Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 142nd Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - South |
Chola Naadu - South | 25th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) |
HISTORY:
The celestial gods
(Devas) had created an idol of Lord Vinayakar out of the ocean foam to worship
during the churning of Thirupparkadal for extracting nectar (Amritam). Indra,
the king of Devas is believed to have had this idol in his possession. During
his pilgrimage to this place, he placed this idol on the ground before
proceeding to worship Lord Shiva. However, when he tried to take it back, he
was unable to move it as it got rooted in the earth. Lord Indra decided to
build a temple for the Vinayakar here itself. It is believed that even now he
visits this temple to worship this Vinayakar on every Vinayaka Chaturthy day. Since
the Vinayakar is made out of foam, no abhishekam is performed but punugu
(civet) is often applied. Also, raw camphor (“Pachai Karpuram”) powder is
sprinkled on the idol without directly touching the idol. For this reason, this
Vinayakar is considered a “Theendath Thirumeni” (untouched by human hands).
This Vinayakar is
praised as Sri Valamchuzhi Vinayakar, Sri Swetha Vinayakar, Vellai Pillayaar
and Sri Nuraippillaiyaar (“nurai” meaning foam in Tamil). Since this
Vinayakar’s trunk is turned towards the right side (“valappakkam”) against the
usual left side (“idappakkam”), he is also praised as Sri Valamchuzhi Vinayakar
and this place gets the name Thiru Valamchuzi.
This ancient temple is
very huge and is housed in a sprawling 7.25 acre of land with 5 large halls
(mandapams). The historical names of this place are Shakti Vanam,
Thirunaavartham and Dakshinaavartham. This is one of the “Pancha krosha
sthalams”. The others being Thirunallur, Patteswaram, Keezha Pazhayarai and
Avoor. It is considered very auspicious to worship all these 5 temples in a
single day during “Dakshinayanam”.
Maruthavana
Puraanam:
As per the “Maruthavana
Puraanam”, Sri Mahalingaswamy temple at Thiruvidaimaruthur has 9 other temples
associated (“Parivaara sthalams”) with it. Thiruvalanchuzhi is one of them and
is considered to represent Lord Vinayakar. These 9 temples along with the
deities that they represent are –
·
Thiruvalanchuzhi – Vinayakar,
·
Swamimalai – Murugan,
·
Aalangudi – Dakshinamurthy,
·
Thiruvavaduthurai – Nandhi,
·
Suriyanarkoil – Navagraham,
·
Seinganur – Chandikeswarar,
·
Chidambaram – Natarajar,
·
Sirkazhi – Bairavar, and
·
Thiruvarur – Somaskandar.
Heranda
(Athreyar) Maharishi:
Once, Aadhiseshan came
out from the “Padhala logam” (underworld) on a Shivarathri day here to worship
Lord Shiva. A huge hole (“phila dhwaram”) formed at the place where
Aadhisheshan came out. River Cauvery was flowing through this place after
making a circumambulation (“valam varuthal”) of this Shiva temple. It is
believed that she entered the hole created by Aadhisheshan and fell into the
underworld.
The Chola king who
ruled from Kumbakonam, Harithuvajan got worried about this and prayed to Lord
Shiva. It is believed that at this point the lord’s divine voice was heard
saying that a king or a sage has to sacrifice his life by entering into the
hole so that the river can come back to earth. The king also sought the advice
of Sage Heranda Maharishi who was performing penance in a place called
Kottaiyur.
The sage confirmed what
the divine voice had said. When the king decided to get into the hole for the
welfare of the people, the sage stopped him and he himself entered into the
hole and brought Cauvery back to earth. The place where the river came back to
earth is called “Mela Cauvery”.
It is near Kumbakonam.
Although he entered into the underworld in this place, it is believed that he
came back to the earth in Thiruvalampuram (Mela Perumpallam). He worshiped the
lord there for some time and attained salvation. Since river Cauvery was
flowing through this place but suddenly changed its direction, this place gets
the name “Thiru Valam Chuzhi”.
People who worshipped here:
Goddess Parvathy, Lord
Mahavishnu, Lord Brahma, Lord Indra, Adhisheshan and Heranda Maharishi have
worshiped Lord Shiva here.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
This temple is popularly known as
“Vellai Pillayar” (White Vinayakar) temple.
·
This east facing temple with its main
tower (Rajagopuram) has 5-tiers.
·
In this temple, the shrines of both Lord
Shiva and Goddess Parvathy are facing the east direction. Goddess Parvathy’s
shrine is on the right side of Lord Shiva’s shrine. This is considered to
symbolise their wedding posture.
·
In his hymn, Saint Thirugnanasambanthar
mentions that one must have performed many good deeds before getting the
opportunity to visit this temple and worship Lord Shiva here.
·
Aadhiseshan is believed to have
worshiped Lord Shiva on a Maha Shivrathri day at four different places –
Kudanthai Nageswarar temple, Thiru Nageswaram, Thiru Pampuram and Thiru
Nagaikkaronam.
·
The front hall (mandapam) housing the
Vellai Vinayakar is believed to have been created by Lord Indra. It is filled
with many artistic pillars with intricate carvings. Three 6-feet high stone
lamps and a huge grilled window made from a single stone are placed in front of
this Vinayakar. These are some of the unique features of this temple.
·
This temple is known more for the
Vinayakar than the main deity.
·
There are two shrines of Lord Murugan
here. In one shrine, Lord Murugan is depicted with six faces, 12 hands, seated
on his peacock mount and is with his consorts. In the second shrine, he is
praised as Lord Subramanyar and is depicted in his human form.
·
The sanctum sanctorum is in the form of
semi-circular tank (akazhi in Tamil).
·
The sculptures depicting the cosmic
dance of Lord Shiva and the images of celestial nymphs display exquisite
craftsmanship. These were created under the patronage of Nayakkars.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Kapartheeswarar, Sri Karpaganatheswarar, Sri Senchatai Nathar, Sri
Valanchuzhi Nathar |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Mangalanayagi, Sri Brahannayaki, Sri Periyanakai Amman |
|
Theertham |
River
Cauvery, Arasalaru and Jada Theertham |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Vilvam
tree |
BELIEF:
Devotees believe that
by worshiping the lord here, obstacles from their marriage proposals will be
removed.
Devotees also believe
that worshiping Lord Shiva here will lead to removal of sins from their
previous birth.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Vinayakar Chaturthi |
|
Purattasi |
Sep-Oct |
Navarathri |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
Skanda Shashti and Annabishekam |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Thiru Karthikai |
|
Markazhi |
Dec-Jan |
Thiruvadhirai |
|
Thai |
Jan-Feb |
Makara Sankranthi |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
HOW
TO REACH:
Thiruvalanchuzhi is
situated at a distance of about 7 kms from Kumbakonam on the Kumbakonam to
Tanjore route (via Papanasam). Nearest railway station is Swamimalai which is
about a kilometre away.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Valanchuzhinathar Temple,
Thiruvalanchuzhi,
Swamimalai Via,
Kumbakonam,
Tanjure,
Tamil Nadu – 612 302.
LOCATION:
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