Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 130th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - South |
Chola Naadu - South | 13rd Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar)
and Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar) |
HISTORY:
During a time of
drought, Lord Shiva gave a bowl (“Akshaya Pathiram”) to a devotee couple,
Arulalar and his wife, when they pleaded for food. It is believed that the
Akshaya Pathiram never ran out of food. The couple fed all the people in their
village using food from that bowl. Hence this lord here is praised as “Sri
Tholaiyachelvar”, “Sri Chotruthurai Nathar” and “Sri Chorudaiyan. The goddess
is praised as “Sri Annapoorani”. This place gets the name “Chotruthurai”.
“Choru” and “annam” both mean food in Tamil. This place is also known as “Annam
Vatra sthalam” (“annam” means food, “vatra” means something that never finishes
and “sthalam” means place in Tamil). It is believed that this is the second
temple where Lord Shiva gave away the “Akshaya Pathiram” to his devotees. The
first one being Kasi (Banaras).
This ancient temple is
situated on the southern bank of the river Kudamurutti. There are some stone
inscriptions which date back to the periods of many Chola kings like
Adhithan-I, Paranthakan, Rajarajan, Rajakesari Varman, Konerinmai Kondan and
Kulothungan. In these inscriptions, the name of the lord is mentioned as
Tholaiyachelvar and Thiru Chotruthurai Nathar.
Annam
Padaitha Vayal:
Lord Shiva and Goddess
Parvathy gave rice from the surrounding paddy fields to a large a number of
devotees. Hence these paddy fields are also called “Annam Padaitha Vayal”.
Sri
Chotruthurai Nathar:
“Choru” not only refers
to food but also to the process of obtaining salvation and reaching the abode
of Lord Shiva. The lord here is not only providing food to satisfy one’s hunger
but also blessing them with salvation. Hence the lord here is also praised as
Sri Chotruthurai Nathar (“Sri Othanavaneswarar” in Sanskrit).
Sage
Gautama:
Sage Gautama, one of
the seven rishis (“Saptha Rishis”), stayed here and worshiped Lord Shiva. He
attained salvation here and hence this place also gets the name Gautama Ashram.
Sapthasthanam Festival:
Lord Panchanatheeswarar
(Sri Iyyarappar) of Thiruvaiyaru decided to conduct the marriage of Nandhi and
Suyasambigai at Thirumazhappadi (a nearby place) on the “Punarpoosam” day of
the Tamil month of Panguni. He selected the following places to arrange things
required for the marriage.
·
Thiruvedhikkudi to get the Vedic
Brahmins,
·
Thiruppazhanam to get fruits,
·
Thiruchotruthurai to arrange food,
·
Thirukkandiyur for Kandi (ornaments),
·
Thiruppoonthuruthi for fruits and
garlands, and
·
Thiruneithanam (Thillai sthanam) to get
ghee for yagnas.
After the marriage, as
a gesture of thanks, it is believed that Lord Panchanatheeswarar and Goddess
Dharmasamvardhani visited each of these places in a palanquin. This event is
celebrated as “Sapthasthanam”.
Sapthasthanam (seven
places) festival is celebrated in Thiruvaiyaru on the “Visakam” day (the day
after the full moon) in the Tamil month of Chithirai (Apr-May) every year.
First palanquin
(bedecked with mirrors) carrying the principal deities of Thiruvaiyaru go to
the second temple in procession. Idols of Nandhi along with his wife
Suyasambigai also join this procession. The deities of the second temple
receive them at the border of the village. After reaching the second temple and
performing certain poojas, they join the second temple’s palanquin to the third
temple. Like this, the palanquins from six places are joined together and
they finally assemble in Thiru Neithanam temple. Thereafter, all the seven
palanquins take part in a procession back to Thiruvaiyaryu.
Thousands of people
come from all over the country to witness this marvellous festival. The
palanquins are paraded near the car stand (“Ther-adi”). Devotees also take part
in the “Poochorithal” (flower festival) in which an idol offers flowers to the
principal deities in the palanquins. After the Poochorithal, the palanquins
leave for their respective temples.
The seven temples that
are part of this Sapthasthanam festival are -
·
Aiyarappar temple, Thiruvaiyaru,
·
Apathsahayeswar Temple, Thirupazhanam,
·
Odhanavaneswarar Temple, Thiruchotruthurai
(this temple),
·
Vedapureeswarar Temple, Thiruvedhikudi,
·
Kandeeswarar Temple, Thirukkandiyur,
·
Pushpavananathar Temple,
Thirupanthuruthi and
·
Neyyadiappar Temple, Thiru Neithanam.
People who worshipped here:
Lord Brahma,
Mahavishnu, Indra, Suryan, Rishi Gautama, Saints Thirugnanasambanthar,
Thirunavukkarasar and Sundarar have worshiped the lord here.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
This is one of the Saptha Sthana temples
of Thiruvaiyaru.
·
This is one of the 44 Paadal petra
sthalams where the “Moovar” had rendered their Pathigams.
·
There is a 3-tiered tower at the second
entrance.
·
Lord Murugan’s shrine is located in the
main hall (“Artha Mandapam”). The idol of this Murugan is very big. He is
depicted with six heads and twelve hands. This idol looks very beautiful.
·
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 the main hall, there are many stone
reliefs. Some of them are - a sage worshiping the lord; a scene of war between
two groups; and a beautiful relief of “Sree Kalasamharamurthy”.
·
During the Sapthasthana festival, food
is distributed to all the devotees to commemorate the event of Lord Shiva
providing meals to the people during drought.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Othanavaneswarar, Sri Tholaiyach Chelvar, Sri Chotruthurai Nathar,
Sri Chorudaiyan, Sri Oppila Chelvar |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Annapoorani, Sri Oppila Ambigai |
|
Theertham |
Surya
Theertham, River Cauvery |
|
Sthala Vriksham |
Panneer
flower tree |
BELIEF:
Devotees believe that
by worshiping the lord here, obstacles from their marriage proposals will be
removed.
Devotees also believe
that by worshiping Lord Shiva here, they will never face starvation and will be
blessed with prosperity.
Sapthasthanam (“ezhur”)
festival is celebrated in a grand manner.
|
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 |
|
Thai |
Jan-Feb |
Makara Sankranthi |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
HOW
TO REACH:
Thiru Chotruthurai is
situated at a distance of about 6 kms from Kandiyur. Kandiyur is 3 kms away
from Thiruvaiyaru on the Thiruvaiyaru to Tanjore route. This place is about 15
kms away from Tanjore.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Odhanavaneswarar Temple,
Thiruchotruthurai,
Kandiyur Via,
Thiruvaiyaru,
Tanjore,
Tamil Nadu – 613202.
LOCATION:
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