Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 131st Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - South |
Chola Naadu - South | 14th Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) |
HISTORY:
Lord Shiva appeared
from the midst of plantain trees here, hence he is also praised as “Sri
Vazhimadu Nathar”. (“Vazhai” means banana and “madu” means “from the roots” in
Tamil).
Lord Brahma (“Vedhi”)
worshiped Lord Shiva here. Hence this place gets the name Vedhikudi and the
lord is praised as Sri Vedhapureeswarar.
A demon had stolen the
Vedas from Lord Brahma and hid them under the sea. It is believed that Lord
Mahavishnu retrieved them. To get relief from this sin (“dosham”), all the four
Vedas – Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana, visited this place and worshiped Lord
Shiva. Lord Shiva is believed to have blessed them with purification. This is
another reason why the lord is praised as Sri Vedhapureeswarar and the place is
known as Vedhikudi.
There are some stone
inscriptions which date back to the periods of Aditha Chola-I, Kopparakesari
Varman and Korajakesari Varman. In these inscriptions, the lord of this temple
is referred as “Vedhikudi Mahadevar” and “Parakesari Chathurvedhi Mangalathu
Mahadevar".
Lord
Vinayakar:
Lord Vinayakar’s idol
is at the entrance of the sanctum and it is in a unique posture. The lord’s
head is slightly tilted, and it appears as if he is listening to the mantras
chanted by the Vedas. Hence, he is praised as “Sri Veda Pillaiyar” and “Sri
Sevi Saitha Vinayakar”.
Chola
king:
Chola king daughter’s
marriage was getting delayed. The king was worried, and he worshiped Lord Shiva
here to seek his help. Pleased with his prayers, the lord granted wedding boon
to his daughter. After her marriage, the king is believed to have changed his
daughter’s name to Mangayarkarasi (the name of this temple’s goddess).
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,
·
Vedapureeswarar Temple, Thiruvedhikudi
(this temple),
·
Kandeeswarar Temple, Thirukkandiyur,
·
Pushpavananathar Temple,
Thirupanthuruthi and
·
Neyyadiappar Temple, Thiru Neithanam.
Saint
Thirugnanasambanthar:
In the 7th stanza
of his hymn, Saint Thirugnanasambanthar mentions that by worshiping the lord
here and reciting this Pathigam, devotees will be blessed with wedding boon.
This temple is a famous “parihara sthalam” for those facing delays in their
marriage. It is also believed that worshiping Lord Shiva here will result in
the reunion of estranged couples.
Ardhanareeswarar:
The idol of
Ardhanareeswarar is unique here. Normally in other Shiva temples this lord can
be seen with the male half (the lord) on the right side and the female half
(Shakthi) on the left side. Whereas in this temple, it is reversed – the female
half is on the right and the male half is on the left. However, this idol is
presently not in a good shape and is broken in many places.
People who worshipped here:
Lord Brahma, Suryan,
Kuberan, Sage Chaitanya Maharishi, Saint Thirugnanasambanthar and Saint
Thirunavukarasar have worshiped the lord here.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
This is one of the Saptha Sthanam
temples of Thiruvaiyaru.
·
This east facing temple has main tower
(Rajagopuram) 3-tiers.
·
The sanctum sanctorum is in the form of semi-circular
tank (“akazhi” in Tamil).
·
Lord Suryan (Sun) worships Lord Shiva of
this temple by directing his rays on the lingam every year for three days, from
13th to 15th in the Tamil month of Panguni (Mar-Apr).
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Vedhapureeswarar, Sri Aaravamuthu Nathar, |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Mangaiyarkkarasi |
|
Theertham |
Vedha
Theertham |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Vilvam
tree |
BELIEF:
Devotees believe that
by worshiping the lord here, obstacles from their marriage proposals will be
removed.
Devotees also worship
the lord here to seek his blessings in order to help them master the Vedas.
The idol of Lord
Dakshinamurthy looks very beautiful. Lord Brahma worshiped this Dakshinamurthy,
Devotees believe that by worshiping this lord here, their children would be
blessed with wisdom and intelligence.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Chithirai |
Apr-May |
The “Sapthasthanam” festival and
Brahmotsavam |
|
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:
Thiruvedhikkudi is
situated at a distance of about 6 kilometres from Thiru Kandiyur (Via Veerasingampettai).
Kandiyur is 3 kms away from Thiruvaiyaru on the Thiruvaiyaru to Tanjore route.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Vedhapureeswarar Temple,
Thiruvedhikkudi,
Kandiyur Via,
Tanjore,
Tamil Nadu – 613 202.
LOCATION:
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