86. SRI THRINETHRA NATHAR TEMPLE AT PALLIYIN MUKKOODAL

Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam	203rd Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam)
Region	Chola Naadu - South
Chola Naadu - South	86th Shiva Sthalam
Pathigam	Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar)

HISTORY:

As per legend, Jatayu, the unforgettable character in the Ramayana epic who laid down his life in the service of Lord Ram, visited this place and performed penance. He prayed to Lord Shiva requesting him that he be given the opportunity to take bath simultaneously in Kasi and Rameswaram in order to attain salvation. Pleased with his prayers, the lord gave darshan to him and advised him that he should protect Seeta when Ravana comes to abduct her. The lord also informed him that during that process his wings will be chopped off by Ravana and thereafter his life will come to an end at Lord Rama’s feet.

Jatayu then pleaded to the lord to fulfil his desire of taking dips in Kasi (Banaras), Allahabad and Rameswaram before his life ends. Lord Shiva arranged all the three Theerthams to come to this temple’s tank and advised Jatayu to take a dip in it. The lord further told him that taking a dip in this tank is equivalent to taking bath in the 16 “Sethu Samudra Snana ghats” (16 bathing places in the sea) in Rameswaram. Hence this tank is known as “Mukkoodal Theertham” and “Shodasa Sethu” (Shodasa means 16 in Tamil).

It is also believed that this tank was dug by Lord Vinayaka for Sage Birungi Maharshi.

Lord Ram worshiped Lord Shiva here and then performed the rituals for his father, King Dhasaratha like he had also done in Gaya (Bihar). Hence this place gets the name “Ganges Karai” which is now changed to Kekkarai (Karai means riverbank in Tamil).

The historical names of this place are Ariyan Palli, Palliyin Mukkudal and Kuruvi Rameswaram.

Mukkona Nathar:

The lord of this temple is praised as Sri Thrinethra Nathar (in Sanskrit) and Sri Mukkan Nathar (in Tamil). But over a period of time, Mukkan Nathar is changed to Mukkona Nathar.

Chola King:

There was a Chola King who always used to worship Lord Shiva before taking his meals. One day he reached this place late and found that the temple was closed. Since his assistants knew that the king would not eat before worshiping the lord, they decided to trick him. They decorated a bag containing horse-feed and made it look like a Shiva lingam. They placed it in front of the king. The king was happy to see the lingam and worshipped it before taking his dinner. He came to know about this deception on the next day and he tried to lift the bag. However, he was unable to do so because the bag had actually transformed into a lingam. The king then had this lingam placed inside the temple.

Thapovadhani:

There was a queen called Thapovadhani who prayed to the Goddess of this temple seeking child boon.  Goddess Parvathi herself is believed to have appeared in the form of a child floating on a lotus in this temple’s tank. The queen noticed the child and raised her as her own daughter. It is believed that Lord Shiva married her at a later date.

People who worshipped here:

Lord Ram, Jatayu, Sage Moorkka and Saint Thirunavukkarasar have worshiped the lord here.

SALIENT FEATURE:

·        The main Shivalingam of this temple looks very elegant.

·        Similar to Allahabad’s Thiriveni Sangam, this temple’s tank (“Mukkoodal Theertham”) is believed to be the meeting point of the three holy rivers – Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi. As this place was associated with Jatayu and Lord Ram, it gets the name “Kuruvi Rameswaram” (“Kuruvi” means a bird in Tamil).

·        This temple was renovated recently by Naattukkottai Nagarathar (Chettiars).

·        It is believed that Lord Suryan (Sun) worships Lord Shiva of this temple by directing his rays on the lingam every year on the Masi month Shivratri day (Feb-March).

·        In this temple, Nandi is facing the sanctum, but his head is turned slightly to one side. It looks as if he is listening to your prayers.

·        The idols of Vinayakar, Murugan, Brahma and Mahalakshmi in the corridor are incredibly beautiful.

·        It is believed that there are 12 wells inside this temple’s tank and devotees who take a dip in it will get the benefit of taking bath in the Maha Maham tank in Kumbakonam. 

TEMPLE INFORMATION:

Moolavar	Sri Thrinethra Nathar, Sri Mukkodal Nathar, Sri Mukkona Veesuvaar
Ambal	Sri Maimevu Kanni, Sri Anchanatchi Ambal
Theertham	Mukkoodal Theertham
Sthala Vriksham	Vilvam

BELIEF:

Devotees believe that by taking a dip in this temple’s theertham and praying to the lord, obstacles in their marriage proposal will be removed and they will be blessed with a suitable match.

It is also believed that those seeking “Santhana Prapthi” (child boon) can take a dip in this temple’s theertham and pray to the lord

TEMPLE FESTIVAL:

Tamil Month	English Month	Festival Name
Aadi	July-Aug	Aadi Pooram
Avani	Aug-Sept	Vinayakar Chaturthi
Purattasi	Sep-Oct	Navarathri
Aippasi	Oct–Nov	Skanda Shashti and Annabishekam
Karthikai	Nov-Dec	Thiru Karthikai
Thai	Jan-Feb	Makara Sankranthi
Maasi	Feb-Mar	Maha Shivrathri

HOW TO REACH:

Thiru Palliyin Mukkudal is situated at a distance of about 5 kms from Thiruvarur. Before entering Thiruvarur, there is a place called Gayakarai (This place is now called as Kekkarai / Ramake Road) on the Thiruvarur – Peralam road. From Gekkarai take a diversion road and proceed further for about 4 kms to reach Thiru Palliyin Mukkoodal. Nearest railway station is Kodikal Palayam (3 kms) and Virkudi (3 kms) which is on the Mayiladuthurai to Thiruvarur line.

TEMPLE ADDRESS:

Sri Thrinethra Natha Swamy Temple,
Thirupalli Mukkoodal,
Kekkarai,
Thiruvarur,
Tamil Nadu – 610002.

LOCATION: