Kolaru Pathigam Sage Of Kanchi
Ceasar Doyle
Presiding deity:
Sri Vanmikanathar as Swayambu lingam with Sri Kamalmbigai Ambal while Sri Thyagarajar is more popular.
Other main deities: Thyagarajar, Veedhi Vitankar, Thirumoolattanar, Purtritangondaar, with Alliyangothai, Neelothbaalambal ambal
Matru Uraitha Vinayaagr shirne:
Sundarar got 12,000 gold coins from Vridhachalam Pazhamalai nathar for his different temple works but he was worried about taking them to Thiruvarur without getting stolen on the way. So the Lord advised him to put the gold coins at the Vridhachalam temple tank and get back at the Kamalalaya temple tank of Thiruvarur. At Thiruvarur, he sang pathigams and got back the coins properly but doubted the quality of the coins. Without believing the Lord Himself, he wanted to check the quality of the coins by comparing with a small piece of the original he kept with him! So he requested the Matru Uraitha Vinayagar of this temple and He reported that the quality is lower! So Sundarar again sang the pathigams to get back the coins in their original quality (these later pathigams are not available as of now). This is nothing but the holy play of the Lord to listen to the pathigams of Sundarar.
Devendran at Eastern gopuram:
This is a massive 118 feet tall 7 tier Rajagopuram with plenty of sculptures. After Devendhran had to part with his Thyagarajar to Muchukundan, he was unable to bear the loss and came to Thruvarur requesting Thyagarajar to come back with him. The Lord had told him to wait at the Eastern gopuram to take Him. It is considered that Devendhran is still waiting at the Eastern entrance but Thyagarajar is yet to come out through that entrance. He comes out for all the festivals through the other entrances only!
Manuneetha Chola and the Stone Chariot (கல் தர்):
Thiruvar is the place where Manuneethi Chola, an epic King ruled once. His son killed a calf inadvertently under his chariot.The mother of the calf rang the bell kept for seeking justice and the King punished his son in the very same way the calf was killed. The stone chariot demonstrating the event is present in the temple with a lively expression of the calf.
Theertham:
Kamalalayam, got its name since Mahalakshmi did penance to Moolattaneswarar here to marry Lord Vishnu. The temple tank is as big as the temple itself and measures an area of 33 acres making it as one of the largest in the country (the other theertham Sengazhuneer odai is also of the same size) and has a separate temple at the centre. The small temple of Sri Naganatha Swamy/ Sri Naduvana nathar Temple with a small gopuram is located in the middle of the Kamalalayam temple tank.We have to go in boat and pradhosha abhishegam is very special here. Everyday from 5PM, boat services start and from 5:30 PM, worship starts. There are 64 bathing ghats here and each one gives us a specific benefit by bathing and donating specific articles. The detils of these are displayed at every ghat. The most sacred of them is considered to be Devaneertha Kattam, opposite the West gopuram of the temple.
Other Theerthams: River Chandra flows to the north of the temple; Temple tanks Brahma theertham in front of the temple, Indhra Theertham on the south and Agasthya on the west. The Sakthi Theertham near Amman shrine serves for the abhishekam of the deities.
The Temple:
The Chola Queen Sembian Mahadevi rebuilt this temple of stone (10th century). This west facing temple consists of a sanctum and an ardhamandapam. Inscriptions from the period of Raja Raja Chola are found here.
The niche images here include those of Ardhanareeswarar, Durga, Bhikshatanar, Brahma, Lingodhbhavar, Dakshinamurthy, Agastyar and Natarajar.
Legend:
Sage Durvasar is believed to have worshipped here and his image is seen near that of Vinayakar.
Lord Shiva is believed to have swallowed the mighty deluge sent by Varuna, the rain God. Sundaramoorthy Nayanar is said to have recovered his eyesight after taking bath in this temple tank.
Sundarar composed the Pathigam.
The temple is located in the Thirumanjana Street, very close to the Thyagaraja temple.
The belief is that Rahu resides inside the murti of Goddess Durga, seen seated on a lion facing East. She has four-arms and holds conch, discus, sword and trident. She wears a crescent moon on the head.
The popular belief is that those people born in Hasta star get all sorts of relief after visiting this temple.
Timings: 7 AM to 12.30 PM and 5 to 9 PM
Ainootru (500) Pillaiyar temple, Brahmma temple, Dhandapani temple, Kulunthalamman temple, Ayyanar temple, Rudhra Kodeeswarar temple, Kumaran koil, Ellaiyamman temple, Manikka Nachiyar temple and others
The temple is located at about 1 km West of Puliyur
This Chola temple, known as Kalichwaram of Shiva was worshiped by Goddess Kali.
A Navagkraha kshethram like Sri Kalahasti.
Sung by Appar and Thirunavukkarasar.
The east-facing temple is situated on the northern bank of the Pandavayaru, one of the distributaries of the Cauvery. The temple tank, Lotus Pond, is in front of the temple. The temple has five-tiered Rajagopuram at the entrance and a 3 tier Rajagopuram at the next entrance but both in a dilapidated state. Renovation work is going on.
Ogai Pereyil is the historical name of the place.
Appar composed the Pathigam.
