24. SRI IRAVADHESWARAR TEMPLE AT ETHIRKOLPADI (MELAI THIRUMANANCHERI)

Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam	78th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam)
Region	Chola Naadu - North
Chola Naadu - North	24th Shiva Sthalam
Pathigam	Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar)

HISTORY:

Goddess Parvathi was cursed to be born on earth. She is believed to have appeared from the fire of Sage Bharatha’s “Kameshti yagna”. Sage Bharatha raised her as his own daughter. When she grew up and attained the marriageable age, the sage prayed to Lord Shiva that he help him find a suitable groom for her. Responding to his prayers, Lord Shiva appeared before him and told him that he would marry his daughter soon. The lord further told the sage that his daughter was none other than Goddess Parvathy herself. He also explained him that the reason for her appearance on earth was to grant her the wish of being married on earth.

Lord Shiva, as the bridegroom, is believed to have been received by his father-in-law Sage Bharatha at this place. Hence this place gets the name “Ethirkolpaadi” (“ethirkol” means “to receive someone” and “paadi” means village in Tamil). The historical name of the lord is “Thiru Ethirkolpadi Udaiyar”, that of the goddess is “Perungarunai Pirattiyar” and that of this village is Ethirkolpadi.

Ethirkolpadi:

·        Ethirkolpadi enjoys a special place in mythology.

·        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. 

Iraavadham:

This temple is that of Iraavadham, the white elephant of Lord Indra. One day, after finishing his daily worship in Kasi, Sage Dhurvasar met Lord Indra who was coming in his ceremonial procession.  Sage Dhurvasar offered him a lotus flower which had been adorned on the lord. Without giving any respect, Indra took the flower and placed it on his white elephant which the elephant then removed and threw on the ground. The sage was angered by this and cursed the elephant to become an ordinary wild elephant. To seek relief from this curse, Iraavadham visited many Shiva temples. Ethirkolpadi is one such temple. As the lord of this temple is believed to have been worshiped by Iravadham, he is praised here as “Sri Iravadheswarar”. After worshiping Lod Shiva at many places, it is believed that Iraavadham was finally relieved of the curse at the Sri Sundareswarar temple in Madurai.

SALIENT FEATURE:

·        This west facing temple has a 3-tiered main tower (Rajagopuram)
·        As Iraavadham is believed to have worshiped Lord Shiva here, the sanctum sanctorum is large enough to allow the entry of an elephant.
·        In his hymn of this temple, Saint Sundarar mentions that nothing except for the lord will come with you when you die.
·        Newly wedded couples come here and worship the lord in the hope that they remain close to each other like Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. 
·        It is also believed that Lord Indra worshiped Lord Shiva here. 

TEMPLE INFORMATION:

Moolavar	Sri Iravadheswarar, Sri Madhyaneswarar
Ambal	Sri Vasa Malarkkuzhal Nayaki, Sri Sugantha Kunthalaambigai
Theertham	Iraavadha Theertham
Sthala Vriksham	Vilvam

BELIEF:

Parents believe that worshiping the lord here would help them find suitable grooms for their daughters.

Devotees also believe that by worshiping Lord Shiva here, obstacles from their marriage proposals will be removed.

Thirukkalyanam of Goddess Parvathi is celebrated.

TEMPLE FESTIVAL:

Tamil Month	English Month	Festival Name
Chithirai	April-May	Indira Vizha
Maasi	Feb-Mar	Maha Shivrathri
Karthikai	Nov-Dec	Somavaram
Markazhi	Dec-Jan	Thiruvadhirai

HOW TO REACH:

Ethirkolpadi is situated at a distance of about 17 kms from Mayiladuthurai on the Mayiladuthurai to Kumbakonam (via Kuthalam) route. From Kuthalam take the diversion road to Panthanallur route. After crossing the village Anchar Varthalai ask for Melak Koil. Ethirkolpati temple is locally known as Melak Koil. (Mayiladuthurai to Kuthalam is 11 kms and Kuthalam to Ethirkolpadi is 6 kms).

TEMPLE ADDRESS:

Sri Iravadeswarar Temple,
Mela Thirumanancheri,
Kuthalam Via,
Mayiladuthurai,
Nagapattinam,
Tamil Nadu – 609813.

LOCATION: