Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 124th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - South |
Chola Naadu - South | 7th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) |
HISTORY:
Thiruverumbur
is a village located near Trichy city in Tamil Nadu state of South India. It
has an important Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
As
per the legend, the demon named Tarukasura defeated the Devas. As per the
advice from Lord Brahma, the Devas along with their leader Indira came to this
site to worship the Lord. In order to escape from the attack of the demons,
they took the form of ants and came over here. As the surface of Shiv Linga was
slippery, the ants could not climb. Hence, the Lord took the form of ant hill
and also slightly slanted his head to enable the ants to climb. Erumbu means
ant in Tamil language; the Lord is thus called as Erumbeeswarar.
Erumbeeswarar
temple is located atop the hill at a height of around 60 feet which can be
reached by a fleet of steep steps. As the temple is located on top of the hill,
it is also called as 'Malai Kovil' (malai=hill). The temple has a small two
tiered tower. As usual, the flag post, bali peeth and Nandi mandapa are found.
The
main shrine has the idol of Lord Shiva in the form of ant hill with its head
slightly slanting on its left side. The Lord is named as Erumbeeswarar temple.
The marks made by ants can still be seen in this idol.
The Goddess Narunkuzhal Nayaki bearing a
very beautiful Tamil name is found in a separate shrine outside the main
shrine. The temple has two prakaras. The entire complex is surrounded by thick
fortress walls. The first prakara has the idols of Ganesha, Bana Linga,
Kailasanathar Linga, Bhairava and Kasi Vishwanatha Linga. The small shrines
such as Ganesha, Subramanya with his consorts, Nataraja-Sivakami, Navagraha and
Gaja Lakshmi are also found in this temple. There is a shrine for a slightly
bigger idol of Ganesha at the foothill. The holy tank is also found opposite to
the temple entrance. On top of the hill, one can get an aerial view of the
entire village, the river Cauvery and the holy tank.
Sun
God in the Navagraha shrine is with His two consorts Usha and Pradyusha both
facing each other. Lord Kailasanatha graces from a separate temple left of this
temple. The temple has four theerthas – Brahmma Theertham, Madhu Theertham,
Kumara Theertham and Padma theertham. It is said that the hill of this place is
but a piece of the Meru mount split by Vayu – God of Wind when a competition
arose between him and the divine serpent Adisesha to decide the power of their
physical strength.
Swarnakala
Bhairava shrine is in the prakara-corridor with a furious look. Mother
Gajalakshmi is opposite to Bhairava in a separate shrine. Worshiping both
simultaneously relieves the devotee from fears and ensures prosperity in
family. Mother Narunkuzhal Nayaki – Mother with a fragrant hair – graces from a
shrine facing south. Different Alankaras are followed for the mother each day.
Just before Mother Narunkuzhal Nayaki there is an idol of a Mother worshiped in
olden days.
Of
the two dwarapalakas in the Lord’s shrine, one looks angry, the other smiling.
People generally known for their temperate qualities, become softer after
worshiping the Lord, it is believed. The one special feature in the temple is
Lord Sankara Narayana combining the greatness of both Lord Shiva and Lord
Vishnu and Lord Nataraja with anklets behind the presiding Lord Shiva goshta
wall.
Devas,
an elite community in the celestial world lost all their wealth and position to
demon Tharakasura. They approached Lord Brahmma for remedy. He advised them to
worship Lord Shiva in this place with flowers and assured them that the demon
would be killed by Him. To escape the attention of the demon, Devas took the
form of ants (Erumbu in Tamil) to worship Shiva.
As
the Linga was too soft and slippery and steep, they could not reach the top of
the Linga. All merciful Lord, changed His form as an ant-hill also leaning
slightly to facilitate their pujas to Him. Lord came to their rescue, destroyed
the demon. He is praised as Erumbeeswarar.
Lord
Shiva in the temple is a swyambumurthy. There is gap in the middle of the Linga
as if it is twin Linga. This is explained as Shiva-Shakti form. As ants go in
line in the sanctum sanctorum during pujas, it is said that Lord, in the form
of ants, accepted the pujas offered to Him.
Lord Shanmughasubramanya:
There
is Lord Shanmugha Subramnaya’s shrine with His consorts Valli and Deivanai
between the 2 Kasiviswanatha shrines behind the sanctum sanctorum. There is the
Shatkona Chakra below His Peeta. Worshiping Lord Shanmughasubramanya along with
this Chakra brings immense benefits to the devotee, it is said. Selva Vinayaka
graces the devotees in the temple.
Shivasakthi Linga:
Shiva
Linga in the sanctum sanctorum is in an ant-hill shape with ups and downs
without a perfect shape. It is a sand Linga, hence no abishek is performed.
Only oil application is followed. As there is a gap in between, it appears as
if there are two Lingas. It is said that the right side is of Shiva part and
the left as Shakti part, hence praised as ‘Shivasakthi Linga’. As ants (Erumbu
in Tamil) are consuming the nivedhana objects in the sanctum, it is believed
that Lord Shiva Himself is acknowledging the nivedhana offers during the Pujas.
This darshan is considered very important by the devotees. It is also believed
that Rathi, wife of Manmatha-Cupid worshiped the Lord praying that her alluring
beauty should not make her proud.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
Appar has
revered the temple in his verses in Tevaram.
·
Manickavasagar
has revered the Lord in Thiruvasakam.
·
Ramalinga
Swamigal has also revered the temple in Thiruvarutpa.
·
The current form
of the temple was built by Aditya Chola in the 9th century CE. To commemorate
his victory in Tirupurambiyam battle, he built a series of temples including
this along the banks of the river Kaveri.
·
The temple has a
lot of inscriptions of Chola period.
·
It is a declared
monument of the Archaeological Survey of India.
·
It acted as an
infantry for the French troop when they were fighting with the British in 1752
CE.
·
The main deity
is in the form of ant hill (mud mound).
·
A 100 steps to
be climbed from the base to main entrance hill sannadhi.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri Pipilikeswarar, Sri Erumbeeswarar, Sri
Erumbesar, Sri Mathuvaneswarar, Sri Manokoodachalapathy, Sri Manikka Nathar |
|
Ambal |
Sri Soundara Nayagi, Sri Madhuvaneswari, Sri
Rathinambal |
|
Theertham |
Brahma Theertham |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Vilwa Tree |
BELIEF:
Prayer
to Lord relieves the devotee from laziness and turns him/her active. Hardships
in life will vanish. Devotees offer vastra and sweet pudding-sarkarai pongal as
nivedhana.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Vaikasi |
May-June |
Vaikasi Brahmotsavam |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
Annabishekam |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Thirukarthikai |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
HOW
TO REACH:
This
temple is located 11 Kms east of Trichy by road. Tiruverumbur railway station
is on the Trichy - Thanjavur section of the Southern Railway.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Erumbeeswarer
Temple,
Thiruverumbur,
Malaikoil,
Thiruverumbur,
Tamil Nadu - 620013.
LOCATION:
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