Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 74th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - North |
Chola Naadu - North | 20th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar)
and Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar) |
HISTORY:
In ancient times, this
region was a forest densely covered with Punga trees. Hence this place gets the
name Thiruppungur. There are 5 stone inscriptions available here which date
back to the period of Pallava Kings Sakalabhuvana and Kopperunsinga Devar. As
per these inscriptions, this temple was renovated by these two kings. The
historical name of this place is “Karinchaaranyam” and the lord is praised as
“Sri Sivalokamudaya Nayanar”.
Thiru
Nalai Povaar Nayanar:
Nanthanar, an ardent
devotee of Lord Shiva, was born in Mela Adhanur village on the banks of the
river Kollidam in a backward community. Though he was working as a peasant in a
farm, he used to devote most of his time in the worship of Lord Shiva. He was
very keen to worship Lord Shiva at the famous Chidambaram (Nataraja) temple and
waited for an opportunity to go there. However, he could not get permission
from his employer who kept stalling Nandanar’s request. Whenever anyone asked
him about his trip, he used to say that “he would go tomorrow”. This earned him
the nick name of “Thiru Nalai Povaar” – meaning “one who would go tomorrow”.
Noticing his eagerness,
one day his employer finally granted him permission to go to Chidambaram.
Nanthanar came to Thiruppungur en route Chidambaram. In those days, people from
backward community were not allowed to enter into temples and hadto worship the
lord from the outside. However, in this temple, the Nandhi in front of the lord
was so big that he could not see the lord. He then prayed to Lord Shiva to
allow him to get his darshan. It is believed that Lord Shiva directed Nandhi to
step aside to allow Nanthanar to see him fully without any hindrance. Nandhi
obeyed immediately and the ecstatic Nanthanar got a full darshan of Lord Shiva.
Overcome with joy, Nanthanar wanted to do something for tis temple. He started
digging a pond near the temple for the welfare of the devotees. He prayed to
Lord Shiva for his blessings to accomplish his task. It is believed that Lord
Shiva instructed Lord Vinayakar to help Nanthanar to complete his task. Lord
Vinayakar along with his “Boothaganas” (the lord’s security), in the form of
labourers, dug the pond overnight. This pond is known as “Rishabha Theertham”
(also known as Ganapathy Theertham). Lord Vinayakar here is praised as
“Kulam Vettiya Vinayakar” (meaning the god who dug the pond).
Nornally the idols of
Dhwarabalakas (gate keepers) at the sanctum’s entrance in Shiva temples are
standing erect and facing ahead. However, here their faces are slightly tilted
and positioned diagonally. This is meant to signify that one Dhwarabalaka
informs the lord that “Nanthanar has come for a dharshan and is waiting
outside”. The other one seems to be passing the lord’s instructions to Nandhi
to step aside. Both the Nandhis, the one inside the sanctum and the other
outside it is not in their regular position.
Pancha
Lingams:
This temple is that
involving a debate between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. When they had a
debate as to who was more charming, Lord Shiva took out a Dharbhai (a grass
used in rituals) and made three knots in it and threw it down to the earth. He
further said that wherever the Dharbhai falls to the ground, he would comment
on Goddess Parvathy’s beauty. The Dharbhai fell on the ground at this place and
got converted into the “Pancha lingams”. These Pancha lingams are situated
inside the temple.
Saint
Sundaramurthy Nayanar:
Sundaramurthy Nayanar
visited this temple along with his friend Eyarkon Kalikkama Nayanar of Thiru
Perumangalam, a nearby village. Kalikkama Nayanar is also one of the 63
Nayanmars. Interestingly, his wife is Manakkanchara Nayanar’s daughter
(Manakkanchara Nayanar is also one of the 63 Nayanmars).
At the same time, it is
believed that the Chola King Rajendran was also staying here. He had come to
this place to worship the lord and seek his blessing for a good monsoon as that
region had been facing a drought for a long time. The king requested Sundarar
to address this problem. Sundarar put up a condition saying that 12 Veli* of
land had to be given to the temple if he could make it rain. The king readily
agreed to his proposition. Upon completing his songs, Lord Shiva brought rains
to this place. Since the rains had not stopped for a few days, Sundarar was
again summoned by the king to fix the problem of imminent floods. Sundarar once
again insisted that 12 more Veli of land be given to the temple should the
rains cease after his song. The king accepted to Sundarar’s demand. The rain
stopped after his songs and the temple became richer by 12 more Veli. In his
hymn of this temple, in the 2nd stanza, Saint Sundarar mentioned about
this incident.
