Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 114th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - North |
Chola Naadu - North | 60th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) and
Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar) |
HISTORY:
This is an ancient,
sprawling and magnificent temple which highlights the architectural splendour
of the past. The temple complex is a whopping 18 acres of land. In ancient
times, this place was densely populated with white Naaval trees.
The temple was built
about 2,500 years ago by the Emperor Kochengat Chola.
It is believed that an
elephant and a spider have worshiped the lord here and obtained salvation. The
name of this temple is derived from this legend. “Thiru” is a respectful
prefix, “Anai” means elephant and “koil” means temple in Tamil. Now it is known
as “Thiruvanaikkaval”.
Pushpathanthan
and Gnanatharul Maliyavan:
Because of a curse, two
Shivaganams (Lord Shiva’s security guards) namely, Pushpathanthan and
Gnanatharul Maliyavan were born as an elephant and a spider respectively. In
order to seek relief from their curse, it is believed that they worshiped the
lord of this temple. There had been a forest of Jambu (naaval) trees near the
Chandratheertha tank (filled with the water of the river Cauvery) here and Lord
Shiva is said to have appeared under one of the trees as a Swayambu lingam.
The spider is believed
to have spun a web to give shelter to the Lord whereas the elephant would bring
water in its trunk for performing Abhishekam. The elephant would destroy the
web and the spider would promptly spin it again. This continued for a while.
One day, the spider
decided to stop the elephant and went inside the trunk of the elephant and bit
it. It is believed that the elephant hit its trunk on the floor to shake the
spider off but in the process, both of them died. The Lord was pleased with
their relentless devotion and both the spider and the elephant attained
salvation (moksham). Since Pushpathanthan (born as elephant) fulfilled his penance
by performing abhishekam, he was relieved of his curse and returned back to
Shivalogam to take his place as a Sivaganam. However, the spider’s wish
of building a temple around the lingam was not fulfilled and hence it was born
again as King Kochengat Chola.
King Kochengat Chola
built 70 “Madakkoils”. The distinguishing feature of a Madakkoil is that it is
not easily approachable by an elephant. Sensing the story of his previous
birth, he built these temples at an elevation and there are a few steps that
need to be climbed before seeing the lord. Also, the sanctum sanctorum’s
(Karpagragam) entrance is narrow such that no elephant can enter it.
Sage
Jambu:
Sage Jambu worshiped
Lord Shiva here. Lord Shiva granted darshan to the sage and offered him a Naaval
fruit (blackberry) as prasad. While consuming the prasad, the sage swallowed
the seeds too as he thought it a sin to spit the seeds. The seeds began to grow
into a tree and pierced his head thus leading to his salvation. As Lord Shiva
granted salvation to sage Jambu here, he is praised as “Sri Jambukeswarar” and
this place is known as “Jambukeswaram”.
Goddess Parvathi (as
Akilandeswari) performed penance in the Jambu forest here in Thiruvanaikkoil.
She created a lingam out of sand and water from the river Cauvery and installed
it under the same Jambu (Venn Naaval) tree which is believed to have emerged
from Saint Jambu. This lingam is known as “Appu Lingam” (Water Lingam). Pleased
with her penance, Lord Shiva gave darshan to Akhilandeswari and taught her the
“Shiva Gnana Upadesa”. Akhilandeswari took the “Upadesa” (lessons) facing east
from Lord Shiva, who stood facing the west. Hence this temple is also revered
as a Upadesa Sthalam.
Wedding
Festival:
This temple is that the
“Wedding Festival” (Thiru Kalyanam) is not celebrated here. Also, the lord is
not taken to the “Palli Arai” (bed chamber) at night. The reason behind this is
that Lord Shiva here is seen as a guru (teacher) to Goddess Parvathi.
Vibhuthi
Siddhar:
While constructing one
of the temple’s wall, Lord Shiva came in the form of a saint (Vibhuthi Siddhar)
and distributed sacred ash as the wages for the workers. This sacred ash turned
into gold proportionate to the work done by the workers. This particular wall
(4th corridor) is called “Thiruneetru Madhil”. “Thiruneeru means sacred ash and
“Madhil” means wall in Tamil. This wall is well over 8000 feet long
(2436+2436+1493+1493 feet), 35 feet high and 6 feet thick. There is a shrine
for Vibhuthi Siddhar near the Brahma Theertham.
Chola
king:
This place is that of a
Chola king from Uraiyur (near Trichy) who was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva.
Once he was taking a dip in the Cauvery river when his necklace fell in to the
river. He prayed to the lord to get his necklace back. At the same time, a priest
from this temple was fetching water in a pot for the lord’s abishekam. This
chain went into the priest’s pot and was discovered at the time of the
abishekam.
Five
elements of nature:
One of the five
elements of nature, “water” is represented by an undying natural spring below
the Shiva lingam in the sanctum. This can be seen even today and for this
reason, the lord is also praised as “Sri Jalakandeeswarar” (“Jalam” means water
in Tamil). The other four Pancha Bootha Sthalams are - Tiruvannamalai (Thejo sthalam
- Fire) Kanchipuram / Thiruvarur (Prithvi sthalam - Earth) Kalahasti (Vayu
sthalam - Air) and Chidambaram (Akasa sthalam - Space).
