Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 129th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - South |
Chola Naadu - South | 12nd Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) |
HISTORY:
Lord Brahma was once
very arrogant and vain. He considered himself to be the greatest among all the
gods. He also caused a lot of miseries to the other celestial gods (Devas). The
celestial gods approached Lord Shiva for help. Upon their request, Lord Shiva
took the form of a hunter (“Vaduga”) and removed Lord Brahma’s fifth head using
his trident. Lord Brahma then realized his mistake and pleaded to Lord Shiva
for forgiveness. The lord pardoned him and blessed him by saying that he would
retain his beauty even after loosing one of his heads. He now became “chathur
mugam” (lord with four heads). Hence Lord Shiva is praised here as “Sri Brahma
Sira Kandeeswarar” and Sri Veerattaneswarar. This place gets the name “Kandana
Puram” (“Kandanam” means “to pluck” in Tamil). This was later changed to
Kandiyur.
This ancient temple is
located on the banks of the river Kudamurutti. In the stone inscriptions, the
lord is referred to as “Thiru Veerattanattu Mahadevar” and “Thirukkandiyur
Udaiya Mahadevar”. The historical names of this place are
Atta
Veeratta Sthalams:
There are eight special
places where it is believed that Lord Shiva vanquished various demons and
exhibited acts of bravery. These places are Veeratta Sthalams. In Tamil, this
is referred to as “Atta Veerattanam” (“Atta” means eight and “Veeram” means
bravery). Thirukkandiyur (this place) is the first Veeratta Sthalam
where one of Lord Brahma’s five heads was plucked by Lord Shiva.
The other seven
Veeratta Sthalams are:
·
Thirukkovilur where the demon
Andhakasuran was vanquished;
·
Thiruvathigai where the lord is believed
to have done the “Thiripura Samharam”.
·
Keezha Parasalur where Dakshan’s yagna
was stopped and he was killed;
·
Thiruvirkudi where the demon
Jalandharasuran was killed;
·
Thiru Vazhuvur where the elephant
Gajasuran was vanquished;
·
Thiru Korukkai where Manmathan was burnt
and later blessed.
·
Thirukkadaiyur where Lord Yama was
kicked and punished to save Markandeya.
Goddess
Saraswathi:
Goddess Saraswathi
prayed to Lord Shiva here to bless her with “Mangalya Pakyam” (long life for
her husband) which the lord is believed to have granted.
Sage
Sathathaba:
The sage used to visit
Kalahasthi on all Pradosham days without fail. However, when he had reached
this place he realised that he would not be able to reach Kalahasthi in time
for darshan.He prayed to Lord Shiva here who in turn gave him the same dharshan
that he would have received in Kalahasthi. It is believed that Lord Shiva
brought a vilva tree from Mount Kailash for Sage Sathathaba. Hence this place
also gets the name “Aadhi Vilvaaranyam”.
Guru
Dronacharya:
Guru Dronacharya
worshiped the lord here to seek child boon. It is believed that Lord Shiva
blessed him with a child.
Sapthasthanam Festival:
Lord Panchanatheeswarar
(Sri Iyyarappar) of Thiruvaiyaru decided to conduct the marriage of Nandhi and
Suyasambigai at Thirumazhappadi (a nearby place) on the “Punarpoosam” day of
the Tamil month of Panguni. He selected the following places to arrange things required
for the marriage.
·
Thiruvedhikkudi to get the Vedic
Brahmins,
·
Thiruppazhanam to get fruits,
·
Thiruchotruthurai to arrange food,
·
Thirukkandiyur for Kandi (ornaments),
·
Thiruppoonthuruthi for fruits and
garlands, and
·
Thiruneithanam (Thillai sthanam) to get
ghee for yagnas.
After the marriage, as
a gesture of thanks, it is believed that Lord Panchanatheeswarar and Goddess
Dharmasamvardhani visited each of these places in a palanquin. This event is
celebrated as “Sapthasthanam”.
Sapthasthanam (seven places)
festival is celebrated in Thiruvaiyaru on the “Visakam” day (the day after the
full moon) in the Tamil month of Chithirai (Apr-May) every year.
First palanquin
(bedecked with mirrors) carrying the principal deities of Thiruvaiyaru go to
the second temple in procession. Idols of Nandhi along with his wife
Suyasambigai also join this procession. The deities of the second temple
receive them at the border of the village. After reaching the second temple and
performing certain poojas, they join the second temple’s palanquin to the third
temple. Like this, the palanquins from six places are joined together and
they finally assemble in Thiru Neithanam temple. Thereafter, all the seven
palanquins take part in a procession back to Thiruvaiyaryu.
