Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 146th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - South |
Chola Naadu - South | 29th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar)
and Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar) |
HISTORY:
Sekkizhar, who wrote
the famous “Periya Puranam”, was an ardent Shiva devotee. He renovated this
temple in the 12th century and built a hall in the second corridor. It is
believed that he received “Thiruvadi gnanam” from Lord Shiva in this temple.
“Thiruvadi gnanam” means that the lord’s feet are placed on a devotee’s head.
The idol of Saint Sekkizhar can be seen with the idols of his mother
Azhakaambigai and brother Balaravaayar in the main hall (Thiruppani Mandapam).
He also built a temple in his native place, Kuntrathur near Chennai, and named
that with this temple’s name – Thirunageswaram.
In ancient times, this
region was a forest densely covered with Shenbaka trees. Hence this place gets
the name Shenbakaranyam and the lord is praised as Sri Shenbakaranyeswarar. The
historical names of this place are Shenbaka vanam and Girikannikai vanam.
Lord
Shiva:
Lord Shiva himself
declared that this is the best Sthalam in the world.
Swayambu:
Lord Shiva had asked
Goddess Parvathi to go to earth and perform penance because she had punished
Sage Birunki severely. Lord Shiva also told her that Goddesses Lakshmi and
Saraswathi will accompany her. Goddess Parvathi selected this place
(Thirunageswaram) to perform her penance. Pleased with her penance, Lord Shiva
blessed her with his darshan and took her back to Mount Kailash. Goddess
Parvathi is praised here as Sri Girigujambal. Her idol is also believed to be
“Swayambu”.
Eight
great serpents:
All the “Ashtamaha”
serpents – the eight great serpents- (Ananthan, Vasuki, Thatchakan, Karkodakan,
Sankapalan, Kulikan, Padman and Mahapadman) along with Adhiseshan worshiped the
lord here. Adhiseshan came from the “Padhala logam” (underworld) and visited
this place. Hence, Lord Shiva here is praised as “Thiru Nageswarar” (“Nagam”
means snake and “Nathar” means the lord in Tamil) and the place gets the name
Thiru Nageswaram. In his hymn, Saint Thirunavukkarasar mentioned that this lord
was worshiped by the five-headed serpent.
Samudra
Manthan:
This temple also finds
a mention in the “Samudra Manthan” episode in Hindu mythology. After extracting
the nectar from the “Thiruparkadal” ocean, it was distributed among all the
devas. Raahu also took a portion of the nectar. However, when Lord Mahavishnu
realised that Raahu was the son of a demon woman, he severed his head. Raahu
prayed to Lord Shiva for forgiveness. It is believed that Lord Shiva is
restored him back to life by placing the severed head on a snake’s body. Lord
Shiva also blessed him and gave him a place among the nine planets.
Raahu:
Raahu is believed to
have worshiped Lord Shiva here. Normally, Raahu appears in a snake form with
human head in other temples but here he has a separate shrine. In this shrine,
the idol is depicted in a human form. Also, this is the only place where the
idol of Raahu can be seen with his consorts - Nagavalli and Nagakanni.
Sthala
Puranam:
The Sthala Puranam
mentions many legends associated with this temple. Some of them are -
·
Sage Gauthamar was re-united with his
wife Akalika after worshiping the lord here.
·
King Nalan regained his lost wealth.
·
Paandavas regained their kingdom.
·
Chandira Varman, who had been turned
into a dog due to a curse, was restored to his original form after he took a
dip in this temple’s holy water and worshiped the lord here.
·
Nandi, after worshipping Lord Shiva
here, attained the status of “Adhikara Nandheeswarar”.
·
Lord Vinayakar, after worshipping Lord
Shiva here, attained the status of “Ganapathy” - the head of Ganas (“Ganas” are
the attendants of Lord Shiva).
·
Indira, the King of Devas, worshiped
Goddess Girigujambal here to seek absolution for sins.
·
Sage Brinki got the darshan of all the
three goddesses (Parvathy, Lakshmi and Saraswathi) simultaneously here.
·
This is the only place where Goddess
Parvathy is depicted as a child in the morning, a young girl in the noon and in
the evening as a fully-grown woman with knowledge of the 16 arts.
People who worshipped here:
Nandhi, Chandran,
Suryan, Nalan, Gauthamar, Paraasarar and Bhageerathan have worshiped the lord
here.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
This is one of the 44 Paadal petra
sthalams where the “Moovar” (the three saints - Saint Thirugnanasambanthar,
Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) and Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar) had rendered
their Pathigams.
·
This is a very famous “Parihara Sthalam”
for Raahu dosham.
·
This east facing temple with main tower
(Rajagopuram) has 5-tiers.
·
An important event in this temple is the
milk abhishekham that is performed for Raahu. Special poojas are performed for
Raahu between 4:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (“Rahukaalam”) on all Sundays. At this
time, the milk that is poured on this idol changes its colour to blue as it
passes over the body. The cloour of the milk again changes back to white when
it reaches the ground. A large number of devotees gather here to worship
Raahu during this time.
·
Lord Murugan’s shrine is in between
those of Lord Shiva and Goddess Piraiyanivaal Nuthal Ammai. This type of
placement is called “Somaskanda”.
·
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 100-pillared hall has beautiful
sculptures. It looks as if the entire hall is placed on a chariot.
·
The three Goddesses – Girigujambikai
(Parvathy), Mahalakshmi and Saraswathi are gracing the devotees from a single
shrine here.
·
On 16th February 1986, a snake shed
its skin (length 5.5 feet) in the form of a garland on the idol of Lord Raahu.
This skin is preserved in a glass box.
·
Worshiping Lord Shiva in the morning at
the Sri Nageswarar temple in Kudanthai Keezhkkottam, at noon in this temple and
in the evening at the Thiruppampuram temple is considered very auspicious.
·
It is believed that earlier this temple
has 12 Theerthams, including those of the three rivers – Naattaru, Arisilaru
and Kirthimanaru which were created by Lord Shiva using his trident. However,
now only one of them - the “Surya Pushkarini” can be seen inside the temple.
·
There is a Tamil proverb which can be
loosely translated as follows – No one can bless like Raahu and no one can
create obstacles like Kethu. Since this is a parihara sthalam for Raahu,
devotees can worship him here to seek his blessings.
·
In Goddess Girigujambikai’s shrine,
there is a small enclave which houses idols of Lord Vinayakar and Yoga Raahu.
This idol of Yoga Raahu is quite unique.
·
There are beautiful paintings in Goddess
Girigujambikai’s shrine depicting the legends associated with this temple.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Thiru Nageswarar, Sri Naganathaswami, |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Kuntramulai Nayagi, Sri Girigujaambigai, |
|
Theertham |
Surya
Theertham |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Shenbagam
tree |
BELIEF:
This is a famous
“Parihara Sthalam” for those suffering from the adverse effects of planet Raahu
and Kethu. For example, doshas like “Sarpa dosha”, “Kalathira dosha”, “Pithru
dosha” and “Kalasarpa dosha”.
Devotees believe that
by worshiping the lord here, obstacles from their marriage proposals will be
removed.
The transition days of
the Raahu planet are also celebrated here with special poojas.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Vinayakar Chaturthi |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Saint Sekkizhar festival of Vaikasi
Poosam star day. |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Thiru Karthikai |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
10-day Brahmmotsavam |
|
Markazhi |
Dec-Jan |
Thiruvadhirai |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Masi Maham and Shivarathri |
|
Panguni |
Mar-Apr |
Panguni Uthiram |
HOW
TO REACH:
Thirunageswaram is
situated at a distance of about 8 kms east of Kumbakonam on the Kumbakonam to
Karaikkal route. From Thiruvidaimaruthur it is about 5 kms. There is a railway
station in Thirunageswaram on the Kumbakonam to Mayiladuthurai route.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Nageswaraswamy Temple,
Thirunageswaram,
Kumbakonam,
Thanjavur,
Tamil Nadu-612 204.
LOCATION:
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