Goddess
Akilandeswari:
Goddess Akilandeswari
of this temple is very famous and she attracts a large number of devotees.
“Akhilandeshwari” means “the ruler of the universe” (“Akilam” means universe,
“Aanda” means ruler, and “Eswari” means Goddess in Tamil).
The ear ring of Goddess
Akilandeswari is known as “Thadangam”. It is quite big and prominent. It is
believed that earlier she used to look very aggressive and furious. Sri Adi
Sankaracharya controlled her anger and contained it in the earrings as Chakras.
One is called the “Shiva Chakra” and the other one is called the “Srichakra”.
Also, to reduce her anger, Lord Vinayaka’s shrine is placed in front of her and
Lord Murugan’s shrine is behind her.
There is a pillar in
the “Mahamandapam” of Goddess Akhilandeswari’s temple where we can see a
magnificent sculpture of Lord Ekapadeswarar. The lord is flanked by Lord
Brahma and Lord Mahavishnu on either side mounted on their respective
vahanams.
Monolithic stone
pillars can be seen in the halls (mandapam) situated at the third entrance of
the temple (Aariyavittan tower). Another significant sculpture to be seen here
is a huge chain carved out of stone. There are also pillars where the 12
zodiac signs are beautifully engraved. The 1000-pillared hall houses a large
number of intricately carved reliefs.
Lord
Ranganathar:
Lord Ranganathar stayed
at Srirangam only to worship Lord Jambugeswarar of this temple. To commemorate
this event, every year the idol of Lord Ranganadhar is brought here and kept
for a day. Next day, the idol is taken back to his temple at Srirangam. During
this event, the idol of Lord Ranganathar is beautifully decorated and this
procession is witnessed by a large crowd.
9
Theerthams:
There are 9 Theerthams
(holy water) in this temple. In front of the main deity, there is a grilled
window with 9 holes in it. We have to worship the Lord only through these 9
holes. Doing so is considered to be equivalent to taking a dip in each of the 9
Theerthams.
Saint
Arunagirinathar:
Saint Arunagirinathar
prayed to Lord Murugan here such that he might be protected from thoughts of
lust. Lord Murugan acceded to his request and captured a demon that is believed
to personify lust. This demon can be seen beneath Lord Murugan’s foot. Such a
depiction of Lord Murugan cannot be seen anywhere else.
People
who worshipped here:
Lord Shiva of this
temple is believed to have been worshipped by Goddess Parvathy, Lord Brahma,
Lord Mahavishnu, Suryan, Chandran, Ashta Thikbalahars and Sages Agasthiar,
Jambu and Gowthamar.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
In this temple, Lord Jambukeswarar is
facing west and Goddess Akilandeswari is facing the east.
·
This is also one of the Sakthi Peetams.
·
This is the first of the 70 Madakkovils
built by King Kochengat Cholan.
·
All the three saints (Moovar) have
rendered hymns on Lord Shiva of this temple.
·
The east facing main tower (Rajagopuram)
has 13-tiers and the west facing Rajagopuram has 7-tiers.
·
Thiruvanaikkaval Temple is one of the
“Pancha Bhootha Sthalams” and it is the Water (Appu) Sthalam.
·
During the noon pooja, this temple’s
priest dresses as a woman before performing the pooja. This is done to signify
the fact that Goddess Parvathi herself is offering prayers to the Lord.
·
It is believed that Goddess
Akilandeswari blessed poet Kalamega Pulavar here with the talent to write
poems.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Jalakandeswarar, Sri Jambukeswarar, Sri Vennaval Eswarar, Sri Appu Lingam |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Akilandeswari |
|
Theertham |
There
are 9 Theerthams – Sreemath Theertham, Brahma, Indra, Chandra, Rama,
Agni, Agasthiya, Jambu and Surya. |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Jambu
(white naaval) tree |
BELIEF:
Devotees believe that
by worshipping the lord here they would be relieved from their sins and can
obtain salvation.
It is believed that
those seeking “santhana prapthi” (child boon) can pray to Goddess Akilandeswari
here. Also, devotees believe that woshiping Goddess Akilandeswari here will
remove obstacles from their marriage proposals.
It is believed that by
circumambulating the fifth corridor (known as "Thiruneetran Thirumathil”)
one’s prayers will get fulfilled.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Vaikasi |
May-June |
10-day Vasantha Urchavam |
|
Purattasi |
Sep-Oct |
10-day Navrathri festival |
|
Adi |
July-Aug |
Aadi Puram |
|
Thai |
Jan-Feb |
Thai Poosam and Thai Theppam (Float)
festivals |
|
Panguni |
Mar-Apr |
Brahmotsavam, Car festival and Pancha
prakara festivals |
HOW
TO REACH:
Thiruvanaikkaval is a
part of Trichy (also known as Thiruchirappalli) and is situated at a distance
of about 8 kms from the Trichy bus stand. It is 3 kms away from Srirangam and
is between the Kollidam and Cauvery rivers.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Jambukeswarar Temple,
Thiruvanaikkaval,
Trichy,
Tamil Nadu 620005.
LOCATION:
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