Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 95th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - North |
Chola Naadu - North | 41th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar |
HISTORY:
This temple is that of
Adisheshan and Vayu. Once there was a contest between Adisheshan and Vayu
regarding their prowess. Adisheshan held the Meru Mount tightly and Vayu blew
violently to break the mount. It is believed that a small piece called
"Sathyam” fell at this place and formed a small hill. This temple was
constructed on top of it. Hence, this place was named Sathyagiri and the lord
here is known as Sri Sathyagireeswarar. This ancient temple is situated
on the southern banks of the river Manniyaru. The historical names of this
place are Sathyagiri, Kumara Puram, Asumathakavanam and Chandeswara Puram.
Lord
Murugan:
Lord Murugan created a
tank here and worshiped Lord Shiva to get “Rudhra Pasupatham” that he needed to
destroy the demon Sooran. As this place yielded fruitful results for Lord
Murugan, it gets the name “Seinjalur”. Seinjalur is derived from the words
“Sei” meaning Murugan, “nal” meaning fruitful and “Oor” meaning place in Tamil.
The tank is named after Lord Murugan as “Kumara Theertham”. The name of
the river “Manni Aru”, which flows close to this temple, is said to have been
derived from its original name of “Subramanya Nadhi”. (Lord Murugan is also known
as “Kumaran” and “Subramanyar”. “Nadhi” means river in Tamil).
Chandikeswarar:
Chandikeswarar is one
of the 63 revered Nayanmars and is the only one with the title of “lord”
(Easwaran). He was the first Nayanmars and was crowned as the head of all the other
Shiva devotees by Lord Shiva.
Visara
Sarmar:
A brahmin couple,
Echathathan and Pavithrai in Seinganur. They had a son called Visara Sarmar.
His sacred thread wearing ceremony (Upanayanam) was performed when he turned
seven. He was gifted and quickly learnt the Vedas and other scholarly arts at a
very young age. He was also very devout and would always think about Lord
Shiva.
One day he saw a
shepherd beating a calf that had attempted to hit him. Visara Sarmar asked the
shepherd not to beat the cows whereupon the shepherd asked the child in jest to
take up the job of shepherding. Visara Sarmar thought that this would be the
best way for him to serve Lord Shiva as he saw the cows to be representing
Kamadhenu (the divine cow). He further considered the cows in high esteem
because they give “Panchakavyam” (five offerings) to the lord. So he decided to
take up the shepherd’s offer and requested the cattle owners that he be given
the job of grazing the cows. They agreed to his request. He used to bring the cows
to Thiruvaipadi for grazing. As he showed much affection towards the cows, the
cows reciprocated his love by producing plenty of milk.
As Visara Saruman was
always drowned in thoughts about Lord Shiva, he made a lingam with the river
sands, installed it on the banks of the river under an Aathi tree and performed
pujas. He would offer milk to the lingam which he himself milked from the cows.
In spite of this, the cows gave their routine amount of milk to their owners
too. The shepherd from whom Visara Sarmar took the job watched his activities
and complained to the cow owners that the boy is milking the cows and wasting
some of the milk which could be used for other purposes. This news reached his
father and he wanted to know the truth. One day he visited the grazing place
and saw his son performing pujas and abishekam. Angered by what he saw, his
father hit Visara Sarmar and then kicked away the pots of milk.
Since Visara Sarmar was
deep in his worship, he did not see who was disrupting his pooja. Instinctively,
he retaliated by attacking the intruder with a stick and then continued his
worship. However, the stick turned into an axe and cut the legs of his father.
At this point, Lord Shiva along with Goddess Parvathi granted darshan to Visara
Sarmar and said that he had cut his own father’s legs because of his devotion.
The lord was so impressed by his devotion that he decided to act as Visara
Sarmar’s father. The lord further honoured Visara Sarmar by embracing him and
adorning his neck with a garland that he himself had worn. The lord also made
him the chief caretaker of his wealth. The lord further named him as
“Chandikeswara”.
While praying to
Chadikeshwarar, devotees click their fingers or clap. This is to show
Chandikeshwarar that their hands are empty and that they are not taking away
any of Lord Shiva’s wealth. Since Chandikeshwara is always in deep meditation,
this clicking / clapping sound is also to awaken him.
In his hymn of this
temple, Saint Thirugnanasambanthar mentioned about this incident. According to
“Periya Puranam”, since this is Chandikeswarar’s birth place, in order to pay
respect to him, Saint Thirugnanasambanthar got down from his palanquin and
walked down to the temple.
Sandikeswara
Nayanar:
On a new moon day on
Shivrathri, Sandikeswara Nayanar attained salvation (“Moksham”) in
Thiruvaippadi, which is very near to this place.
People
who worshipped here:
Chola King Kochengat,
Kaampeeli King Sibi Chakravarthi and Ayodhya King Harichandran have worshiped
the lord here.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
· This temple is counted as one of the Maadak Koils built by King Kochengat Cholan.
· Goddess Parvathy is praised here as Sri Sakidevi. This is very unique as she is not referred to by this name anywhere else.
· The unique feature of the idol of Chandikeswarar here is that he is seen wearing “Kundalam” in his ears and has dreadlocks (“jadamudi”). On his head, moon and Ganges can also be seen. This posture is indicative of the legend that Lord Shiva gave darshan to him here.
· As per Periyapuranam, there were five sthalams where the crowning ceremony of Chola kings used to take place. Of these, Seinganur was of prime importance.
· All temples have a separate shrine for Chandikeswarar. In that respect, this temple itself is considered to be the Chandikeswarar shrine for the Thiruvidaimaruthur Sri Mahalingaswamy temple.
· The stone idol of Lord Bhairavar is placed in the main hall. If we gently tap on this idol, it gives the sound that would be produced from a metallic bronze idol.
· 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.
· This temple is considered to be significant for its three important attributes – Moorthy, Sthalam and Theertham - glory of Lord, sacredness of the land and the auspicious temple tank.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Sathya Gireeswarar, Sri Shakti Gireeswarar, Sri
Shivaloka Nathar |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Sakidevi Ammai |
|
Theertham |
Manniyaru,
Sathya Pushkarani, Kumara Theertham, Appan tank |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Aathi |
BELIEF:
It is believed that
even after worshiping Lord Shiva in various temples from Kanyakumari to Kasi
(Banaras), one will get the benefits of their worship only after worshiping
Lord Chandikeswarar in this temple.
It is believed that
worshiping the lord here will result in regaining one’s lost power or position.
Devotees believe that
worshipping Lord Shiva here will bring them wealth and prosperity.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Vinayakar
Chathurthi |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
|
Thai |
Jan-Feb |
Chandikeswara Nayanar’s birthday on
the “Uthiram” star day |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Thirukarthikai |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
Skanda
Shashti and Annabishekam |
HOW
TO REACH:
Seinganur is situated
at a distance of about 2 kms from Thiruppananthal. This sthalam is situated on
the Kumbakonam to Anaikkarai road and is about 2 kms before Thiruppanandal.
From Kumbakonam it is about 18 kms and from Aduthurai, it is about 13 kms.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Sathyagireeswarar Temple,
Seinganur,
Thiruppanandal,
Thiruvidaimarudur,
Tanjore,
Tamil Nadu- 612 504.
LOCATION:
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