Thousands of people
come from all over the country to witness this marvellous festival. The
palanquins are paraded near the car stand (“Ther-adi”). Devotees also take part
in the “Poochorithal” (flower festival) in which an idol offers flowers to the
principal deities in the palanquins. After the Poochorithal, the palanquins
leave for their respective temples.
The seven temples that
are part of this Sapthasthanam festival are -
·
Aiyarappar temple, Thiruvaiyaru,
·
Apathsahayeswar Temple, Thirupazhanam,
·
Odhanavaneswarar Temple,
Thiruchotruthurai,
·
Vedapureeswarar Temple, Thiruvedhikudi,
·
Kandeeswarar Temple, Thirukkandiyur
(this temple),
·
Pushpavananathar Temple,
Thirupanthuruthi and
·
Neyyadiappar Temple, Thiru Neithanam.
People who worshipped here:
Lord Brahma, Goddess
Saraswathi, Suryan, Sage Sadadhaba, Guru Dronacharya, king Dakshan, king
Bhagiratha, Saints Thirugnanasambanthar and Thirunavukkarasar have worshiped
the lord here.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
This is the first among the eight
Veerattana sthalams.
·
This is one of the Sapthasthanam temple
of Thiruvaiyaru.
·
This west facing temple has main tower
(Rajagopuram) 5-tiers.
·
A big sized idol of Lord Brahma seated
along with Goddess Saraswathi is in a separate shrine. This shrine is next to
Lord Shiva’s sanctum. Lord Brahma is seen in a worshiping posture. He holds a
“japamalai” and lotus flowers in his hands.
·
At the entrance of the sanctum
sanctorum, idols of Lord Murugan can be seen on either side. This is quite
unique. One Murugan is holding a “japamalai” in his right and the other one is
holding a lotus flower. They are praised here as “Sri Gnanaskandar” and “Sri
Veeraskandar”.
·
The idol of Ardhanareeswarar looks very
beautiful and it is quite unique. Normally, in other temples, Lord
Ardhanareeswarar is seen in a standing posture but here he is in a seated
posture.
·
In the Navagram, all other planets are
facing Suryan. The idol of Lord Suryan is seen with his two wives.
·
It is believed that Lord Suryan (Sun)
worships Lord Shiva of this temple by directing his rays on the lingam every
year from 13th to 15th (between 5:45 PM and 6:10 PM) in the Tamil
month of Masi (Feb-Mar).
·
The front hall (Mandapam) of this
temple, where Lord Dandapani is housed, is designed to look like the forehead
of a bat (“Vovval Nethi Mandapam”). This looks very beautiful.
·
On the top of the second entrance, there
are beautiful sculptures of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy seated in Mount
Kailash. Lord Brahma and Goddess Saraswathi can be seen worshiping them.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Brahma Sira Kandeeswarar, Sri Brahma Sira Kandeeswarar, Sri Adhi Vilvavana
Nathar |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Mangalambigai |
|
Theertham |
Brahma
Theertham, Nandhi Theertham, Daksha Theertham, river Kudamurutti |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Vilvam
tree |
BELIEF:
This temple is a famous
parihara sthalam for those afflicted with “Brahmahathi Dosham”, “Kalathira
Dosham”, and “Puthira Dosham”.
Devotees believe that by worshiping the lord here, obstacles from their marriage proposals will be removed.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Chithirai |
Apr-May |
Sapthasthanam festival |
|
Vaikasi |
May-June |
Brahmotsavam |
|
Aani |
June-July |
Aani Thirumanjanam |
|
Aadi |
July-Aug |
Aadi Pooram |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Vinayakar Chaturthi |
|
Purattasi |
Sep-Oct |
Navarathri |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
Skanda Shashti and Annabishekam |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Thiru Karthikai |
|
Markazhi |
Dec-Jan |
Thiruvadhirai |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
|
Panguni |
Mar-Apr |
Panguni Uthiram |
HOW
TO REACH:
Thiru Kandiyur is
situated at a distance of about 3 kms from Thiruvaiyaru on the Thiruvaiyaru to
Tanjore route. From Tanjore, this place is about 10 kms away.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Brahma Sira Kandeeswarar Temple,
Thiru Kandiyur,
Thiruvaiyaru,
Tanjore,
Tamil Nadu – 613202.
LOCATION:
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