Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 153rd Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - South |
Chola Naadu - South | 36th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar)
and Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar) |
HISTORY:
The
historical names of this place are Nandhinagar, Navakoti Siddharpuram,
Arasavanam, Bothivanam, Gokazhi, Thuraisai and Gomuktinagar.
Thiruvavaduthurai
is the place where the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam is situated. This is one of
the oldest Shiva Mutts and it manages a number of charitable endowments. It has
many Shiva temples under its administrative control. It is to be noted that
Mutts like Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam are the reason why many Shiva temples in
the southern region are still cared for and have regular poojas.
·
Thiruvavaduthurai
enjoys a special place in mythology because it is linked to the legends of a
few nearby Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams.
·
At
Therezhunthur, Lord Shiva cursed Goddess Parvathy which made her turn into a
cow. Lord Mahavishnu played the role of a shepherd here.
·
At
Thirukkozhambam, Goddess Parvathy, who was in the form of a cow, worshiped Lord
Shiva. During the worship, as the cow’s leg hit Lord Shiva by mistake, its hoof
made a mark on the lord’s chest.
·
At Thiruvaduthurai,
again Goddess Parvathy (in the form a cow) worshiped Lord Shiva. It is here
that Goddess Parvathy was relieved of her curse and got restored to her
original form.
·
At Thiruthuruthi
(Kuthalam), Sage Bharatha performed a yagna and it is believed that Goddess
Parvathy came out of the fire in the form of a child.
·
At Ethirkolpadi,
Lord Shiva was received as a groom by his father-in-law, Sage Bharatha.
·
At
Thiruvelvikudi, the wedding ceremony including the yagna (“Velvi”) was
performed. This is the great place where the earthly wedding of Lord Shiva and
Goddess Parvathy took place.
·
At
Thirumanancheri, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy granted their wedding darshan
to everyone.
Goddess Parvathi as a cow:
Lord
Shiva and Goddess Parvathi were playing a game of dice. At the end of each
game, Lord Shiva intentionally made Goddess Parvathi win. After successive
wins, her joy slowly turns into arroganace. Seeing her vanity and excessive
pride, Lord Shiva cursed her to be born as a cow on earth. When she pleaded for
pardon, Lord Shiva advised her that the curse will end after she performs
penance at Thiruvavaduthurai.
Goddess
Parvathi, in the form of a cow, worshipped Lord Shiva by pouring milk in form of
an abhishekam on the lingam. Pleased with her penance, Lord Shiva appeared
before her and lifted the curse.
By
worshiping Lord Shiva here, Goddess Parvathy was relieved of the curse that had
turned her into a cow. For this reason, Lord Shiva is praised here as “Sri
Gomukti Easwarar” (“Go” means cow and “Mukti” means relief in Sanskrit). The
name Thiruvavaduthurai is arrived at in the following manner – in Tamil,
“Thiru” a respectful prefix, “Aa” means cow, “Adu” means remove and “thurai”
means river bank (river Cauvery in this case).
Emperor Musukunda Chakravarthi:
Another
legend associated with this temple is that of the Emperor Musukunda. The king
was childless and was worshipping an idol of Lord Thyagesar which was presented
to him by Lord Indira. One day, Lord Shiva appeared in his dream and advised
him to come to this place for worship. It is believed that he visited this
temple and worshiped the lord. Later he was blessed with a child.
It
is believed that when Emperor Muchukunda came to this temple, Lord Shiva
projected himself in the form of Lord Thyagarajar of Thiruvarur.
Saint Thirugnanasambanthar:
Sambanthar
was staying in this place for a while with his father, Shivapada Hirudayar.
Shivapada Hirudaya wanted to perform a yajna in Sirkazhi and asked his son to
get him the resources for this purpose. Sambanthar sang a Pathigam of ten
verses praying to the lord for gold and other materials needed for the yagna.
Lord Shiva, through his Boothaganas (his securities), placed a purse of one
thousand gold coins (“Porkizhi”) on the “balipeetam” (altar). The Boothagana
informed Sambanthar that this purse is “Ulavaakkizhi” and it will forever
remain filled with gold. Sambanthar gave the purse to his father to conduct the
yajna. The “balipeetam” can still be seen in the temple surrounded by idols of
the Boothaganas. It is believed that worshiping the lord from this spot in the
temple would bring prosperity and wealth to devotees.
It
is also believed that while taking the purse from the balipeetam, Sambanthar
noticed a distinct smell of “Tamil Manam” (manam means smell in Tamil). He had
received this power of being able to sense hidden treasures because of his
rigorous worship. He asked the people to move the balipeetam. When they did so,
they found Thirumoolar’s 3000 songs written on palm leaves. This came to be
known as “Thirumanthiram”.
Saint Sundaramurthy Nayanar:
It
is believed that Saint Sundarar visited this place en-route to Thiruvarur from
Kancheepuram. When he visited this place, he was unwell. He prayed to Lord
Shiva to relieve him from his illness. Lord Shiva blessed him and cured him.
Sundarar then rendered a hymn praising the lord of this temple.
Thirumaaligai Thevar and Nandhi:
Thirumaaligai
Thevar - a staunch Shiva devotee and one of the 63 Nayanmars. He was born in an
Adi Saivar (Gurukkal) family in Thiruvidaimaruthur, near this place. He was a
scholar and served as Guru (teacher) to various Chola kings. However, he
decided to renounce his material life and turn to spirutuality and ascetism. He
came to Thiruvavaduthurai and started his penance under the peepal tree.
He
is also considered to be one of the disciples of Saint Bogar. With the
blessings of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy, he got various divine powers.
Believing some baseless allegations against him, King Narasingan sent his
soldiers to attack him. It is believed that using his divine powers,
Thirumaligai Thevar directed all the Nandhis from the temple’s compound wall to
drive away the soldiers. For this reason, we cannot see any sculptures of
Nandhi on the compound wall. It is also believed that he once made a dead man
walk to the cremation ground. Also, it is believed that he made the Chidambaram
car (Ther) run again after it had gotten stuck.
All
the Nandhis of this temple are believed to have merged together and become one
big Nandhi, which can be seen in front of the lord. The height of this Nandhi
is about 15 feet. There is also another smaller Nandhi in front of the big one.
Thirumaaligai
Thevar’s 4 hymns (pathigams consisting of 40 stanzas) form part of the 9th
Tirumurai (known as “Thiruvisaipa”) of the twelve volumes of Thirumurai
(Panniru Thirumurai).
The
place where Thirumaaligai Thevar lived is presently the Thiruvavaduthurai Mutt.
There is a shrine for him (his burial place - “Samathi”) inside the Mutt.
Thirumoolar:
A
Shivayogi called Sundaranathar came to Earth from Mount Kailash, the abode of
Lord Shiva. He was one of the students of Nandhi Devar. He was visiting various
Shiva temples in the country and wanted to meet Sage Agasthiyar. Near this
place, he found a shepherd named Moolan who was lying dead and the cows around
him were in grief. Sympathizing with the cows, he entered into the body of the
shepherd using his yogic powers (“Parakaya Pravesam”) and took the cows to their
home. He then began his penance under a peepal tree in this place. Moolan’s
relatives, especially his wife, asked him to return home. But he refused to do
so. His relatives realised that he had attained the divine wisdom and advised
his wife to leave him alone.
The
saint later came to be known as Thirumoolar. Thirumoolar, while performing his
penance, composed his Thirumanthiram under this tree. He would wake up from his
penance once in a year and sing a song that was rich in philosophical musings
and then go back to his penance again. Like this, it is believed that he sung
3,000 songs over a period of 3,000 years. This was compiled as “Thirumoolar
Thirumandhiram” which forms 10th volume of the twelve volumes of
Thirumurai (Panniru Thirumurai). His shrine (Jeeva Samadhi) can be seen in the
corridor (prakaram) where he is believed to have attained salvation and reached
Lord Shiva’s abode. He became one of the 63 Nayanmars and one of the 18
reverred Siddhars. Saint Thirumoolar was praised by Saint Sundaramurthy Nayanar
as “Nambiran Thirumoolan adiyarkkum adiyen” in his “Thiruthondar Thogai”.
Navakoti Siddhars:
“Navakoti Siddhars” including Bogar had
performed penanced here and were taught the 8 yogic powers (Ashtama Siddhis) by
Lord Shiva.
King Cheraman Perumal:
It is believed that emperors from three different kingdoms - King Cheraman Perumal (one of the 63 Nayanmars) from Chera dynasty, King Kochenget Cholan from Chola dynasty and King Vikrama Pandian from Pandiya dynasty have worshiped the lord here. Also, they have contributed to the renovations of this temple.
Lord Yama:
Lord
Yama, also referred as Dharma Devta, is believed to have worshiped Lord Shiva
here. Lord Shiva blessed him and gave him the honour of taking the place of his
bull mount here.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
This is one of
the 44 Paadal petra sthalams where the “Moovar” had rendered their Pathigams.
·
Saint
Thirumoolar, one of the 63 Nayanmars and one of the 18 Siddhars, lived in this
place.
·
Thirumaaligai
Thevar, a staunch Shiva devotee and one of the 63 celebrated Nayanmars lived in
this place.
·
This east facing
temple with main tower (Rajagopuram) has 5-tiers.
·
The tower
(Vimanam) above the sanctum sanctorium is of the “Dwaidala” style of
architecture.
·
This temple’s
Nandhi is one of the biggest Nandhis in Tamil Nadu.
·
The procession
idol of “Sri Anaiththezhundha Nayakar” depicts the lord as embracing Goddess
Parvathy. Though the name suggests embraced, the idol is made in such a way
that the hands of the lord did not touch goddess’s body.
·
Lord Shiva is
believed to have performed his “Mahathandavam” dance here. It is also known as
“Sundara nadanam”.
·
In his hymn,
Saint Thirunavukkarasar mentioned about Lord Shiva’s gift of a purse containing
gold coins to Saint Thirugnanasambanthar.
·
Arasamaram
(peepal tree), the sacred tree of this temple is believed to be very old and is
seen as a representation of the Devas (celestial gods). Lord Shiva is believed
to have emerged from under this tree and blessed the Devas.
·
Sri Vinayakar of
the temple is praised as Lord Thunaivandha Ganapathi as he escorted his mother.
“Thunai vantha” means escorted in Tamil.
·
There is a
statue in the corridor depicting the legend of Goddess Parvathy, in the form of
a cow, performing abhishekam on a Shivlingam. This is known as “Sri Goroopambigai”.
·
In the corridor,
three idols of Lord Suryan are placed together. Getting such a darshan of Lord
Suryan is very rare.
·
The lord of this
temple is praised in Thiruvasagam and Thiruvisaippa also (parts of 12
Thirumurai).
·
Beautiful stone
reliefs of King Narasingan and his minister can be seen either side of the
Nandhi Mandap.
·
Of the various
sub-temples (“Parivara Sthalams”) relate to Thiruvidaimarudur, this temple is
considered as Nandhi Sthalam. Worshiping the Nandhi here is considered to be
very auspiious.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri Gomuktheeswarar, Sri Masilamaneeswarar |
|
Ambal |
Sri Oppillamulaiyammai, Sri Athulyakujambal, Sri
Abhaya Gujambal |
|
Theertham |
Gomukthi Theertham, Padma Theertham |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Padar Arasu (Peepal tree) |
BELIEF:
Women
pray for the safety and longevity of their husbands. It is also believed that
worshiping Lord Shiva here will result in the reunion of estranged couples.
Since
King Musukunda was blessed with a child, it is believed that those seeking
“santhana prapthi” (child boon) can pray to the lord here.
Devoees
can also pray to this lord for removal of obstacles from their wedding
proposals.
Rathasaptami
is celebrated in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan-Feb) in a grand manner. On the
5th day of this festival, the event of Sambanthar receiving the golden
purse is celebrated.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Purattasi |
Sep-Oct |
Brahmmotsavam |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
Annabishekam |
|
Markazhi |
Dec-Jan |
Thiruvadhirai |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
HOW
TO REACH:
Thiruvavaduthurai
is situated at a distance of about 20 kms from Mayiladuthurai. It is on
the Mayiladuthurai – Kuthalam - Kumbakonam route. There is a small diversion
road on the left side from Thiruvaalangadu leading to this temple. It is about
one kilometre away from the main road. A beautiful arch can be seen at the
entrance of the diversion road.
Nearest
railway station is Narasinganpettai (3 kms) on the Mayiladuthurai to Kumbakonam
railway line.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Gomuktheeswarar
Temple,
Thiruvavaduthurai Aadheenam,
Thiruvavaduthurai,
Kuthalam,
Nagapattinam,
Tamil Nadu – 609 803.
LOCATION:
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