shivacharya (Shaiva priest) in this temple.  The water spring under the Shiva Linga is known as Hema Teertha (Pataal Ganga). The water from Hema Teertha is used for the Abhishek of Jambukeshwarar linga. It is believed that the water from this spring was used by Parvati for worshipping Shiva Linga. At this place Parvati is depicted as an unmarried girl performing penance and as a student waiting to get upadesh from the Guru.

There were 2 quarrelsome Shiva ganas namely Malyavan and Pushpadanta. During one of their fights Malyavan cursed Pushpadanta to become an elephant and in turn Pushpadanta cursed Malyavan to be a spider on the earth. The elephant and the spider came to Jambookeshwarar and continued the worship of Lord Shiva. The elephant collected water from Kaveri and did Abhishek. The spider spun a web over the Shivalinga to prevent the dry leaves falling on the lingam from the Jamboo tree. The elephant thinking the web to be the dust over the lingam, cleaned the lingam daily by pouring water. And in turn the spider spun the web everyday. Once getting angry the spider crawled into the trunk of the elephant and bit the elephant to death. In this process it also got killed. Lord Shiva, moved by their devotion, relieved them of the curse and gave moksha. As the elephant worshiped at this place, the place is known as Thiruaanaikaa (thiru means holy, aanai is elephant, kaa (kaadu) means forest). Later the name 'Thiruaanaikaa' become 'Thiruvanaikaval' and 'Thiruvanaikoil'. In the next birth, the spider was born as a King and built the Shiva sanctum so small that no elephant can enter the temple. The entrance is about 2.5 ft wide and 4 ft high. 

Goddess Parvati is known as Akhilandeshwari at this temple. The idols of Shiva and Akhilandeshwari are opposite to each other. These type of temples are known as Upasana sthalams. There is no Thirukalyanam (divine marriage) conducted at this place as Parvati is a student and Lord Shiva is Guru. 

Aadi-Shankara installed Prasanna (pleasant) Ganapati opposite to Akhilandeshwari and installed a pair of Srichakra (as ear rings) to reduce the anger of Parvati. The shrines of Parvati and Prasanna Ganapati are in the shape of Pranav Mantra “OM”. The image of Ekapada Trimurti (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) is similar to the one at Thyagaraja temple at Thiruvottiyur near Chennai. 

Sri Arunachaleshwarar Temple

The temple of Lord Shiva (Annamalaiyar) is located at Thiruannamalai in Tamilnadu. As one of the Athara sthalam, it represents Manipura chakra. As one of the Panchabhoota Sthala it represents the element Fire. It is also one of the 275 Shiva temples revered by Nayanmars in their sacred hymns. At this place the Shiva linga is the mountain itself. This place is also known as Shonachalam, Shonagiri and Arunachal. As stated, the mountain forms the linga and the surrounding broad portion is the temple. It is stated in puran that the Lord exists at this place in the form of Jyoti (Flame). 

Mulavar: Annamalaiyar

Devi: Parvati, Unnamali amman (Devi), Apitha Kuchambal

Sacred teertha: Agni teertha

Important festival: Lamp festival in the Tamil month of Karthik known as Karthigai deepam. 

Other deities in the shrine:

Nandi, Surya. Behind the walls of sanctum sanctorum, idol of Venugopalswami (Vishnu or Lord Krishna) is found. The idols of Somaskandha, Durga, Chandikeshwar, Gajalaxmi, Arumugaswami (Sankmukha), Dakshinamurthi and Lingodbhavar are found around this sanctum. The shrine of Parvati (Unnamali amman) is depicted in the 2nd enclosure. To the north of flag staff (Kodimaram) we find Sambandha Vinayaka. There is a 1000 pillar hall and to its South, shrine of Subramanya is located. There is an underground lingam known as Patal-lingam where Raman Maharshi did penance.

The tantrik chakras personified in Shiva temples are known as Aadhar sthala. The Annamalaiyar temple represents Manipura sthalam and is associated with Manipura chakra. Following legends are associated with this place according to Puran.

Once Brahma and Vishnu had an argument regarding their superiority. They approached Lord Shiva to settle the dispute. Shiva appeared as a column of Fire and asked them to find top and bottom of the flame. Vishnu became a boar (Varaha) and sought to find the bottom while Brahma became a swan and searched for the top. With the help of the Ketaki flower, Brahma stated (lied) that he had seen the top whereas Vishnu conceded his defeat and he could not see the bottom. As punishment for lying, Brahma was cursed so that he could never be worshipped in any temple on the Earth.

In another reference in the puran, Parvati once closed the eyes of Lord Shiva in a playful manner in a garden in mount Kailash. Due to this, the whole world came to standstill. As atonement for this act, She performed penance along with the other devotees of Shiva at this place. Lord Shiva appeared as a column of Fire at the top of Annamalai mountain and blessed Her. Hence Annamalai mountain (Red mountain) which lies behind Annamalai temple is sacred and is considered as a lingam. 

Festivals: 

There are 4 major festivals at this place and are known as Brahmotsav. 

Kartigai deepam (Light festival), Chaitra pournima, Tiruvoodal in the first week of Tamil month Thai (i.e. around Sankrant on January 15-16th). Nandi is decorated with fruits, vegetables and sweets. This day is celebrated in Tamilnadu as the festival of bullock (Mattu-pongal). Besides this, every full moon day, 10s of 1000s of pilgrims perform Girivallam i.e. circumambulate Arunachal hills. There are 8 small shrines of Lingam located along the Girivallam. Each one of them is associated with the 12 moon signs. 

God	Raas	Direction
Indra	Vrishabh, Tula	East
Agni	Simha	South-east
Yama	Vrishchik	South
Nirutti	Mesha	South-west
Varuna	Makar, Kumbha	West
Vaayu	Karka	North-west
Kubera	Dhanush, Meen	North
Ishaan	Mithun, Kanya	North-east

The day on which Lord Shiva manifested first in the form of Linga i.e. column of Fire is celebrated as Mahashivaratri. In Maheshwar khanda of Skanda Puran, Sage Vyasa has described the greatness of Arunachala. A quote from Raman Maharshi on the sanctity of Arunachala is as follows – 

“Holy places such as Kashi, Varanasi and Hrishikesh are sacred as they are abodes of Lord Shiva. Whereas Arunachala is Lord Shiva Himself. Arunachala is a secret kshetra. It is the place that bestows Gyana. In that place, Lord ever abides the hill of light named Arunachala. 

According to Arunachala mahima, one will certainly attain liberation by seeing Chidambaram, by being born in Tiruvarur, by dying in Kashi and by merely thinking of Arunachala.

The great Saint Raman Maharshi meditated on the slopes on Annamalai hills. His ashram is located in the foothills of Annamalai hills. Saints like Sheshadri Swamigal and Yogi Ramsurat Kumar have been associated with this place.