Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 106th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - North |
Chola Naadu - North | 52nd Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) |
HISTORY:
The divine cow,
Kamadhenu, was habitually pouring her milk in a particular place in this
region. The milk turned into ghee under the influence of natural forces like
Sun and rain. Once a shepherd noticed Kamadenu and tried to catch her but she
disappeared. Finding the actions of the cow to be very odd, he informed the
locals about this incident. They then dug up the place and found a Shivalingam
there. When the king was informed about this, he arranged for a temple to be
built there. He further made arrangements for abhishekam to be performed there
using ghee every day. There is a beautiful relief depicting Kamadhenu
worshiping Lord Shiva in the hall. The lord of this temple is praised as “Sri
Neyyadi Appar” and this place is known as “Nei Thanam”. This is because Ghee in
Tamil is called “Nei”. The historical names of this place are Thiru Neithanam
and Thillai Sthanam.
There are 51 stone
inscriptions in this temple which date back to the periods of five Chola kings
including Paranthakan-I. In these stone inscriptions this place is referred to
as “Rajaraja Valanattu Bainganaattu Thiru Neithanam” and the lord of this
temple is praised as Sri Neithanamudaiyar.
Spinach
leaves:
A Shiva devotee used to
light lamps in this temple every day. While returning after lighting the
lamps, he had the habit of picking some spinach leaves (“keerai” in Tamil) from
the temple. Due to his advancing age, he requested the lord to take care of him
as he felt that he had performed his duties by lighting lamps every day. It is
believed that Lord Shiva told him that the spinach leaf that he had taken every
day was the wage for the work he had done.
Sri
Lankan King:
A Sri Lankan King by
the name of Kayavahu worshiped the lord of this temple as his family deity. He
arranged for many festivals to be celebrated here.
Sapthasthanam Festival:
Lord Panchanatheeswarar
(Sri Iyyarappar) of Thiruvaiyaru decided to conduct the marriage of Nandhi and
Suyasambigai at Thirumazhappadi (a nearby place) on the “Punarpoosam” day of
the Tamil month of Panguni. He selected the following places to arrange things
required for the marriage.
Thiruvedhikkudi to get
the Vedic Brahmins,
Thiruppazhanam to get
fruits,
Thiruchotruthurai to
arrange food,
Thirukkandiyur for
Kandi (ornaments),
Thiruppoonthuruthi for
fruits and garlands, and
Thiruneithanam (Thillai
sthanam) to get ghee for yagnas.
After the marriage, as
a gesture of thanks, it is believed that Lord Panchanatheeswarar and Goddess
Dharmasamvardhani visited each of these places in a palanquin. This event is
celebrated as “Sapthasthanam”.
Sapthasthanam (seven
places) festival is celebrated in Thiruvaiyaru on the “Visakam” day (the day
after the full moon) in the Tamil month of Chithirai (Apr-May) every year.
First palanquin
(bedecked with mirrors) carrying the principal deities of Thiruvaiyaru go to
the second temple in procession. Idols of Nandhi along with his wife
Suyasambigai also join this procession. The deities of the second temple
receive them at the border of the village. After reaching the second temple and
performing certain poojas, they join the second temple’s palanquin to the third
temple. Like this, the palanquins from six places are joined together and
they finally assemble in Thiru Neithanam temple. Thereafter, all the seven
palanquins take part in a procession back to Thiruvaiyaryu.
Thousands of people
come from all over the country to witness this marvellous festival. The
palanquins are paraded near the car stand (“Ther-adi”). Devotees also take part
in the “Poochorithal” (flower festival) in which an idol offers flowers to the
principal deities in the palanquins. After the Poochorithal, the palanquins
leave for their respective temples.
The seven temples that
are part of this Sapthasthanam festival are -
Aiyarappar temple,
Thiruvaiyaru,
Apathsahayeswar Temple,
Thirupazhanam,
Odhanavaneswarar
Temple, Thiruchotruthurai,
Vedapureeswarar Temple,
Thiruvedhikudi,
Kandeeswarar Temple,
Thirukkandiyur,
Pushpavananathar
Temple, Thirupanthuruthi and
Neyyadiappar Temple,
Thiru Neithanam (this temple).
People
who worshipped here:
Goddess
Saraswathi, Kamadhenu, Sage Gauthama, Saint Thirugnanasambanthar and Saint
Thirunavukarasar (Appar) have worshiped the lord here.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
This is one of the “Saptha Sthana”
temples of Thiruvaiyaru.
·
This east facing temple has two corridors
and its main tower (Rajagopuram) has 5-tiers.
·
Goddess Parvathy is praised here as Sri
Balambikai. As the name suggests, the goddess is believed to be ever youthful
in her appearance. This is the only place where Saint Thirunavukkarasar has
praised the beauty of the goddess in his hymn.
·
There are two idols of Lord
Dakshinamurthy here - one is portrayed in a standing posture and the other one
is sitting in front of him.
·
There is a beautiful idol of Goddess
Durgai here where she is depicted with eight hands.
·
The pillars in this temple have many
sculptures of lions. This shows that this
·
It is believed that famous poets from
the Chola kingdom - Pugazhendhi and Ottakoothar visited this temple and praised
the lord of this temple in their songs.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Neyyadiyappar, Sri Gruthapureeswarar, Sri Pasupatheeswarar |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Ilamangai Ammai, Sri Vaalambigai, Sri Balambigai |
|
Theertham |
River
Cauveri |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Vilvam |
BELIEF:
It is considered very
auspicious to perform “abhishekam” to Lord Shiva here. This abhishekam should
be done using cow ghee followed by warm water. By doing so, it is believed that
one’s wishes will be fulfilled.
The most important
festivals celebrated here are - Maasi Maham Brahmotsavam in the Tamil month of
Maasi (Feb-Mar) and the Theerthavari performed in the river Cauvery which flows
adjacent to this temple.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
10 days Brahmotsavam (Maasi Maham festival) |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Vinayakar Chathurthi |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Thirukarthikai |
|
Purattasi |
Sep-Oct |
Navarathri |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
Skanda
Shashti and Annabishekam |
|
Markazhi |
Dec-Jan |
Thiruvadhirai |
HOW
TO REACH:
Thiru Neithanam is
situated at a distance of about 2 kms from Thiruvaiyaru. It is located at a
distance of about 37 kms from Kumbakonam and 15 kms from Tanjore.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Neyyadiyappar Temple,
Thiru Neithanam (Thillai Sthanam),
Thiruvaiyaru Via,
Tanjore,
Tamil Nadu – 613 203.
LOCATION:
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