This place is situated at a distance of 12 kms from Sembarnar Kovil and 6 kms from Poompuhar on Mayiladuthurai-Poompuhar route. This is a Padal Pethra sthalam on the southern bank of Kaveri where the Shaiva saints Sambandhar, Appar and Sundarar (together known as Moovar) sang praises. This is the Mada Kovil built by Kochengat Chola. The original temple is believed to be more than 2000 years old, constructed by King Abhushithu of Dravidian Kingdom. The temple was rebuilt by cholas and extended by Vijayanagara kings. This place is also known as Peripallamand Thiruvalampuram.
Moolavar: Shri Valampurinathar, Shri Thalavalanathar, Shri Vanninizhal Nathar, Shri Kailashnathar, Shri Kashi Vishwanathar, Shri Muktishwarar
Devi: Shri Swarnapadmambika, Shri Dnyanasundari, Shri Shankari, Shri Vadhuvahir KanniAmmai
Utsav Murti: Chandrasekhar. Procession idol of Devi is praised as Padmanayaki
Sacred Teertha: Brahma Teertha, Lakshmi Teertha, Swarnapankaj Teertha
Kshetra Vruksha: Male Palm tree (Panai in Tamil)
Pooja/Agama: Shiva agama.
Puranik Name: Thalvanam, Moongeel (Bambu), Thoppu (Garden or forest), Sangamthenthurai, Sangenthivaanagiri, Mallmakudi, Lakshminarayana Puram
Kshetra Puran:
The original temple is believed to be more than 2000 years old. It was constructed by a Dravidian king named Abhishitu and he was blessed with a child.
According to the Sthala Puran, Lord Mahavishnu worshiped Lord Shiva at this place to receive a conch (right handed) as a blessing. For this purpose he brought Goddess Lakshmi to this place to assist Goddess Parvati. Lord Shiva who was pleased by his worship blessed him with a maze (Gada) and a chakra. When he came to fetch Goddess Lakshmi from this place Goddess Parvati gave him the conch and padma (Lotus) hence the place is praised as Valampuram.
According to Puran, once the serpent king Adishesha came from the underworld on a Shiva Ratri day to worship Lord Shiva at Thiruvalamchuzhi. A huge hole (Bhiladwaram) formed at the place where he came out. River Kaveri, which was flowing at this place, fell into the hole and started flowing in the underworld. King Hardhwajam of Kumbhakonam was worried as the land started becoming barren without water from the river. He was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva, hence he worshiped Lord Shiva for assistance. A divine voice said to him that if a king or a sage sacrifices his life by entering the hole, the river Kaveri can be brought back and the hole will disappear. Sage Heranda Maharshi who was doing penance at that place confirmed the message. For the welfare of his people the king decided to enter the hole. At that time the sage stopped the king and entered the hole as he was ready to sacrifice for the people. At that very instant Kaveri came out of the hole and started flowing as before. The sage did penance and travelled all the way through the tunnel and came out at this place. Hence the place got the name Thiruvalampuram as the place is to the west (right) side of Kaveri. He worshiped the Lord at this place for some time and attained salvation. There is a shrine here where he attained Jivasamadhi in front of the temple. In this shrine there is shiva linga worshiped by him. The place where he came out of the hole is known as Melakaveri (in Kumbhakonam)
A king of Magadha named Dhananjay instructed his son to immerse his ashes in some holy water where they would blossom into flowers. His son Dakshina and his wife visited many shiva temples in search of a holy teertha. When he reached this place the ashes blossomed into flowers. Immediately he immersed the ashes at this place in the sacred teertha and worshiped Lord Shiva. The idol of the king and his wife can be seen in the parikrama. As per the puran, this place is considered as holy as Kashi.
King Daksha and his wife performed penance at this place to have Dakshayani as his daughter. It is believed that Goddess Parvati was born on Magha nakshatra in the month of Masi and she was named as Dakshayani.
According to another Sthala Puran, a king of Kashi wanted to test the fidelity of his queen while he was on a hunting trip in the forest. He asked his minister to inform the queen that he was killed by a tiger during hunting. The queen who was unable to bear this news died instantly. For causing the death of his wife, the king was afflicted with Brahmahatya dosha. The king consulted various sages and learned men for getting absolved of Brahmahatya dosha. He was advised to give annadan for 1000 brahmins daily at this place. They also advised him to hang a big bell in front of the palace that will ring automatically when a sage takes annadan. The king set up a dharmashala for Annadan. One day shaiva saint Pattinathar came to this place and asked for food. The servants refused as the saint did not look like Brahmin. With nothing else to eat the saint drank the water that was drained from the rice (kanji or peja in Tamil) . The bell started ringing even before the annadan started. The king rushed to the dharmashala and saw a smiling Pattinathar standing there. He fell at the feet of Pattinathar and begged for forgiveness. It is believed that the King was relieved of Brahmahatya dosha immediately. To commemorate this event a festival is celebrated at this place even now.
