This place is at about a distance of 19 km from Thiruvaiyaru, 19 km from Thirukandiyur and 26 km from Thanjavur. This temple is on the southern bank of Kaveri. This is a Padal Pethra Sthalam revered by Shaiva saints Appar, Sambandhar and Vallalar. Hence this temple must have existed even before the 7th century (may be more than 2000 years old). It was reconstructed by Chola king Aditya I. There are stone inscriptions which indicate the work done and the endowments made by Chola, Pandya and Vijayanagar kings.
Moolavar: Shri Agnishwarar, Shri Theeyadiappar
Devi: Shri Soundarya Nayaki, Shri Azhagammai, Shri Vaarkonda Mulaiyammai
Sacred Vruksha: Shami tree and Bilva tree.
Sacred Teertha: Surya Teertha, Kaveri river, Kudamurutti, Agni (a well).
Puranik name: Melai Thirukattupalli
Present name: Thirukattupalli
Kshetra purana:
In one of our earlier blogs about the Pancha Bhoota Sthala, we had mentioned about Lord Brahma being cursed by Lord Shiva that he will not be worshiped on earth as he had told a lie to Lord Shiva. Lord Brahma became very upset with the curse. In order to get relieved of the curse, he worshiped Lord Shiva at this temple. Pleased by his worship, Lord Shiva allowed him to have a separate shrine. It is believed that this was the first place where Lord Brahma was installed in a separate shrine.
According to Sthala purana, Lord Indra along with other devas came to this temple and worshiped Lord Shiva. Lord Agni also prayed along with them. At that time he made a request to Lord Shiva. He stated that he burns all the evils of the devotees who perform homam and he has to carry their sins. He also told that he gets the blame as anything touched by him gets charred. Hence he prayed to Lord Shiva for relief. Pleased by his worship, Lord Shiva asked him to dig a teertha (well) and use that water to perform Abhishek and get relieved of the burden. Agni did as directed by Lord Shiva and was relieved of his burden and became pure again. Lord Shiva was worshiped by Agni hence he is known as Agnishwarar and the teertha dug by Agni is called Agniteertha.
We had mentioned in our earlier blog on Shri Thayumanavar temple of Trichy about Sarama muni who was a descendant of Siddha Thirumoolar. He used to worship Lord Shiva with Shevanti flowers. Hence Lord Shiva is praised as ShevantiNadar. The Chola king who used to rule this area with Woraiyur as capital had two wives, one was living at Woraiyur while the other was at this place. A servant plucked flowers from the nandanvan and gave it to the two queens. The queen at Woraiyur used the flowers for her personal use, while the queen who lived here used it for worshiping Lord Shiva. Sarama muni who owned the nandanvan complained to the king about the theft of flowers from the nandanvan. The king did not take any action, then the muni complained to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva turned towards the west with an angry look and created a sandstorm and submerged Woraiyur but this place was spared.
Those who worshiped at this place:
Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma, Lord Surya, Lord Agni, Lord Indra, other devas, King Bhageerath and queen of Chola king.
Special features:
1. Sanctum is below the ground level.
2. In the Navagraha shrine, all eight planets are facing Lord Surya.
3. There are two Lord Dakshinamurti idols, Yoga Dakshinamurti and Guru Dakshinamurti. The idol of Yoga Dakshinamurti is very unique.
4. The Dhwaja Stambha is covered by a copper kavach.
5. Lord ArdhaNaareeshwarar is a Koshta murti instead of the usual Lord Lingothbhavar.
6. There is a separate shrine for Lord Brahma, believed to be first in the world.
About the temple:
The Sanctum Sanctorum consists of Sanctum Antarala and Ardha Mandap. This temple is believed to be the first temple where Lord Brahma has a separate shrine. The temple has a five tiered RajaGopuram with three prakarams and is spread over an area of one acre. Dhwaja Stambha, Balipeeth and Nandi are in a newly constructed mandap after RajaGopuram. The Dhwaja Stambha is covered by a copper kavach. On the right side of RajaGopuram there is a shrine of Lord Vinayaka. The sanctum is four steps below the ground level with a small entrance. The Shivalinga is a small Swayambhu linga.
The top of Shivalinga is covered by five hoods of a serpent. In this temple, no one except the priest is allowed in the sanctum.
Koshta Murtis:
Lord Vinayaka, Lord Yoga Dakshinamurti, Lord ArdhaNaareeshwarar, Lord Brahma and Goddess Durga.
Lord Lingothbhavar is in a separate shrine. In the outer prakaram we come across Nataraj Sabha, Utsav murtis and NavaGraha shrine. In the NavaGraha shrine all eight planets face Lord Surya.
Idols and shrines in the inner prakaram: Valampuri Vinayakar, Lord Lingothbhavar, Lord ArdhaNaareeshwarar, Lord KashiVishwanath with Goddess Vishaalaakshi, Goddess Unnamalai Amman, Lord Subramanyam with Valli and Deivanai, Lord Shrinivasa with Goddess Bhuma devi and Goddess Shridevi, Goddess GajaLakshmi,
Lord Chandikeshwarar, Lord Brahma in a separate shrine and Lord SattaiNathar.
In this temple, there are two Dakshinamurtis - Yoga Dakshinamurti and Guru Dakshinamurti. Yoga Dakshinamurti has two hands and is sitting in Kuranga asana (full squat). He has two hands and wears Surya and Chandra on his matted hair and Makarandi Rudraksha on his neck. On the right side of the front mandap, we come across shrines of Lord Bhairav and Shaiva saints Nalvar.
Ambika is in a separate south facing shrine which has a vimana. At the entrance of her shrine, there are stucco images of dwarapalakis on either side. On the top of the mandap there are stucco images of Lord Shiva, Goddesss Parvati, Lord Muruga and Lord Vinayakar. Goddess Ambika is standing posture. There is an idol of Lord Vinayakar inside her shrine.
Prayers:
Devotees pray at this temple for (1) Removal of marriage obstacles, (2) Wealth and prosperity, (3) Excellence in education and knowledge.
Poojas:
Regular pooja according to Agama rules and Pradosh pooja is also performed regularly.
Some important festivals:
Panguni (Mar-April): Brahma Utsav on Uttara Nakshatra.
Aippasi (Oct-Nov): Annabhishek
Margazhi (Dec-Jan): Thiruvathirai
Masi (Feb-Mar): Magha Nakshatra, MahaShivaRatri
Timing:
6:00am to 11:00am and 4:00pm to 8:30pm.
Address:
Shri Agnishwarar temple/ Shri Theeyadiappar temple, At post Thirukattupalli,
District : Tanjore
State : TamilNadu, 613014
Phone number: +91-9442347433
Courtesy: Various website and blogs
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