Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 6th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Thondai Naadu |
Thondai Naadu | 6th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar |
HISTORY:
Once
Vali (the monkey king of Kishkindha), Indhran (the king of the celestial gods)
and Yama (the lord of death) were cursed by sages for their wrong doings and
were made to take the forms of a monkey, a squirrel and a crow respectively.
They
went to Mount Kailash and prayed to Lord Shiva to seek his blessings and to
request Lord Shiva to restore them to their original forms. Lord Shiva directed
them to visit this place (Kuranganil Muttam) and offer their prayers. When they
came to this place and worshiped Lord Shiva, he graced them with his dharisanam
and absolved their sins. Lord Shiva stayed in this place as a Swayambumurthy.
At
Kuranganil Muttam Yama was in the form of a crow before worshipping Lord Shiva.
He scratched the land with his beak and created a spring. He took bath in that
spring, took water for lord’s abishekam from it and offered it to the lord. The
spring was made in the shape of a new moon (semi-circular) surrounding the
temple on three sides while the lord is seated on a rock on the other side. This
spring is called “Kakkaimadu theertham” and “Vayasamadu theertham” - (Crow
meaning Kakkai / muttam in Tamil and Vayasam in Sanskrit).
Vali
was an ardent Shiva devotee. When he came to worship the Lord Shiva here, he
did not want to pick the flowers by hand but instead, he shook the tree in
order to make the flowers fall on the Lord directly. The lord here is also
known as “Koyyamalar Nathar” referring to the fact that the flowers that were
offered to him were untouched by hands. “Koyya” meaning untouched and “Malar”
meaning “flower” in Tamil. Saint Thirugnanasambanthar in his pathigam on Lord
Shiva here also mentioned the lord as “Koyyamalar Chudi” (in 8th Stanza).
The
Tamil names of monkey, squirrel and crow are “Kurangu”, “Anil” and “Muttam”
respectively. Hence the place gets the name, “Kuranguanil Muttam”. Also since
Vali is believed to have worshipped Lord Shiva here, the lord here is named
“Valeeswarar”. The temple is situated on the southern bank of Palaru river
and it is believed to have been built by Pallava King Mahendra Verman in 637
CE.
Goddess Irayar Valai Ammai:
Goddess
Irayar Valai Ammai graces from a separate shrine facing west. Vali, Indira and
Yama are believed to have worshiped this goddess before worshipping the Lord.
They are also believed to have sought her help to negate the effects of the
curse and revert back to their original forms. The goddess is believed to have
yielded to their request. “Valai” in this context can be translated as
“yielding”. This is one of the reasons behind the name “Irayar Valai Ammai”.
Saint Thiruganasambanthar had also praised the goddess as “Irayar valai” in his
hymns.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
In Indian
mythology even birds and animals are depicted as having faith in Lord Shiva and
they have attained salvation through their penance.
·
It is said that
on specific days during the Tamil month of Chithirai (April-May) sun rays fall
directly on the lingam in the sanctum sanctorum.
·
Beautiful stone
engravings depicting these animals worshipping the lord can be seen at the entrance
wall of the temple.
TEMPLE
INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri Valeeswarar / Sri Koyyamalarnathar |
|
Ambal |
Sri Irayar Valaiyammai |
|
Theertham |
Kakkai Madu Theertham, Vali Theertham |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Elandhai |
BELIEF:
“Valai”
in Tamil also means bangles. Married women and expectant mothers offer bangles
to the goddess before wearing them with the hope that they would be blessed
with healthy children and their deliveries would be safe. They also pray to the
goddess for relief from “Balarishta dosham”. “Bala” means children and
“arishta” means illnesses. Balarishta dosham are illnesses that afflict the new
born child. They are caused due to specific planetary positions or combinations
present at the time of birth of the child. The ill-effects of this dosham can
be seen for many years.
Yama
is considered to be the presiding lord of Planet Saturn. Those seeking relief
from ill-effects of this planet (Sani dosham) can worship Lord Shiva here.
It
is believed that by worshiping Lord Shiva here devotees are relieved of sins
and are blessed with wisdom and knowledge.
Lakshadeepam
(one lakh lamps) on Tirukarthikai in the Tamil month of Karthikai,
TEMPLE
FESTIVAL:
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Thirukarthikai |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Mahashivrathri |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
Annabishekam |
HOW
TO REACH:
Thiru
Kuranganilmuttam is on the Kanchipuram to Vanthavasi route. After travelling
about 10 kms from Kanchipuram, you can reach village Thusi and from here take a
diversion road to Kuranganilmuttam. The temple is at a distance of about 2 kms
from Thusi.
TEMPLE ADDRESS:
Sri Vilvanatheswarar
Temple,
Thiruvalam,
Ranipet Via,
Kudiyatham,
Vellore,
Tamil Nadu – 632 515.
LOCATION:
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