Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 43rd Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Nadu Naadu |
Nadu Naadu | 11th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) |
HISTORY:
Lord Shiva destroyed
the demon Andhakasura in this palce. Of the eight Veeratta sthalas, this is the
second one and it has significant historical importance and antiquity. In this
temple’s sanctum sanctorum, Lord Shiva is seen as Bairavar.
It is believed that,
once while playing with Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvathi covered his eyes. Since
the lord’s eyes are believed to be Sun and Moon, covering them turned the world
dark. It is believed that this darkness took the form of a demon called “Andhakasuran”.
“Andha” means darkness and also ignorance. This demon obtained a lot of powers
from Lord Shiva after rigorous penance. Emboldened by his powers, he started
troubling the Devas in the celestial world. They went to Lord Shiva to seek his
intervention. Lord Shiva struck Andhakasuran on his head with his trident. The
head of the demon began to bleed. Every drop of blood that fell on earth grew
into another demon and this lead to a war between the demons and Lord Shiva.
Goddess Parvathi prevented the blood from falling down by collecting it in a
bowl. But before she could so, some of it fell down to the earth in the form of
8 vertical and 8 horizontal lines and thus made 64 squares. With his power,
Lord Shiva created 64 Bhairavas – one for each square and prevented further
production of demons.
It is believed that
Sukrachariar, leader of the demons, created many more demons to aid
Andhakasuran in his fight with Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva punished
Sukrachariar by swallowing him. Sukrachariar then realized his mistake and
pleaded to the lord for forgiveness. Lord Shiva took pity on him, gave him
rebirth and blessed him with a place among the Navagrahas as Sukran.
It is believed that
Lord Shiva struck Andhakasuran with his trident and lifted him off the ground.
It is significant to note that this kind of killing is unique to this Veeratta
Sthalam because in other seven places Lord Shiva vanquished the demons by
pinning them to the ground. The temple is on the southern bank of Pennai River.
The historical name of this place is “Andhakapuram”.
Eight
special places:
There are eight special
places where it is believed that Lord Shiva vanquished various demons and
exhibited acts of bravery. These places are Veeratta Sthalams. In Tamil, this
is referred to as “Atta Veerattanam” (“Atta” means eight and “Veeram” means
bravery). Thirukkovilur is the second Veerattana Sthalam where the lord is
believed to have vanquished the demon Andhakasuran. The other seven Veeratta
Sthalams are –
Thirukkandiyur where
one of Lord Brahma’s five heads was plucked;
Thiruvathigai where the
three forts – “Thiripuram” were burnt;
Keezha Parasalur where
Dakshan’s yagna was stopped and he was killed;
Thiruvirkudi where the
demon Jalandharasuran was killed;
Thiru Vazhuvur where
the elephant Gajasuran was vanquished;
Thiru Korukkai where
Manmathan was burnt and later blessed;
Thirukkadaiyur where
Lord Yama was kicked and punished.
Sapta
Mathruganangal and Mathruganangal:
Saptha Madhas, Mother
Maha Tripura Sundari, 64 Bhairavas and 64 Bhairavis are believed to have come
into existence at this sacred land. This is also the place where “Sapta
Mathruganangal” and 36 “Mathruganangal” are believed to have taken birth.
Origin
of Vasthu Sastra:
The origin of Vasthu
Sastra (the traditional Hindu system of architecture) can be traced back to
this place. It is believed that while fighting the demon Andhakasuran, Lord
Shiva started sweating profusely. His sweat took the form of a man called Vastu
Purusha. A stone sculpture depicting Vastu in his sleeping posture can be seen
in the wall of the sanctum sanctorum.
Avvaiyar
has sung the famous “Vinayakar Agaval”:
This temple is that the
Periyanai Ganapathi’s shrine is believed to have been worshipped by the
renowned poet-saint Avvaiyar. Avvaiyar has sung the famous “Vinayakar Agaval”
dedicated to Vinayakar of this temple.
While offering her
prayers to Lord Ganesha of this temple, Avvaiyar divined an image of Saint
Sundaramurthy Nayanar and his contemporary King Cheraman Perumal going to Mount
Kailash. She wanted to join them and tried to hasten her worship. Lord Ganesha
blessed her with his appearance and advised her that there was no need for her
to hasten her worship and that he himself would take her to Kailash (Kailayam).
It is believed that Lord Ganesha then took his universal form (“Vishwaroopam”),
lifted Avvaiyar up with his trunk and placed her ahead of Saint Sundarar on the
route to Mount Kailash. As he took his universal form here, Lord Ganesha here
is also praised as Periya Yanai (“periya” meaning huge and “Yanai” meaning
elephant in Tamil). Beautiful reliefs depicting this story can be seen on the
walls next to the Periyanai Ganapathi’s shrine.
weddings
of Angavai and Sangavai:
Poet Kabilar worshiped
the lord of this temple. Thirukovilur has the reputation of being the place
where the weddings of Angavai and Sangavai (the daughters of noted Tamil
philanthropist and King Pari Vallal) were held. It is also believed that this
wedding took place because of the efforts of poets Avvaiyar and Kabilar. The
bridegroom was Deiveekan, the king of Nadu Naadu.After King Pari Vallal’s
death, his daughters Angavai and Sangavai had suffered a lot. The poet - saint
Kabilar, a good friend of Pari and the caretaker of the girls could not find a
suitable groom for them because of King Pari’s enmity with the rest of the
kings. Kabilar requested the great poetess Avvaiyar, who was also a good friend
of him, to help him arrange their marriage.
Despite continued
efforts, Kabilar was unable to find a suitable match for them. Unable to bear
the agony of not being able to help his friend’s daughters, he went to a cave
(“Kugai”), and started fasting till his death. It was after his death that
Avvaiyar finally convinced King Deiveekan to marry the girls.There is a small
temple called “Kabilar Kugai” (also known as “Kabilar Rock” or “Kabilar
Kuntru”) situated in the middle of the Pennaiyar river. Inside this Kabilar
Kuntru, there is another Shiva lingam. This Kabilar Kuntru, is being maintained
by the State Archaeological Department.
People Worshipped
lord shiva here:
Lords Vinayakar,
Murugan, Ram, Parasuram, Krishna, Indira, Yama, Suriyan, Kubera, Adisheshan,
Goddess Kali, Saints Roma Rishi, Kannuva Rishi, Pathanjali, Viyakrapathar,
Saptharishis, Kaman and Vanasuran are believed to have worshiped the lord here
and received his blessings.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
The Moolavar
here is a big Swayambu lingam. At the time of Kumbabhishekam, the area around
this lingam was dug up. It was found that the base of the lingam goes down way
below 25 feet and hence further digging was discontinued.
·
This is one of
the eight “Veerattana Sthalams” of Lord Shiva.
·
In this temple
Lord Shiva himself is a Bairavar.
·
Both temples’
main towers (Rajagopuram) have 3-tiers
·
Two of the 63
Nayanmars - Saint Meiporul Nayanar and Saint Narasinga Munaiarayar lived in
this place.
·
This is the
birth place of the great Chola King Arunmozhith Devan, popularly known as Raja
Raja Cholan; his mother Vaanavan Madevi and Adithya Karikalan.
·
Procession idol
of Lord Andhakaanthakan depicts him with his trident in his hands. Such
depiction of Lord Shiva is unique to this procession idol.
·
Separate shrine
for saint Meipporul Nayanar near the entrance of this temple.
·
Goddess Durga’s
idol here is very unique. Although the idol is sculpted in black granite stone,
her eyes appear white in colour much like the human eyes.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri Veeratteswarar, Sri Andhakaanthakan |
|
Ambal |
Sri Sivananthavalli, Sri Periyanayagi |
|
Theertham |
Thenpennai river |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Vilvam and Sarakkontrai trees |
BELIEF:
Devotees believe this
is Parikara Sthalam for all doshas related to planet Sukran.
It is believed by
devotees that worshiping the lord here will absolve them of the sins of their
previous birth.
As this is the place where
Vasthu Sastra came into existence, many devotees bring their building plans
here and seek the lord’s blessings before starting the construction of their
houses.
As planet Venus
(Sukran) was relieved of his curse here, devotees believe that worshiping the
lord here will remove obstacles from their marriage proposals.
Thirukkovilur is also
seen as a place where those afflicted by evil spirits can find relief.
TEMPLE
FESTIVAL:
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
10 days
Brahmotsavam (Maasi Maham festival) |
|
Karthigai |
Nov-Dec |
Thiru
Karthikai |
|
Aadi |
July-Aug |
Aadi Fridays |
|
Purattasi |
Sep-Oct |
Navarathri |
|
Aipasi |
Oct-Nov |
Annabishekam,
Skanda Sashti and Soora Samharam |
|
Margazhi |
Dec-Jan |
Thiruvadirai
and Manickavasagar festival |
|
Aani |
June-July |
Aani
Thirumanjanam |
HOW
TO REACH:
The
temple is located in a place called Kizhur or Kizhaiyur in Thirukkoilure.
Thirukkoilure is at a distance of about 40 kms from Thiruvannamalai and from
Villupuram it is about 37 kms.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Veeratteswarar
Temple
Keezhayur,
Thirukovilur,
Villupuram ,
Tamil Nadu 605 757.
LOCATION:
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