66. SRI PADIKKASUNATHA SWAMY TEMPLE AT ARISIR KARAI PUTHUR (AZHAKAPUTHUR)

Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam	183rd Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam)
Region	Chola Naadu - South
Chola Naadu - South	66th Shiva Sthalam
Pathigam	Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) and Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar)

HISTORY:

The historical names of this place are Seruvili Puthur and Arisir Karai Puthur. This temple is situated on the southern side of the river Arasalaru, hence the place gets the name “Arasil karai puthur” (“Arasil” the river, “karai” means bank and “puthur” means village in Tamil). There are seven stone inscriptions in this temple which date back to the periods of the Chola kings.

Lord Murugan:

It is believed that there was a time when the demons had started terrorising the devas in the celestial world. When their atrocities increased to an alarming extent, Lord Shiva instructed Lord Murugan to destroy them. When Lord Murugan began preparing for the war, Lord Shiva and the Devas gave him many weapons. Lord Mahavishnu gave him his discus and conch. With all these weapons, Murugan destroyed the demons. In this temple he is shown with all these weapons in his hands.

Pugazhthunai Nayanar:

This is his birth place. He was the priest of this temple and continued to serve the lord even in his old age. During that time there was a drought and this place was under the grip of a severe famine.

Despite the hardship, he continued his service to the lord. Every day he would bring a pot of water from the river Arasalaru to offer abishekam to the lord. One day, he was so weak that while performing the abishekam, the pot fell on the lingam. He thought that he had committed a sin by hitting the lord and fell unconscious. The lord appeared in his dream and told him that he had not committed any mistake. It was only due to his starvation and weakness that the pot had fallen on the lingam. The lord further told him that as long as the drought remained, he would give him a gold coin every day.

Every day, Lord Shiva placed a gold coin on a step in the sanctum sanctorum as allowance for Pugazhthunai Nayanar’s services (“Siva thondu”). Hence the lord is praised as Sri Padikkasu Nathar (“padi” means both step as well as allowance, “kasu” means money in Tamil). After serving the lord for a long time, the saint is believed to be attained salvation in this place.

King Kochengat Chola:

King Kochengat Chola renovated this temple and worshiped the lord here. In his hymn of this temple, saint Thirugnanasambanthar mentions about Kochengat Chola’s worship.

Sage Unmaiyananda:

Sage Unmaiyananda has worshiped the lord here.

Lord Brahma:

Lord Murugan performed penance in this place to seek relief for the sin he had committed by punishing Lord Brahma.

SALIENT FEATURE:

·        This is the birth place of Pugazhthunai Nayanar, one of the 63 Nayanmars.

·        This is one of the “Moovar paadal petra sthalams”.

·        This west facing temple with main tower (Rajagopuram) has 3-tiers.

·        Lord Murugan here is praised as “Sri Kalyana Sundara Shanmuga Subramaniar”. He appears with 12 hands, seated on his peacock mount, holding a conch (Sangu) on his one hand and a discus (Chakra) on another hand. This form of Lord Murugan is unique as it cannot be seen anywhere else.

·        The Thiruvatchi (the frame around Lord Murugan) is aesthetically designed in the shape of the Tamil letter “OHM”.

·        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.

·        In the front hall, there is a beautiful sculpture of Lord Shiva and goddess Parvathy seated on their bull mount.

·        The main lingam in this temple is taller than usual and is placed on a square base (“Avudayar”).

·        It is believed that the heirs of Pugazh Thunai Nayanar are still serving as priests in this temple. 

TEMPLE INFORMATION:

Moolavar	Sri Padikkasu Nathar, Sri Swarnapureeswarar, Sri Kuberalingam
Ambal	Sri Azhakambigai, Sri Soundara Nayaki
Theertham	Amirtha Pushkarani and Arasalaaru
Sthala Vriksham	Vilvam

BELIEF:

Devotees believe that worshiping the lord here will lead to removal of sins that they might have accrued in their previous births.

Devotees worship the lord here by offering an even number of coins or notes. They take back half of them in the belief that it will lead to prosperity.

Those who have been bitten by poisonous creatures like snakes, worship Lord Murugan here in the belief that they will be cured

TEMPLE FESTIVAL:

Tamil Month	English Month	Festival Name
Avani	Aug-Sept	Pukazhthunai Nayanar’s Gurupoojai is celebrated on Aayilya star day
Avani	Aug-Sept	Vinayakar Chaturthi
Purattasi	Sep-Oct	Navarathri
Aippasi	Oct–Nov	Skanda Shashti and Annabishekam
Karthikai	Nov-Dec	Thiru Karthikai
Markazhi	Dec-Jan	Thiruvadhirai
Thai	Jan-Feb	Makara Sankranthi
Maasi	Feb-Mar	Maasi Maham and Maha Shivrathri
Panguni	Mar-Apr	Panguni Uthiram

HOW TO REACH:

Arisir Karai Puthur (Azhakaputhur) is situated at a distance of about 8 kms from Kumbakonam on the Kumbakonam to Nachiyarkoil route. Nachiyarkoil is about 2 kms away from this temple

TEMPLE ADDRESS:

Sri Padikkasu Nathar Temple,
Azhakaputhur,
Sakkottai Via,
Kumbakonam,
Tanjore,
Tamil Nadu - 612 401.

LOCATION: