Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 98th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - North |
Chola Naadu - North | 44th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) |
HISTORY:
Lord Shiva (in the form
of a Shivalingam) appeared here in the midst of castor plants. The fruits of
castor plant are called “kottai” in Tamil and because of this, the place gets
the name Kottaiyur. The main Shivalingam in this temple looks as it is formed
out of the fruits of a caster plant. In other words, its texture resembles a
jack fruit. Hence the lord here is praised as “Sri Koteeswarar”. Another
important feature of this lingam is that water droplets can be seen coming out
of its top. This symbolises the legend that the Ganges resides in Lord Shiva’s
head. The historical names of this place are Koteecharam, Vilvaaranyam and
Herandapuram.
Saptastanam
temples:
This is one of the
Saptastanam temples associated with Sri Adhi Kumbeswarar temple, Kumbakonam.
Other temples are Kalayanallur, Thiru Valanchuzhi, Darasuram, Swamimalai,
Kumbakonam and Melaikkaveri.
12
famous Shiva temples:
12 famous
Shiva temples participate in the renowned “Mahaamaham” festival during which
“Theerthavaari” happens in the Mahaamaha tank. This festival is celebrated once
in 12 years in Kumbakonam. These 12 Shiva temples are:
· Kasi
Viswanathar Temple, Kumbakonam
· Aadhi
Kumbeswarar Temple, Kumbakonam
· Someswarar
Temple, Kumbakonam
· Nageswarar
(Vilvavaneswarar) Temple, Kumbakonam
· Kalahasteeswarar
Temple, Kumbakonam
· Gauthameswarar
(Upaveethanathar) Temple, Kumbakonam
· Koteeswarar
Temple, Kottaiyur
· Amirthakalasanathar
Temple, Kalayanallur
· Bhanapureeswarar
Temple, Kumbakonam
· Abhimukeswarar
Temple, Kumbakonam
· Aathikambatta
Visvanathar Temple, Kumbakonam and
· Ekambareswarar
Temple, Kumbakonam.
5
Vaishnava temples:
5
Vaishnava temples from Kumbakonam also participate in this festival. However,
instead of their Theerthavaari in Mahaamaha tank, the Theerthavaari happens in
the river Kaveri. These Vaishnava temples are:
· Sri
Saarangapani temple
· Sri Chakrapaani temple
· Sri Ramaswami temple
· Sri
Rajagopalaswami temple and
· Sri
Aadhivaraha Perumal temple.
Lord
Shiva took the form of a hunter:
At the end of every
“yuga”, there is a huge flood that leads to the destruction of all living
beings in the earth. This is called the “Pralayam”. Lord Shiva, through Lord
Brahma, arranged for the seeds of all living organisms and four Vedas and
Puranas to be put in a pot (“Amutha Kalas” or Kumbham or Kudam in Tamil) filled
with nectar (“amirtham”). This was decorated with flowers and cloth and a
string was tied to it. This was kept on top of the Mount Kailash. When the Maha
Pralayam started, it destroyed all living creatures on the earth. The Amutha
Kalas also got displaced and started floating on the seas for years. Eventually
when the Pralayam stopped, the Kalas settled in Kumbakonam. Then Lord Shiva
took the form of a hunter (Kiratha Murthy) and split open the pot with his
arrow. The life on earth started flourishing again.
When Lord Shiva opened
the pot with his arrow, the pot broke and the decorative items on it fell in
various places across the earth. Each of these pieces became Shivalingams. In
Kottaiyur Sri Koteeswarar temple, it is believed that some drops of the nectar
fell in a well. This well is known as “Amutha well”.
Heranda
(Athreyar) Maharishi:
This place is that of
Heranda (Athreyar) Maharishi. Herandam” means Castor plant. The sage gets his
name because he had performed penance under the castor plants in this place.
There is a separate shrine for Heranda Maharishi in the front hall where he is
seen in a meditative posture. The legend is that once in Thiruvalanchuzhi,
Aadhiseshan came out from the “Padhala logam” (underworld) on a Shivarathri day
to worship Lord Shiva. A huge hole (“phila dwaram”) formed at the place where
Aadhisheshan came out. Since river Cauvery was flowing through this place, she
entered this hole and fell into the underworld. The Chola king who ruled from
Kumbakonam, Harithuvajan got worried about this and prayed to Lord Shiva. It is
believed that at this point the lord’s divine voice was heard saying that a
king or a sage has to sacrifice his life by entering into the hole so that the
river can come back to earth.
The king also sought
the advice of Sage Heranda Maharishi who was performing penance in this place.