Appar glorified this small shrine in a pathigam of his in Tirukkuruntokai.
Lord Shiva is said to have blessed Devas at this shetram.
The Natarajar image here is of great beauty.
Four worship services are offered each day.
Legend:
Vilamal means the Thiruvadi (holy feet of the Lord) which was worshipped by Sages Pathanjali and Vyaagrapaathar, for whom Shiva provided a vision of the cosmic dance at Chidambaram.
The sculpture of Pathanjali is present in the front mandapam and that of Sage Vyagrapathar in the Maha mandapam.
Sambandar composed the Pathigam.
Apart from the sheer beauty of the moorthy of Subramanyar, the fact that the whole weight of the moorthy is balanced on just the two legs of the peacock speaks volumes of the skill of the sculptor. The Samadhi of the sculptor is in front of the temple.
Pathur is just the adjacent village to Koradacheri.
The main deities in the temple are Sri Viswanathar and Sri Visalakshi.
The 12th century Natarajar was stolen but the temple got Him back from Greece in 1991 after 9 years of legal wrangling.
275th Thevara Sthalam:
This Sivastalam was added to the collection of 274 Sivastalams in 1917 to make it 275.
The temple and the Thevara hymns dedicated to this shrine in inscriptions were found during digging a mud mound and so is not a part of the original collection of the Thirumurais compiled by Nambiyandar Nambi. The pathigam here is referred to as Puthiya Pathigam.
Appar refers to this shrine as Vidaivaikkudi in his Adaivu Thiruttandakam.
The Temple:
Ganapathi, Durga and other deities in the Devakoshtam are noteworthy.
The sculpture showing Ambal holding Sambandar on her lap and offering the Holy Milk is located at the entrance of Abhirami shrine.
Sambandar worshipping The God and The Goddess right on top of the main entrance is enchanting.
Main deities: Sri Bhakthavatsala Perumal / Batharavi Perumal in a standing posture facing East and the Thayar is Kannamangai nayahi / Abhishekavalli
Urchavar: Perumpurakkadal
Prathyaksham: Lord Varuna and Romasa Munivar.
Legend:
The presiding deity is called Brahmapureeswarar since Lord Brahmma worshipped Him.
Gowtama Muni is believed to have worshipped and attained Jeeva Samadhi here. He is present here in the form of Sthala Vruksham Pon Alari.
Sambandar composed the Pathigam.
One donkey did penance to have the dharshan of Lord Shiva but unable to get. So it went upto Nagoor and was about to fall in the sea but Lord Shiva gave dharshan to it from this place itself. So there is no falg post or house opposite the temple till Nagoor (upto 35 kms).
The Temple:
Moola Lingam, the Ambal, the Temple itself are all big in size.
It is considered sacred for the ladies to water the Sthala Vruksham Pon alari and worship Brahmmapureeswarar on New Moon days.
Poojas are conducted only once a day but the caretaker lives next door to the temple and can show you the temple at any time. Please note that if you visit a temple once the doors are closed after the poojas, you have to do neivedyam with at least banana or coconut. It is a SIN to go empty handed and disturb the deities once the temple is closed.
1) Sri Nallur Swamigal attained Siddhi here in 1895. When he stayed here, the cholera disease was spreading all over. He went around the village and sprinkled Viboothi (holy ash) to arrest the disease being spread.
2) Sri Nagapattinam Periyaval (Sri Swayamprakasendhra Saraswathi Swamigal) was a Srividhya Upasaka and attained Siddhi here in Dec 1918. When Kanchi Paramacharya became the Peetathipathi at an young age, this Swamigal sent the details of conducting the Sreevidhya Pooja to the mutt.
3) Sri Varagur Swamigal (Sri Achuthanantha Saraswathi Swamigal) was born in Varagur near Thirukkattupalli (Tanjore) which is famous for the Uriyadi urchavam. He got Diksha from Sri Swayamprakasendhra Saraswathi Swamigal and was a Medha Dakshinamoorthy Upasaka. He also attained Siddhi here in Jan 1933.
The Siruvapuri Murugan Abisheka Committee has taken up the renovation of the Siva temple in Triambakapuram, now known as Erumaithalai, situated between Sengalipuram and Perumpannaiyur, at around 1 km from Perumpannaiyur.
Legend:
Shiva is said to have danced upon the body of Muyalakan, sent by the sages of Dharukavanam (Nartanapuri).
Kapila Muni worshipped Shiva here to receive the Chintamani gem. He is said to have walked on his head to reach here and hence the name Thalaiyalankadu.
Appar composed the Pathigam.
Legend:
Shiva is said to have appeared out of a pot (Kudam) and relieved Drinabandu Munivar of his leprosy and hence the name Kudavasal.
It is believed that when the great deluge submerged the earth, Lord Vishnu remained afloat in an earthen vessel that stretched from Kudavasal to Kumbakonam.
Worshipped by Garuda, Birugu maharishi, Sootha muni, Thaalappiyar and others.
Garuda got Amirtham and got relieved off the sins for both him and his mother. So Garuda is seen in the compound walls of the temple as usually seen in Vishnu temples.
Sambandar and Appar composed the Pathigam.