Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 161st Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - South |
Chola Naadu - South | 44th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar)
and Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar) |
HISTORY:
Lord Shiva’s lingam
here is made out of sand (“Pruthvi”) and therefore abishekam is performed only
after placing a cover (kavacham) on it. Also, there are two holes on top of the
lingam. Hence this place also gets the name “Mela Perumpallam” (“Mela” meaning
top and “perumpallam” meaning “big holes” in Tamil). Only “Punugu” (civet) is
applied to the lingam once in a while. The lingam is always covered with metal
sheet (“kavasam”).
Lord Mahavishnu
worshiped Lord Shiva here to receive a conch (Valampuri Sanghu) as a blessing.
Before embarking for his penance, Vishnu left Goddess Lakshmi here to assist
Goddess Parvathi. Lord Shiva was very pleased with his penance and gave him the
“Chakrayudam” and “Ghatha” (club and the discus) as gifts. When he came back to
this place to take Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Parvathy gave him the conch and the
lotus (Pathmam). Hence this place gets the name Valampuram.
This ancient temple is
believed to be more than 2000 years old and constructed by King Abhisithu of
Dravida kingdom. The king worshiped the lord here and was blessed with a child.
Seven
forests (“Vanam”) and Seven temples:
Kaveripoompattinam
(Poompuhar) is very famous as it is surrounded by seven forests (“Vanam”) and
seven temples. They are –
·
Thala vanam (this place) is
considered as the Ganapathy sthalam,
·
Chaya vanam is considered to be Lord
Shiva’s abode,
·
Pallava vanam is considered to be
Goddess Parvathy sthalam,
·
Vellai vanam (Thiruvengadu) is
considered as the Natarajar sthalam,
·
Mathanga vanam (Thiru Nangoor) is
considered as the Murugan sthalam and
·
Mullai vanam (Thirumullaivoil) and Punga
vanam (Perunthottam) constitute the Bairavar sthalam and Chandikeswarar sthalam
respectively.
The historical names of
this place are Thalavanam, Munkil Thoppu, Sangamath Thenthurai, Sangenthi,
Vaanor Nagari (Vaanagari), Maal Ma Kudi (Mamakudi), Lakshmi Narayanapuram,
Perumpallam and Thiruvalampuram.
276
Paadal Petra Shivasthalams:
Of the 276 Paadal Petra
Shivasthalams, very few temples have Palm tree (Panai) as their Sthala
Viruksham. This temple is one of them. Some of the others are Panaiyur,
Panankattur, Puravaar Panankattur, Cheyyar, Thirumazhapadi and Thiruppanandal.
Heranda
(Athreyar) Maharishi:
Another legend
associated with this place is that of Heranda (Athreyar) Maharishi. Once, in
Thiruvalanchuzhi, Aadhiseshan came out from the “Padhala logam” (underworld) on
a Shivarathri day to worship Lord Shiva. A huge hole (“phila dwaram”) formed at
the place where Aadhisheshan came out. Since river Cauvery was flowing through
this place, she entered this hole 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 this place. The sage
confirmed the divine voice. 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”, near Kumbakonam. Although he entered into
the underworld at some other place, it is believed that he came back to the
earth in this place. He worshiped the lord here for some time and attained salvation.
There is a shrine for Heranda Maharishi (“Jeeva Samadhi”) in front of this
temple. In this shrine, there is also a Shivalingam that is believed to have
been worshiped by this Maharishi.
Dhananjaya
:
Dhananjaya, a king from
the Magadan empire. It is believed that he had instructed his son to dissolve
his ashes after his death in some holy water (Theertham) where it could blossom
into flowers. His son, King Dakshina, and his wife travelled to many Shiva
temples in search of such a holy theertham. When he visited this place, the
ashes turned to flowers. His son dissolved the ashes in this temples theertham
and worshiped the lord here. The idol of the king and his wife can be seen in
this temple. As per the Puranas, this temple is considered as holy as Banaras
(Kasi).
Kasi
King:
A king from Kasi wanted
to test the fidelity of his queen. While camping in the forests, he asked his
minister to inform his wife that he was killed by a tiger during the hunt.
Unable to bear the shock, the queen instantly died. For causing the death of a
chaste wife by false information, the king was afflicted with “Brahmahathi
dosham”. The king consulted many learned pundits in order to seek absolution
for his sins. He was advised to feed (provide “Annadhanam” for) 1000 brahmins
every day in this place (Thiruvalampuram). They further advised the king that
he should hang a big bell in front of his palace and that it will automatically
ring whenever a sage takes the food.
