Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 152th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - South |
Chola Naadu - South | 35th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) |
HISTORY:
The hoof mark of a cow
is visible on the base (Aavudayar) of the lingam. This is the reason why this
place gets the name Thiru Kolambiam (“Thiru” is a respectful prefix and hoof
means “Kolambu” in Tamil). Hence the lord here is also praised as “Sri
Kozhambanathar”.
·
Thirukkozhambam 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 Shivalingam.
·
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:
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
Mahavishnu and Lord Brahma:
Lord Mahavishnu and
Lord Brahma had a contest to determine who among them was superior. They asked
Lord Shiva to be the judge. Lord Shiva agreed and appeared before them in the
form of a flame. He challenged them to find the source of the flame. Lord
Brahma took the form of a swan and flew up in the sky to see the top of the
flame, while Lord Vishnu took the form of a boar (Varaha) and sought its base.
Neither Lord Brahma nor Lord Vishnu were able to find the source. While Lord
Vishnu conceded his defeat, Lord Brahma lied and said that he had found the
origin. Lord Shiva was furious with Lord Brahma’s lie. To punish him, Lord Shiva
ordained that Lord Brahma would never have temples on earth in his name. To
seek relief from this punishment, it is believed that Lord Brahma came to this
place, created a spring and worshipped Lord Shiva. The spring created by him is
known as Brahma Theertham.
Chandan:
Chandan, a scholar was
born as a nightingale due to a curse by Lord Indira. He came to this place in
his nightingale form, worshipped the lord and was restored back to his original
form. As a nightingale (Kokila in Tamil) worshipped the lord here, the lord is
also praised as “Sri Kokileswarar”.
Sage
Gautama:
Lord Indira also
performed penance here for a long time to seek relief from the curse inflicted
by Sage Gautama.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
Behind the sanctum sanctorum, on either
sides of Lord Lingothbavar, there are idols of Lord Mahavishnu and Lord Brahma
in a worshipping posture. Devotees can enjoy the darshan of all the three lords
(Trimurthys) – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. This is considered to be very
auspicious.
·
The stone idols of Natarajar,
Agasthiyar, Lingothbavar, Brahma, Arthanareeswarar and Pitchadanar are
beautifully carved.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Kokileswarar, Sri Goganeswarar, |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Soundara Nayaki |
|
Theertham |
Brahma
Theertham |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Vilva
tree / Jasmine plant |
BELIEF:
Devotees believe that
by worshiping the lord here, obstacles from their marriage proposals will be
removed.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Vinayakar Chaturthi |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Somavaram |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
|
Panguni |
Mar-Apr |
Panguni Uthiram |
HOW
TO REACH:
Thirukkozhambiam is
situated at a distance of about 20 kms from Kumbakonam on the Kumbakonam to
Karaikkal route. On this route, take a diversion road from S.Pudur and proceed
for about 2 kms to reach this temple. Nearest railway station is
Narasinganpettai on the Chennai to Kumbakonam railway line, which is about 4
kms away.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Kokileswarar Temple,
Thirukkozhambiam,
S.Pudur,
Thiruvidaimaruthur,
Thanjavur ,
Tamil Nadu - 612 205.
LOCATION:
No comments:
Post a Comment