Saptha Vidanga Sthalams / Temples - Thiruvarur [Thanjavur]

Thiruvarur is located at a distance of 55 Km from Thanjavur. The principal deity in this temple is Sri Vanmikanathar, a Swayambu Lingam, enshrined in an ant-hill. His consort is Somakulambigai. She is never taken out of the temple precincts. To the right of the sanctum is the shrine of Sri Thyagaraja.

The Thyagaraja idol [Veedhi Vidangar] and that of His consort Kondi, sitting on an artisitc Ratna Simhasanam is very impressive. The Processional Deity is known to perform "Asaba Natanam". The Saptha Lingam is kept in a golden box inside the shrine. The Nandhi is in standing posture.

One can also find the images of Saint Sundarar, His wife Paravai Nachiyar and Cheraman Peruman installed in this temple.

Navagrahas are placed in a row, opposite to the sanctum, in a shrine. The Rudra Durga shrine, in the second prakaram, attracts a large number of devotees, for the Rahukala Puja, in particular.

The Sthala Vinayaka in the innermost prakaram is called Vathapi Ganapathi, which has been brought from Vathapi.

The image of Goddess Nilothpalambika, in a standing posture, is in a separate shrine. She is depicted as Blessing the child,Muruga , with Her left hand. There is an inscription and sculptural representation of the story of King Manu Neethi Chola who ordered his son to be crushed under the wheels of a Ratha or Chariot because he killed a calf by driving his carriage negligently over it. Lord Shiva is said to have intervened and revived the boy and the calf.

Kamalalayam, the much celebrated Tank, is on the western side of the temple and in the middle, is the shrine of Sri Naganathaswamy. Here is a rare musical instrument called "Panchamukha Vadhyam" [with five faces of Shiva], and also a Shiva Lingam made of Sapphire, known as "Maragatha Lingam".

Thiruvarur is the birth place of the Great Musical Trinity, Sri Thyagaraja, Sri Shyama Sastri and Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar. During the festival, the idol of Sri Thyagaraja, is taken round the streets in a magnificient Ratha called "Azhi Ther"

This is the most important of the Vidangar Temple, and one should not miss to watch the abhishekam to this beautiful lingam. As the milk flows over the translucent green stone, amid the chanting of mantras, even the atheist will feel some kind of attraction which might actually be devotion and faith. The Vidangar abhishekam timings is at 8:30AM and 5:30PM everyday. One can go there an hour earlier and engage a priest. You can see the other deities in the temple and stay for the abhishekam, which takes a few minutes only. This is a unique event and devotees should go early, and, see to it that they do not miss this rare abhishekam.

This is the only temple celebrating ‘Nithya Pradosham’. In all Shiva temples, the Pradosha puja on the specific days during the evening is a special puja, when the lingam is bathed with various materials. Here, this abhishekam takes place everyday at evening during the Pradosham time.

Opposite the temple is a lake with a temple in the centre. Every day, after 5:30PM, the lingam in the temple is worshipped to. From 5PM, a boat service is available to take devotees to this temple.

This is a beautiful temple, worth the money spent and also the efforts taken.

Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams/Temples

Lord Shiva, popularly termed as the lord of destruction, but without whom creation cannot occur, is symbolized by the Shiva Lingam. Saivism is the major faith in the Indian system of belief, that worships Shiva as its principal God.

Shiva temples are spread all over India. Most important among them, glorified by the 63 Tamil Nayanmars, particularly the 3 viz, Thirunavukarasar (Appar), Sundarar and Sambandar in their Tevaram hymn, are revered as the Tevara Paadal Petra Sthalams. They are 274 Shiva temples in number and out of which 264 temples are situated in Tamilnadu. The 274 odd shrines that have at least one Pathigam composed in their honor are referred to commonly as Paadal Petra Stalangal, or more generally Shivastalams.

Geography:

• Chola Nadu - North of Kaveri [63 temples]
• Chola Nadu - South of Kaveri [128 temples]
• Eezha Nadu - Sri Lanka [2 temples]
• Pandya Nadu [14 temples]
• Malai Nadu - Kerala [1 temple]
• Kongu Nadu [6 temples]
• Nadu Nadu [22 temples]
• Tondai Nadu [32 temples]
• Tulava Nadu - Karnataka [1 temple]
• Vada Nadu [5 temples]

Some of these Shiva Temples, glorified and referred as Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams, are among the greatest in the world and include temples carved in solid rock, huge temples with elaborately sculptured towers, all ornamented with delicate decorative work. Most of these temples are of stone, though a few are of brick. Artists carved the exterior and sometimes the interior with hundreds of figures of Gods, people, animals and plants. Most temples have one or several pillared halls called mandapam. Worshippers pass through the halls to a garbhagraha (sanctum sanctorum) where the idol of the temple's main deity (God or Goddess) is housed.

To have a clear knowledge/understanding of the Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams, I bring to you here , a Guide to these 275 Siva Sthalams, Glorified by Thevaram Hymns[Pathigams] of Nayanmars - [Courtesy Shri T.Sampath Kumaran, an exponent in the field of South Indian Temples and Archaeological Monuments].

The Link to the presentation is given below:

Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)

For the Tamil Version of the Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalsms, you may use the following link:

Tamil Version

With this, my post on "Shiva Sthalams/ Temples" comes to a close. My next posting will be on "Srivaishnava Divya Desams [108 Divya Desams].

Pancha Boodha Sthalams/Temples -Kalahasteeswarar-Kalahasti [Kattru/Wind] Sthalam/Temple near Tirupathi

Vayu sthalam (Air) - Kalahasti

This ancient temple dedicated to Shiva is one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalams (temples celebrating Shiva as the embodiment of the primary elements), air being the element in case here, the other five temples being Tiruvannamalai (Fire), Chidambaram (Space),Tiruvanaikkaval (Water) and Kanchipuram (Earth) respectively.

Kalahasti is located near the pilgrimage town of Tirupati and is visited by thousands of pilgrims. This temple is also associated with Rahu and Ketu, (of the nine grahams or celestial bodies in the Indian astrological scheme).

Antiquity: This temple has been referred to in pre-Christian Tamil literature. The Tamil Saivite saints of the 1st millennium CE have visited this temple and sung its fame. The adjoining hill Dakshina Kailasam has many a fine Pallava carving.

The Tamil Cholas and the Vijayanagara Rulers have made several endowments to this temple. Adi Sankara is said to have visited this temple and offered worship here. There are Chola inscriptions in this temple which date back to the 10th century CE.The

Telugu poem 'Sri Kalahasti Satakam' explains the traditions associated with this temple.Muthuswamy Deekshitar, one of the foremost composers in the Carnatic Music Tradition has sung the glory of this temple in his kriti 'Sree Kaalahasteesa'.

Other works on this temple include the Sree-Kalattipuranam of the three brothers Karunapprakasar, Sivapprakasar and Velappa Deekshitar, Tirukkalattipuranam by Aanandakoottar of Veerainagar and Tirukkalatti Ula by Seraikkavirayar.

Architecture: The vast west facing Kalahastiswara temple is built adjoining a hill, and on the banks of the river Swarnamukhi. At some points, the hill serves as the wall of the temple. The temple prakarams follow the contour of the adjoining hill and hence the temple plan is rather irregular. North of the temple is the Durgambika hill, south is the Kannappar hill and east is the Kumaraswamy hill.

Krishnadevaraya built a huge gopuram, a few feet away from the entrance to the temple. The entrance to the temple is crowned with a smaller tower. There is an underground Ganapati shrine in the outer prakaram, while in the innermost prakaram are the shrines of Shiva and Parvati.

The present structure of the temple is a foundation of the Cholas of the 10th century, as testified by inscriptions; improvements and additions were made during the subsequent years of the Chola rulers of Tamilnadu and the Vijayanagar emperors.

The Manikanteswarar temple, also in Kalahasti dates back to the period of Raja Raja Chola I (early 11th century), and it was reconstructed in stone in 1196 by Kulottunga III. Shiva here is also referred to as Manikkengauyudaiya Nayanar. There is also a Vishnu shrine in this temple.

Legends associated with this temple: The legend here is similar to that of the Jambukeswara temple at Tiruvanaikka. Shiva is said to have given salvation to a spider, elephant and a serpent who were ardent devotees of the Shiva Lingam located here. The spider is said to have attained salvation in Kritayuga (the first of the four yugas in the Hindu tradition), while the elephant and the snake were devotees in Treta Yugam, the succeeding aeon. The elephant's devotional outpouring was a source of disturbance to the serpent's display of devotion and vice versa, resulting in animosity between the two, until Shiva's intervention gave both the devotees their liberation.

Kannappa Nayanaar, a hunter is said to have been a great devotee of Kalahasteeswarar. Legend has it that he offered his own eyes to the Shivalingam, and for this reason earned the name Kannappan (his original name being Thinnan), and the distinction of having his statue adorn the sanctum. Nakkiradevar, Indra, Rama, Muchukunda and others are believed to have worshipped Shiva at this temple.

Festivals: Maha Shivaratri which occurs in the Tamil month of Maasi (Feb 15 through March 15) is one of the greatest festival seasons here, and the celebrations are marked by processions of the deities. The fifth day of the festival in the month of Maasi coincides with the Maha Shivaratri.

Access and Accomodation: Tirupati (30km) is the nearest airport and is perhaps the most convenient base for visiting Kalahasti as it (Tirupati) is endowed with several modern lodging facilities. A one day trip from Chennai is also possible, as Kalahasti is well connected by road with Tirupati and with Chennai and is only a four to five hour drive from Chennai. If well planned, Tirupati, Tirumala and Kalahasti can be covered in a day's trip from Chennai by car.