98. SRI AABATHSAKAAYESWARAR TEMPLE AT THIRU IRUMBOOLAI (ALANGUDI)

Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam	215th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam)
Region	Chola Naadu - South
Chola Naadu - South	98th Shiva Sthalam
Pathigam	Saint Thirugnanasambanthar

HISTORY:

When the Devas were churning the “Thirupparkadal” to extract nectar from it, they fell under the adverse effect of the poison. It is believed that Lord Shiva, as Dakshinamoorthy, then imparted the knowledge of Vedas to the Devas to save them. The lord is also believed to have absorbed all the poison (“Alakala Visham”). Hence, he is praised as “Sri Aabathsahayeswarar” (one who protects those in trouble). The village also gets the name Alangudi.

In ancient times, this region was densely covered with “Poolai” plants. However, now there is not even a single plant left here. As the sacred tree (Sthala Viruksham) of this temple is the black poolai plant, this place gets the name Thiru Irumpoolai. The historical names of this place are Kasi Aaranyam, Thiru Irumboolai and Alangudi. The temple is surrounded by “Amirtha Pushkarani”, one of its Theerthams. It adorns the temple like a garland (“Akazhi” in Tamil). 

Five Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams:

There are five Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams at different places in the Thanjavur, Kumbakonam and Thiruvarur regions which are revered as “Pancha Aranya Sthalams”. Alangudi is one among them. “Pancha” means five and “Aranyam / Vanam” means forest in Tamil. In ancient times, these regions were densely forested. These five temples are –

1. Sri Mullaivananathar Temple at Thirukkarukavur with “Mullai” forest (vanam);
2. Sri Satchi Nathar Temple at Avalivanallur with “Paadhiri” forest (vanam);
3. Sri Paathaaleswarar Temple at Thiru Aradaipperumpazhi (Haridwara Mangalam) with “Vanni” forest (vanam);
4. Sri Aapathsahayeswarar Temple at Thiru Irumpoolai (Alangudi) with “Poolai” forest (vanam);

5. Sri Vilvavaneswarar Temple at Thirukkollampudur with “Vilva” forest (vanam).

Worshiping the lord at these five temples in a single day is considered to be auspicious. These temples should be visited in the order given above at the following times - early morning, morning, noon, evening and night respectively. It is also believed that Saint Thirugnanasambanthar worshiped Lord Shiva at these temples in this order.

Lord Dakshinamoorthy:

Lord Dakshinamoorthy, also known as “Thenmuga Kadavul”, who imparted the supreme knowledge to the sages and the celestial gods, is regarded as the "Guru" (teacher). Lord Dakshinamurthy can be seen on the south facing wall of the sanctum sanctorum (“Koshtam”) of every Shiva temple.

Guru is originally seen as the preceptor of the Navagraham in the fifth place. However, in this temple, Lord Dakshinamurthy is regarded as planet Guru (Brahaspathi - Viyazhan in Tamil) which is very unique.

Kalangaamal Kaatha Vinayakar:

Lord Vinayakar here is praised as "Kalangaamal Kaatha Vinayakar”. He gets this name because when Saint Sundarar was caught in the floods while coming to Alangudi, Lord Shiva himself came to his rescue in a boat and Lord Vinayaka protected the boat from capsizing. Kalangaamal Kaatha Vinayakar can be loosely translated as “Vinayakar who protected the boat from capsizing”.

Amuthohar:

Amuthohar, a minister of the Chola King Musukunda Chakravarthy who ruled from Thiruvarur. It is believed that this minister built this temple. The king asked him to share the benefits (“Punniyam” in Tamil) that he had accrued by building this temple. The minister refused to do so. Angered by his reply, the king ordered his guards to behead the minister. When he was beheaded, Amuthohar’s name was echoed all around. Then the king realised his mistake and worshiped the lord here to seek relief from his “Brahmahathi Dosham" that he accrued by killing his minister.

Saint Sundaramurthy Nayanar:

The idol of Saint Sundaramurthy Nayanar here shows scars of smallpox. The idol is small and appears to be a little bit damaged. The legend is that once this idol along with few other such idols of the saint were taken to Thiruvarur by the Chola king Easan for a celebration. The king wanted to keep the idol of Alangudi in Thiruvarur itself as he was very attracted by it. However, it is believed that, a priest brought this idol back to Alangudi. He wrapped the idol in a cloth and tricked the security guards by telling them that it was a child suffering from smallpox. Surprisingly, when the priest unfolded the idol after reaching Alangudi temple, he found that the idol had scars on it.