The king followed this
advice and set up a “dharamshala” where the Annadhanam took place. One day,
Saint Pattinathar came to this temple and asked the people in the kitchen to
give him food. They refused to offer him food as he did not look like a
brahmin. With nothing else to eat, Pattinathar drank the water that is drained
from cooked rice (“Kanji” in Tamil). Surprisingly, the bell began to ring.
Everyone was astonished to hear the bell ringing even before the Annadhanam had
started. The king rushed to the dharamshala and saw Pattinathar smiling there.
The king understood the greatness of the sage and fell to his feet asking for
forgiveness. It is believed that the king was relieved from his dosham
immediately. To commemorate this event, a festival is celebrated in this temple
even now.
Dakshan:
It is believed that
Dakshan and his wife performed penance here to be blessed with a daughter. It
is believed that Goddess Parvathy was born to them here on a “Maham” star day
in the Tamil month of Maasi. They named her as Dhakshayini.
Saint
Thirunavukkarasar:
Lord Shiva granted
darshan to Saint Thirunavukkarasar in this place during his pilgrimage along
with Saint Thirugnanasambanthar.
King
Kochengat Chola:
It is believed that
King Kochengat Chola built about 70 “Madakkoils”. The distinguishing feature of
a Madakkoil is that it is not easily approachable by an elephant. He built
these temples at an elevation and there are a few steps that need to be climbed
before seeing the lord. Also, the sanctum sanctorum’s (Karpagragam) entrance is
narrow such that no elephant can enter it.
Holy
waters:
The holy waters related
to this temple are – Lakshmi Theertham, Swarnapankaja Theertham, Brahma
Theertham, Mayil Theertham, Naga Theertham, Sangundi Theertham, Sengazhunir
Theertham, Varuna Theertham, Kamadenu Theertham, Nakshatra Theertham, Kaviri
Theertham, Samudra (sea) Theertham, Rajendra Theertham and Velan theertham.
People who worshipped here:
Lord Murugan,
Mahavishnu, Brahma, Ekadasa Rudras, Indra, Devas, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Suryan,
Chandran, river Kaveri, Kamadenu, Iravadham, Thalavana rishis, serpent Vasuki,
Sangam and Varunan have worshiped Lord Shiva here and Lord Suryan was blessed
with the darshan of Mount Kailash from here itself by Lord Shiva.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
This is one of the 44 Paadal petra
sthalams where the “Moovar” had rendered their Pathigams.
·
The idol of Bikshandavar is believed to
have been found in this temple’s tank. It looks very beautiful. This
Bikshandavar is praised here as “Vattanai Nathar”.
·
There are two tanks (Theerthams) in
front of this temple. There is a shrine for Vinayakar on the banks of one of
the tanks.
·
Vinayakar in this temple is praised as
Sri Valampuri Vinayakar, Selva Ganapathy and Vellai Vinayakar.
·
The sanctum sanctorum is semi-circular
tank (“akazhi” in Tamil).
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Valampura Nathar, Sri Thalavana Nathar, Sri Vanni Nizhal Nathar, Sri Naga
Nathar, Sri Kailasa Nathar, Sri Kasi Visweswarar and Sri Muktheesar. |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Vaduvahirkkanni Ammai, Sri Swarna Padmambigai, Sankari and Gnana Soundari |
|
Theertham |
Brahma,
Lakshmi and Swarna Pankaja Theertham |
|
Sthala Vriksham |
Male
Palm tree (Panai) |
BELIEF:
Those afflicted with
skin problems, Stree dosham, or the adverse aspects of serpent planets can pray
in this temple for relief.
It is also believed
that worshiping the lord here would help devotees break away from the
repetitive cycle of birth and re-birth.
Pattinathar is another
important festival that is celebrated here.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Purattasi |
Sep-Oct |
Vinayakar Chaturthi |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
Skanda Shashti and Annabishekam |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Thiru Karthikai |
|
Markazhi |
Dec-Jan |
Tiruvadhirai |
|
Thai |
Jan-Feb |
Bikshandavar festival on the Bharani
star day |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
|
Panguni |
Mar-Apr |
Panguni Uthiram |
HOW
TO REACH:
Thiru Valampuram is
situated at a distance of about 12 kms from Sembanarkoil and 6 kms from
Poompuhaar. It is situated near Kadaimudi on the bus route of Mayiladuthurai to
Poompuhar. It is about 2 kms from Keezhaperumpallam (one of the famous
Navagraha temples).
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Valampuranathar Temple,
Melaperumpallam (Thiruvalampuram),
Melayur,
Tharangambadi,
Nagapattinam,
Tamil Nadu - 609 107.
LOCATION:
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