*(1 Veli = 5 kaani = 20
Ma = 6.62 Acre = 2.679 Hectares).
After the Thiripura
Samharam (an incident involving the killing of three demons), Lord Shiva made
two of the demons as the gate keepers (Dwarapalakas) of the sanctum sanctorum.
The third one became the lord’s drummer.
In his hymn of this
temple, in the 8th stanza, Saint Sundarar mentioned about this incident.
Also, in front of Lord Natarajar of this temple, there is a musical instrument
(“Panchamukha Vadhyam” or “Manimuzha” in Tamil) which is played by this
demon.
People
who worshipped here:
Lord Brahma, Indran,
Suryan, Chandran, Agni, Saints Agasthiyar, Patanjali, Vyakrapathar, Saptha
Kanniyars and the monkeys (Vanaras) who were in search of Lord Ram’s wife, Sita
have worshiped the lord here. Kings Rajendra Chola, Veera Vikrama Chola and his
son Chirsabesa Chola have also worshiped the lord here. It is believed that
Saint Agasthiyar got the wedding dharshan of Lord Shiva here.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
· The Nandhi in this temple is huge and is placed a little distance away from its regular position to give a good view of the lord to Nanthanar, one of the 63 Nayanmars, from outside the temple.
· This east facing temple with main tower (Rajagopuram) has 5-tiers.
· In this temple, almost all the idols are artistically made and look very beautiful.
· Since the lingam is made out of sand, abishekam is not performed to the lingam but only to the base (Aavudayar). Only “Punugu” (civet) is applied to the lingam on every Monday at the time of night pooja. The lingam is always covered with a metal sheet (“kavasam”).
· In most of the temples, Nandhi will have its tongue protruding out but in this temple, its tongue is not visible. This Nandhi is carved out of a single stone and it looks very beautiful. Also, this is one of the biggest Nandhis in Tamil Nadu – it is 15 feet long, 7 feet wide and 7 feet tall.
· At the entrance of the sanctum sanctorum, on either side, beautiful reliefs of lord Vinayakar and Murugan can be seen.
· Behind the sanctum sanctorum, on either sides of Lord Lingothbavar, there are idols of Lord Mahavishnu and Lord Brahma in a worshipping posture. Devotees can enjoy the darshan of all the three lords (Trimurthys) – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. This is considered to be very auspicious.
· This temple is considered to be significant for its three important attributes – Moorthy, Sthalam and Theertham - glory of Lord, sacredness of the land and the auspicious temple tank.
· The sanctum sanctorum is in the form of semi-circular tank (akazhi in Tamil).
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri Shivalokanathar |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Sokkanayaki Amman, Sri Soundaranayaki |
|
Theertham |
Punka
Theertham, Rishaba Theertham |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Punka
tree |
BELIEF:
Devotees believe that
worshiping the lord here will lead to removal of “Naga doshams” (related to
serpent) and sins from their previous birth.
Devotees also believe
that worshipping the “Pancha lingams” here will remove the obstacles from their
marriage proposals.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Vaikasi |
May-June |
10-day Vaikasi Visakam Brahmotsavam |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Vinayakar
Chathurthi |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Thirukarthikai |
|
Purattasi |
Sep-Oct |
Navarathri |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
Skanda
Shashti and Annabishekam |
|
Markazhi |
Dec-Jan |
Thiruvadhirai |
HOW
TO REACH:
Thiruppunkur is
situated at a distance of about 4 kms from Vaitheeswaran Koil on the
Vaitheeswaran Koil to Manalmedu route. From Mayiladuthurai it is about 17 kms
and from Chidambaram it is about 29 kms.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Shivalokanathar Temple,
Thiruppungur,
Sirkazhi,
Nagapattinam,
Tamil Nadu 609 112.
LOCATION:
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