Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 200th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - South |
Chola Naadu - South | 83rd Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar |
HISTORY:
This ancient temple is
believed to have been built by the Chola King Muchukunda. The historical
name of this place is Mallikaaranyam (Malligai means jasmine plant and aranyam
means forest). There are 28 temples where shrines of Lord Shiva and Lord
Mahavishnu are housed in the same complex. Sikkal is one of them.
Lord
Murugan:
It is said that the
idols of Lord Murugan at Sikkal, Enkan and Ettukudi were made by the same
sculptor. On the instructions of the Chola King Mutharasan, the sculptor first made
a Murugan idol for this temple. This idol was magnificently carved. It is
believed that the king did not want the sculptor to make any replicas of this
idol so he had the sculptor’s right thumb severed.
The sculptor was then
prompted by Lord Murugan in his dream, to create another idol of him for the
Ettukudi temple. He followed the instructions that he received in his dream and
made the idol without the support of his right thumb. When the idol was
completed and installed at Ettukudi temple, King Mutharasan came to know about
this. Angered by the sculptor’s act, he blinded him so that he would not be
able to create any more sculptures.
However, in another
dream he was again prompted by Lord Murugan to create one more idol of him for
the Enkan temple. He followed the lord’s instructions and created the third
idol. This time he took the help of his daughter. While making the idol, his
chisel inflicted an injury upon his daughter and a couple of drops of her blood
splashed over his eyes. Suddenly his vision was restored. He uttered the words
“oh en kan” (meaning “oh I got my eyes back”). It is believed that the place
“Enkan” got its name from this incident.
King
Mutharasan:
King Mutharasan heard
about this incident, he realised the greatness of the sculptor and visited him
to apologize for his mistake.
People who worshipped here:
Lord Maha Vishnu, Lord
Murugan, Sages Naradar, Agasthiyar, Vashistar, Vishwaamitrar, Gautama,
Kathyayana, Chola King Muchukuntha Chakravarthi and Kamadenu have worshipped
the lord here.
Sri
Singara Velan:
The devas worshipped
Lord Murugan requesting him to protect them from the onslaught of demon
Soorapadman. Lord Murugan decided to destroy the demon. He obtained his spear
(“Vel” in Tamil) from his mother, Goddess Parvathy and proceeded to
Thiruchendur to encounter the demon. This event is called “Soorasamharam” and
it is celebrated in a grand manner in this temple. Lord Murugan is praised here
as “Sri Singara Velan” (the lord holding a spear).
Lord Mahavishnu:
Once the devas
approached Mahavishnu and complained about the troubles caused by the demon
king Mahabali Chakravarthi and they sought his help. Before venturing out
to the court of the demon king Mahabali, Lord Mahavishnu took the “Vaamana
avatar” and came to this place to worship Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva blessed
him with the power to annihilate Mahabali. Hence, Lord Vishnu is praised here
as “Sri Kolavaamana Perumal”. There is a separate shrine for him adjacent to
Lord Shiva’s shrine.
Kamadhenu:
It is believed that
once she had consumed meat during a drought. When Lord Shiva came to know about
this, he cursed her and turned her into a cow with the head of a tiger. The
sorrow-stricken Kamadhenu requested the lord to pardon her.
Lord Shiva advised her
to come to this place, take a dip in this temple’s holy tank and offer her
prayers. Accordingly, Kamadhenu came to this place and started taking bath.
While taking bath, she was restored to her original form and milk from her
udders started flowing. The entire tank became a pond of milk (“Ksheera
Pushkarini”). Surprisingly, butter also formed here.
At the same time, as
per the direction of Lord Shiva, Sage Vashistar came to this place, created a
lingam using the butter and offered his prayers. Lord Shiva appeared here and
gave darshan to him and Kamadhenu. He also pardoned Kamadhenu. Hence, the lord
here is praised as “Sri Vennai Lingeswarar” (“vennai” means butter in Tamil).
It is further believed
that the lingam that Sage Vashistar had created got stuck in some jasmine
plants. For this reason, this place gets the name “Sikkal” (Sikkal means to get
entangled).
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
This temple is very famous for its
Murugan, who is praised as “Sikkal Singaravelar”.
·
“Soorasamharam” is an important festival
celebrated in this temple.
·
There is a Maragatha lingam here.
·
This is one of the Shakti Peedams.
·
This temple is counted as one of the
Maadak Koils built by King Kochengat Cholan.
·
This east facing temple with main tower
(Rajagopuram) has 7-tiers.
·
“Soorasamharam” festival in the Tamil
month of Aippasi (Oct) (during Skanda Shashti) is celebrated here in a grand
manner. Even today, one can see beads of sweat on the idol of Lord Murugan as
he receives the Spear (“Vel”) from his mother, Goddess Parvathy.
·
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.
·
It is believed that King Kochengat Chola
built about 70 “Madakkoils”. The distinguishing feature of a Madakkoil is that
it is not easily approachable by an elephant. 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.
·
It is very significant to note that in
this temple, four lords (Lord Shiva, Lord Mahavishnu, Lord Singaravelar and Hanuman)
are housed in a single complex.
·
There is a separate shrine for Lord
Thiyagarajar here.
·
There is a separate shrine for “Sri
Varada Aanjaneyar” on the North-western corner of this temple.
· A beautiful relief depicting Kamadhenu, Sage Vashistar and other sages worshiping the lord can be seen on the sanctum wall in the corridor.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Navaneetheswarar, Sri Vennai Lingeswarar |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Satyaayadhakshi, Sri Velnedunkanni |
|
Theertham |
Ksheera
Pushkarini, Milk pond (“Paal Kulam” in Tamil), Gaya Theertham, Lakshmi
Theertham |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Jasmine
(Malligai) |
BELIEF:
Devotees believe that
by reciting the “Satru Samhaara Tiri Sathai” prayer to Lord Singaravelar, they
will be shielded from any obstacles caused by their enemies.
Lord Varada Aanjaneyar
is very famous here. Devotees perform pooja to him with “Kattamudhu” (an
offering of curd rice) to seek his blessings.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Chithirai |
Apr-May |
Brahmotsavam |
|
Aani |
June-July |
Aani Thirumanjanam |
|
Aadi |
July-Aug |
Aadi Pooram |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Vinayakar Chaturthi |
|
Purattasi |
Sep-Oct |
Navarathri |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
Annabishekam |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
“Soorasamharam” festival, during
Skanda Shashti |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Thiru Karthikai |
|
Markazhi |
Dec-Jan |
Thiruvadhirai |
|
Thai |
Jan-Feb |
Makara Sankranthi |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
|
Panguni |
Mar-Apr |
Panguni Uthiram |
HOW
TO REACH:
Sikkal is situated at a
distance of about 7 kms from Nagapatinam on the Nagapatinam to Thiruvarur
route. From Thiruvarur, it is about 20 kms. There is a railway station in
Sikkal (on the Nagapattinam to Thiruvarur line) and this temple is one
kilometre away from it.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Navaneetheswarar Temple,
Sikkal,
Nagapattinam,
Tamil Nadu – 611 108.
LOCATION:
No comments:
Post a Comment