The sthala puran says that Lord Shiva granted darshan to shaiva saint Appar when he was on a pilgrimage along with Sambandhar.
According to Purana, it is believed that Lord Surya was blessed with the darshan of Lord Shiva in Kailash from here.
Those who worshiped at this place:
Lord Muruga, Lord Mahavishnu, Lord Brahma, Lord Indra, Ekadasha Rudras, Devas, Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Surya, Lord Chandra, Thalavana Rishis, Vasuki, Lord Varuna, River Kaveri, Celestial cow Kamadhenu, and Indra’s mount - Airawat.
Special features:
The shiva linga is kept covered with a kavach as it is made of sand
The idol of Bhikshatanar is very beautiful
This is a Mada kovil
Lord Shiva himself called Shaiva saint Appar to this temple and gave him Darshan
There is a shallow hole on the top of a shiva linga.
The idols of Lord Nataraja and Shivagami, Nachiyar, Tandanganni Nachiyar were later added by King Vikram Chola and King Rajarajachola second. Along with these idols, Palliyarai (Shayanagruha) was also constructed.
There is a bronze idol of Kirat Murti which is very beautiful.
About the temple:
This is an east facing temple, no rajagopuram, has two parikramas. The Sanctum-sanctorum consists of sanctum, antarala and mandap. A two tiered Viman is on the sanctum-sanctorum. Sanctum is moat shaped. The temple tank is on the front side of the temple. On the bank of this tank there is a shrine for Lord Vinayaka. Adjacent to this shrine there is an idol of Eranda Maharshi (Sage Atri). Balipeeth and Nandi face the Sanctorum. On the entrance of the sanctum there are stucco images of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati on Rishabha with Lord Vinayaka and Lord Muruga on the sides. The shiva linga is a swayambhu linga made of sand and is praised as Pruthvi Linga with a kavach on it. Abhishek is performed on the kavach. There are two holes at the top of Shiva Linga, hence the place got the name Melaperumpallam. Perfumed oil and Punugu (Civet) is applied to the Shiva Linga once in a while.
Koshtha murtis are Lord Vinayaka, Lord Dakshinamurti, Lord Mahavishnu, Lord Brahma and Goddess Durga. Lord Chandikeshwarar’s shrine is at the usual position.
In the parikrama we come across the following shrines and idols. Lord Vinayak, Lord Subramanya with his consorts, Lord Nataraja, Lord Somaskanda, Lord Bhikshatanar, Shaiva saints Naalvar, idols of Naaga (serpents), Lord Vishwanath, Shiva linga worshiped by Lakshman, Shiva linga worshiped by Lord Rama, Ramanathar, Goddess Gajalakshmi, Sapta Matrika, Lord Surya, Lord Kalabhairav and Lord Shanishwarar.
There is an idol of Lord Daksha and his wife. Lord Vinayaka in this temple is praised as Shri Valampuri Vinayaka, Selva ganapati and Vellai (white) Vinayaka.
The idol of Bhikshatanar is very beautiful and it is believed to have been found in the temple tank. He is praised as Vattanainathar and Ardhanarishwar Bhikshatanar. He is depicted as playing Veena.
Prayers:
- Devotees worship here for relief from skin problems, stree-dosha, adverse effects of planets, sarpadosha and marriage obstacles
- Devotees believe worshiping Lord Shiva at this place relieves them from the cycle of birth and death.
- People worship at this place for child-boon.
- People worship at this place for relief from adverse effects of planets Rahu-Venus in men’s chart and Venus-Ketu in female’s chart. They worship 24 times at this place for relief. They also believe that they should visit this place at least once during Rahu-dasha or Venus-dasha.
Poojas:
Regular rituals, pradosha puja, special puja in the Tamil month of Thai, Aadi, new moon days of Mahalay paksha.
Festivals:
Pattinathar Festival on Pradosh days
Aavani (Aug-Sept): Ganesh chaturti
Aadi (July-Aug): Festival on Poorva Phalguni nakshatra
Aippassi (Oct-Nov): Skandashashthi and Annabhishek
Karthigai (Nov-Dec): Thiru Karthigai and special pujas on each Monday
Margazhi (Dec-Jan): Thiruvathirai
Maasi (Feb-March): Shivaratri
Panguni (March-April): Festival on Uttara Phalguni nakshatra
Thai (Jan-Feb): Bhikshatanar festival on Bharani nakshatra
Time: 8 am to 12 noon and 6 pm to 8 pm
Address:
Shri Valampurinathar Temple
Melaperumpallam (Thiruvalampuram)
At-post Melayur,
Taluka: Tharangampadi,
TN 609107
Phone: +91-4364200890, +91-4364200685
Contact number of priest:
Shri Dnyanaskandha Gurukal - +91-8110805059, Shri Pattu Gurukal - 9442860605
Courtesy: Various websites and blogs
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