Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 37th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Nadu Naadu |
Nadu Naadu | 5th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar) |
HISTORY:
A
farmer Periyan and his wife lived in this village. They had the habit of taking
food only after offering it to a Shiva devotee. One day, Lord Shiva decided to
test their faith. That day, the couple could not find anyone to offer the food
to. Periyan came to his field to ask one of his workers to come to his house so
that he could make his offering. Surprisingly, he could not find anyone in the
field. He waited for some time for them to return.
After
some time, Periyan saw an old man pass by and he requested him to come and have
food. The old man said that he could not accept food without earning it. He
offered to some work in the field and then accepts the food as wage. The farmer
asked him to plough the field. Once the old man started ploughing the field,
the farmer went back home to fetch some food for him. When he returned with the
food, he was astonished to see that the crops were fully grown and ready for
harvest.
Periyan
and his wife served the food for the old man under the kontrai tree. After he
had finished eating, they asked him how he was able to do such a miraculous
thing. The old man disappeared before answering. Thereafter Lord Shiva appeared
on his bull mount (Rishabha Vakanam) with Goddess Parvathy and gave dharisanam
to the couple. The lord further informed them that he had only come there in
the form of an old man.
After
worshiping the lord, Periyan and his wife requested Lord Shiva to stay back in
the place and bless them. Lord Shiva stayed back as a Swayambu Lingam in this
place under the kontrai tree.The lord here is named as “Sivakozhundeeswarar”.
Since the Lord Shiva himself is believed to have ploughed the field,
sowed millet seeds (“Thinai”) and made it ready for harvest, this place is
known as “Thiru Thinai Nagar”.This temple is situated on the banks of river
Pennai and is believed to have been built in the 6th century. The
historical name of the village around the temple is "Thiru Thinai Nagar”.
It has now been changed to "Theerthanagiri".
Jambava Theertham:
The
Jambavan, the king of the bears, worshiped Lord Shiva here for his curse,
bathed in the tank and received his blessing from lord and got relief from
curse. This temple’s tank is named after him - “Jambava Theertham”. It is
believed that taking a dip in this tank will absolve you off your sins.
King Veeraseran constructed this
temple:
A
king named Veeraseran who was suffering from leukoderma. Once he had come to
this temple for worshiping the lord. His dog, who was also suffering from skin
diseases, had also come with him. His dog accidentally fell in the temple’s
tank. When it came out, its skin diseases had disappeared. Noticing this, the
king decided to take a dip in the tank. To his surprise, when he came out, he
was cured of his leukoderma. He worshiped the lord and conveyed his gratitude.
It is believed that thereafter King Veeraseran constructed this temple.
Lord Natarajar is seen in his
“Ananda Thandavam” posture:
An
idol of Lord Natarajar can be seen in a separate shrine along with idols of
Lord Mahavishnu and Lord Brahma. Here Lord Vishnu is seen with his conch and
Lord Brahma with a percussion instrument called “Panchamuga Vadhyam” (an
instrument similar to Tabla). Lord Natarajar is seen in his “Ananda Thandavam”
posture to which Lord Vishnu is singing with his conch and Lord Brahma is
playing the Panchamuga Vadhyam. Such a display of the “Trimurthy” is very rare.
Lord Dakshinamurthy is seen sitting
on a platform:
Lord
Dakshinamurthy is seen sitting on a platform (peedam) with his legs folded.
Four of his disciples are seen sitting near him. Unlike Lord Dakshinamurthy’s
posture in other temples, Abhasmaram (the demon representing ignorance) is not
seen under his foot. It is believed that when the farmer couple served food to
Lord Shiva, he took it by sitting on the floor with his legs folded. To depict
this, Lord Dakshinamurthy graces here in this form.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
This temple has
main tower (Rajagopuram) with 3-tiers.
·
Devotees can
enjoy the darshan of all the three Lords (Trimurthys) – Brahmma, Vishnu and
Shiva here. This is considered to be very auspicious.
·
Sculpture of
Nardhana Ganapathy with four “Boodha Ganas” (soldiers of the lord).
·
Every year,
Suryan worships Lord Shiva for a period of three days from 20th to 22nd of
the Tamil month of Panguni (Mar-Apr) by illuminating the lingam in the
sanctum.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri Shivakkozhuntheeswarar, Sri Shivangareswarar, |
|
Ambal |
Sri Neelayathakshi, Sri Oppila Nayagi, |
|
Theertham |
Jambava Theertham |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Kontrai tree |
BELIEF:
The
Jambavan, the king of the bears, worshiped Lord Shiva here and received his
blessing. This temple’s tank is named after him - “Jambava Theertham”. It is
believed that taking a dip in this tank will absolve you off your sins and cure
all diseases.
Worshiping
of Lord Natarajar here is considered to be auspicious for those seeking
excellence in the fields of music and dance.
It
is also believed that worshiping Lord Dakshinamurthy here will reward devotees
with a rich yield from their farms.
TEMPLE
FESTIVAL:
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Vaikasi |
May-June |
13-day
Vaikasi Brahmotsavam |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha
Shivrathri |
|
Aipasi |
Oct-Nov |
Annabishekam |
|
Markazhi |
Dec-Jan |
Arudra
Dharisanam |
HOW
TO REACH:
Thiruthinai
Nagar is at a distance of about 25 kms from Cuddalore. Take the Cuddalore to
Chidambaram route to reach Mettupalayam (20 Kms). From Mettupalayam, take a
diversion route and travel for about 5 kms to reach Thiruthinai Nagar.
The
nearest railway station is Puduchathiram. It is at a distance of about 6 kms
from Thiruthinai Nagar on the Chidambaram to Cuddalore route.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri
Sivakkozhuntheswarar Temple,
Theerthanagiri Post,
Cuddalore,
Tamil Nadu – 608801.
LOCATION:
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