The sage confirmed the divine voice. When the king decided to get into the hole
for the welfare of the people, the sage stopped him and he himself entered into
the hole and brought Cauvery back to earth. The place where the river came back
to earth is called “Mela Cauvery”, near Kumbakonam. Although he entered into
the underworld at Thiruvalanchuzhi, it is believed that he came back to the
earth in Thiruvalampuram. He worshiped the lord there for some time and
attained salvation.
Sage
Pathrayogi:
It is believed that
Sage Pathrayogi, in order to regain his spiritual power, visited many Shiva
temples. When he reached this temple, Lord Shiva was pleased with his devotion
and blessed him by appearing in the form of one crore (“kodi” in Tamil) images
of himself, along with one crore images each of Vinayakar, Goddess Parvathy,
Murugan and Chandikeswarar. This was done as a way to bless him with the
benefit of visiting one crore Shiva temples. Hence the lord here is praised as
Sri Koteeswarar and the place gets the name Koteecharam. It is believed that
any good deed (Punniyam) or bad deed (Pavam) done here will be multiplied one
crore times.
Thirihartha
kingdom:
Surusi, a prince from
Thirihartha kingdom (a kingdom in the north), son of king Sathyathi, was cursed
by Sage Pathrayogi to become a devil. This was because he had disrespected the
sage and disturbed his penance in the Himalayas. As advised by Sage Vyasa, the
king brought his son to this place to worship Lord Shiva. The prince took
a dip in the temple’s Theerthams and worshiped the lord. It is believed that he
was absolved of his sins. It is believed that the king stayed here for some
time, renovated this temple and made some endowments for the temple’s
maintenance.
People
who worshipped here:
Lord Ram, Brahma, Indra, Sage Naradar and Sage Markandeya have worshiped the lord here.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
· There is no relief for the sins that are committed here. A proverb related to this place goes like this – “Kottaiyuril seitha pavam kattaiyode” meaning “those who commit a sin here will have to live with its repercussions for the rest of their life”.
· Lord Murugan is praised as Kodi Subramaniyar and can be seen with his consorts in the inner corridor. Lord Murugan (in the name of Dhandayuthapani) can be seen at the entrance of the temple.
· The idol of Vinayakar here contgains many small images of Vinayakars on it. This Vinayakar is believed to be self-manifested (Swayambu) and is praised as Kodi Vinayakar. It is believed that at the time of renovation, the idol could not be removed. Even after digging for 20 feet, its base could not be found.
· Goddess Parvathi’s shrine (Panthadu Nayaki) is facing the south. She is depicted in a playful posture.
· The idols in the Navagraham here are big in size, very beautiful and unique. All the lords are depicted along with their respective mounts. Suryan and Chandran are seen on chariots pulled by horses.
· Goddess Durgai is depicted with eight hands (Ashtapuja Durgai) and her right leg a step forward.
· This temple’s holy water (Kodi theertham) is believed to have been created by Sage Heranda for the purpose of the lord’s abhishekam. This well never dries up. Devotees believe that sprinkling water from this well on their body will purify their mind and cure many diseases.
· Goddess Parvathy’s shrine has a separate corridor. This corridor has many beautiful carvings engraved on its walls. Also, there are many beautiful sculptures in various places in this temple.
· A beautiful relief depicting the story of Chola king Manu Neethi, who kept his son under his chariot’s wheels and ran over his body to give justice to a cow; can be seen in the second entrance of this temple.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Koteewaraswamy |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Panthadunayaki Ammai, Sri Kanthuga Greedambal |
|
Theertham |
River
Cauveri, Kodi Theertham (Amutha well) |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Castor
oil plant |
BELIEF:
It is believed that
those who worship the lord here will get the benefit of worshiping the lord in
one crore Shiva temples.
It is believed that any
good deed (“Punniyam”) or bad deed (“Pavam”) done here will be multiplied one
crore times.
Devotees sprinkle water
from this temple’s Theertham on their head and worship the lord here to stay
healthy and young. They believe that doing so will also keep away the evil spirits.
Devotees worship the
Goddess Parvathi here because they believe that the goddess will toss away all
their sins and will bless them with a righteous life.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Vinayakar
Chathurthi |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
|
Purattasi |
Sep-Oct |
Navarathri |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
Annabishekam |
|
Markazhi |
Dec-Jan |
Thiruvadhirai |
|
Panguni |
Mar-Apr |
Panguni Uthiram |
HOW
TO REACH:
Kottaiyur is situated
at a distance of about 4 kms from Kumbakonam on the Kumbakonam to Swamimalai
route.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Koteeswarar Temple,
Kottaiyur,
Melakkaveri,
Kumbakonam,
Tanjore,
Tamil Nadu-612 002.
LOCATION:
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