Santhana Prapthi:

Goddess Mahalakshmi worshiped the lord here and was blessed with “Santhana Prapthi”.

Goddess Parvathi:

Goddess Parvathi had performed penance here before marrying Lord Shiva. There is a village near this temple by the name of “Thirumana Mangalam” (“Thirumanam” means wedding in Tamil). To witness the wedding, lords Mahavishnu, Brahma, Indra, Lakshmi, Ashtathik Balakas, Iyanar and Veerabathrar had visited this place. It is also believed that they have installed separate lingams here and worshiped Lord Shiva.

Panchatchara Upadesam:

Saint Sundaramurthy Nayanar worshiped Lord Dakshinamurthy here and received “Panchatchara Upadesam”.

Maha Vaakiya Upadesam:

Adi Sankarar also worshiped Lord Dakshinamurthy here and received “Maha Vaakiya Upadesam”.

Parivara sthalams:

It is believed that Thiruvidaimaruthur Sri Mahalingaswamy temple has 9 subsidiary / associated temples (“Parivara sthalams”). Alangudi is one among them. These 9 temples are –

·        Thiruvalanchuzhi – Vinayakar,

·        Swamimalai – Murugan,

·        Alaangudi – Dakshinamurthy,

·        Thiruvavaduthurai – Nandhi,

·        Suriyanarkoil – Navagrham,

·        Thiruvappadi – Chandikeswarar,

·        Chidambaram – Natarajar,

·        Sirkazhi – Bairavar and

·        Thiruvarur – Somaskandar.

People who worshipped here:

Veerapathrar, Sage Kasyaba, Sage Viswamitrar, King Musukunda and King Suvasanan have worshipped Lord Shiva here.

SALIENT FEATURE:

·        This is one of the 9 Navagraha Sthalams and is associated with Guru.

·        This east facing temple with main tower (Rajagopuram) has 5-tiers.

·        The temple attracts lakhs of devotees during the transit of Jupiter (“Guru Peyarchi” in Tamil) from one zodiac sign to another zodiac sign every year.

·        This is the only temple where Lord Dakshinamurthy is taken in a car procession.

·        Also, Thursdays are considered to be very auspicious to worship Lord Guru. Every Thursday, a large number of devotees visit this temple for worship.

·        Friday (Sukravar) is attributed to the worship of Goddess Parvathi. There is a separate shrine for Goddess Parvathi here in the name of “Sri Sukravara Ambigai”.

·        Worshiping the lord here in the evening is considered to be auspicious.

·        There is a separate shrine here for Nagars (Serpent). Devotees perform poojas to get relief from “Naga dosham”. It is believed that in this village no one has ever died of a snake bite.

·        It is believed that devotees should worship Sage Agasthiyar first and then Lord Murugan. By doing so, it is believed that devotees will be relieved from the adverse effects of all evil spirits.

·        The idol of Saint Sundaramurthy Nayanar, in front of Lord Somaskandar here is very beautiful.

·        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.

TEMPLE INFORMATION:

Moolavar	Sri Aabathsakaayeswarar, Sri Kasi Aranyeswarar
Ambal	Sri Umayammai, Sri Elavaar Kuzhaliammai
Theertham	Brahma Theertham, Amirtha Pushkarani and 13 other Theerthams.
Sthala Vriksham	Poolai plant

BELIEF:

Worshiping Lord Dakshinamurthy on Guru Peyarchi day (transition day) is considered very auspicious. Lakhs of devotees throng this temple on this day to seek relief from all kind of “doshas”.

This is a famous “parihara sthalam” for those suffering from the adverse effects of planet Guru.

“Guru Peyarchi” day (Transit day of planet Jupiter from one zodiac sign to the next)

TEMPLE FESTIVAL:

Tamil Month	English Month	Festival Name
Thai	Jan-Feb	Thai Poosam
Panguni	Mar-Apr	Panguni Uthiram Car festival for Lord Dakshinamurthy.

HOW TO REACH:

Alangudi is situated at a distance of about 17 kms from Kumbakonam on the Kumbakonam to Mannargudi (Via Needamangalam) route. It is about 6 kms from Mannargudi. Nearest railway station is Needamangalam which is about 6 kms.

TEMPLE ADDRESS:

Sri Aabathsakaayeswarar Temple,
Aalangudi,
Valangaiman,
Thiruvarur,
Tamil Nadu – 612 801.

LOCATION: