A formal presentation on Siva temples in Tamil Nadu

Nayanars, the 63 Saivite saints on their pilgrimage worshipped in Many  Siva temples and sang hymns in praise of the Lord. These shrines are considered exalted because of the visits by these "revered men". There are countless abodes of Siva all over India. But here I dwell on some important ones in Tamizhagam (Southern state of the country Bharadham) rendered holy by these men of God.

There are many Siva Temples in India and also in some other parts of the world. Siva temples in Tamizhagam have special significance. These Siva Temples eulogized in Tamil hymns and sacred texts are referred to as "Paadal Petra Siva Kshetrams". These Siva Temples have been in existence from ancient times for more than 1000 years. These temples are mentioned in Hymns which were composed and authored by the 4 Nayanar. They are Thirunavukarasar, Sambandar Sundarar and Manikkavasagar who lived between 7th and 9th century A.D. These hymns throw more light on Tamizhagam Temples, its art treasures culture, civilization etc.

Some of these Siva Temples, glorified and referred as 'Paadal Petra Siva Kshetrams' 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 built 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 the sanctum sanctorum where the idol of the temple's main deity (God or Goddess) is housed.

These temples are the torch-bearers of the glorious heritage of Tamizhagam and stand out as architectural marvels. The majestic, ornate and soaring towers 

(Gopurams) are typical of Tamil Nadu Temple architecture. Temples have always been a central aspect of the social and cultural life of the people of Tamizhagam Southern state of the country Bharadham Apart from that, these Siva Temples came to be associated with legends and beliefs that have over the years became a part of its historical culture.

 

Saroja Mani

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A word on Rudtaksha beads

Rudraksham

Rudraksha is "Siva-amsam" - an aspect of Lord shiva. It is the seed inside the fruit of Rudraksha tree. These trees are mostly found in abundance in Nepal, in the Himalayan slopes and in Indonesia. The dry seeds form the rudraksha bead is used as a rosary and also worn in a chain.
The seed is rough in texture, with the surface divided into segments by ridges running from top to bottom. These form the faces of the rudraksha. The number of faces range from 1 to 14. A major percentage of beads available have 5 or 6 faces.

The single face rudraksha, considered to be the form of Lord Siva, is very rare and unique.
Two faced rudraksha represents Siva sakthi amsam
The three face rudraksha is agni amsam
The four face rudraksha is Brahma amsam
The five face rudraksha is Kalagni Rudra.amsam
The six face rudraksha	" do "	Subramaniam.
The seven face rudraksha	" do "	Manmadan.
The eight face rudraksha	" do "	Vinayaga.
The nine face rudraksha	" do "	Bhairava.
The ten face rudraksha	" do "	Vishnu.
The eleven face rudraksha	" do "	Ekadasa Rudra.
The twelve face rudraksha	" do "	Dvadasa Sadhithas.
The thirteen face rudrakshav	" do "	Shanmugam.
The fourteen face rudraksha - One who is the possessor of such a rudraksha is considered to be an aspect of Lord Siva himself. It is that rare and significant.

It is a rare gift of nature to man in the sense, that most beads come with a hole drilled in the centre, as if nature intended man to use the rudraksha beads in a chain. Only such rudraksha beads are considered auspicious.

The rudraksha possesses magnetic power and hence when placed between two copper coins, it spins. This magnetic power inherent in the beads is immensely effective to our body and mind and hence wearing a rudraksha 'mala' (chain) brings good health and mental peace. It reduces heat in the body, brings down blood pressure and also relieves mental pressure and tension. It is said, that if one drank water from a container in which a rudraksha bead had been soaked for 5 minutes, it helps greatly in reducing blood pressure.

Sarojamani   

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Mahalingar at Tiruvida-marudur

 The temple features:

This temple is located at Tiruvida-marudur about nine miles in the north-east direction from Kumbakonam on the banks of river couvery . The carpet area of the temple is 9,12,000 sqft and is built facing east. It has seven towers in seven stages. The temple has7 corridors.(saptha- pragarams)

The deity is called Mahalingar in the east facing pose and it is said the deity is self incarnated. The lord's consort Devi Perunalamamulai-Amman has a seperate Sanctum also facing east.
There are several 'teerthams' but Karunya theertham is inside of the temple.
The temple tree is Marudham.
This place is also called Idai-Marudhu, Bilva-Vanam, Shanbaga-Aaranyam, Sakthi puram, Thabo-vanam,Jyothi puram and so on. There are151 stone inscriptions giving the details about this kshetram.

The saints who sang hymns on the Lord:
Thirugnasambandhar, and  Thiru navukarasar

The significance of this place: Siva was worshipped by Saraswathi, Lakshmi, Kaali, the Vedas, Vasishtar, Skanda, Vishnu and Agastya. It is said once they were affected by evil spirits as a result of past sins.. Hence to get relief from the sins they all came to this place and offered their prayers to this deity. They were rid of the evil spirits.

Legend:is Once a monarch of Pandiya dynasty suffered from amnesia. He forgot every thing and he could not talk also. According to the advise of the kingdom's astrologer he came to this temple and stayed there for forty days praying to the Lord. Surprisingly, the king was cured from the disease. He happily endowed much wealth to this temple.

There are five lingas around this temple. They are Mahalingam, Viswanathar, Rishi-pureeswarar, Aatma-nathar and Chokka-nathar. So this kshetram is called Pancha Linga kshetram. Mahalingam is the presiding deity. One of the interesting practice here is that an abhishekam (Anointing) is performed to Chokkanathar singing 'Amirdha-varshni' raga for a good monsoon.
Sambandar has sung also on Samba Dakshinamurthy enshrined here along with his consort. Stone inscriptions that are about 1200 years old are found in this temple.

Architecture: This is a huge temple constructed in the Dravidian style with lofty towers and sprawling circumambulatory paths. There are 7 prakarams, the outermost being known as the Aswamedha Prakaram. The inner prakarams are known as Kodumudi prakaram and Pranava prakaram. There is also a Sakti temple within the temple complex dedicated to Mookambika built in the North Indian style. 

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Vedhanadhar at Cheyaru

 The temple features:

This temple is located in Cheyaru about 28 kms in the South west direction from Kanchipuram on the banks of the river Cheyar in Tamil Nadu.
The carpet area of the temple is 2,28,000 sqft with a tower in 7 stages on the eastern side and It has two corridors.There are 29 stone inscriptions giving this temple's history. The deity is called Vedhanadhar and is in the east facing pose. It is said that it is self incarnated . The Lord's consort Devi Ilamulai-Nayaki has a separate sanctum also facing the eastern side.. The temple tree is Palm tree and it has 2 theerthams. Those are Cheyar theertham, and Kalayanakodi theertham

The saints who sang hymns on the Lord:
Thiru-gnana-sambandhar, & Thiru-navuk-karasar

The significance of this temple is that the Lord preached the essence of the vedas to sages and saints in this place.Hence this place has another name which is Thiruvothoor. The peculiar thing in this temple is that the Nandhi is not looking towards the Lord like in any other Siva temple but it is facing eastern side.

Once there were no yield from any palm tree in this area. So all the owners of palm tree groves very sadly told about this to saint Thiru-gnana-sambandhar when he was visiting here on his pilgrimage. The saint prayed to Lord Siva and composed a hymn for the protection of the village and for the prosperity all the palm tree owners. The miracle was that all the palm trees became productive right away. All the villagers were very happy and praised the saint. The saint expressed his gratitude to the Lord and proceed on his further tours to other Siva temples.

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Thayum-Aanavar at Rock fort in Thiruchi rappalli

 The temple features:

This temple is located at Rock fort in Thiruchi in Tamil Nadu. This temple crowns a heavy and solid outcrop of rock. It is measures 83 metres in height from the surrounding plains. The top is reached by a steep flight of 437 steps cut into the rock. This shrine is located half way and the deity is Thayumanaswamy dedicated to Lord Siva. It has a 100-pillared hall, and a main tower (Vimana) covered with gold. On the southern face of the rock are several beautifully carved rock-cut cave temples of the Pallava period built by the Nayakars who were the founders of the city.

This shrine has the sanctum for Kangaala Moorthy, one of the 64 manifestations of Lord Siva. The approach to the temple is through a flight of covered stairs. Towards the end of the climb, the Tayumanavar temple is located towards the west. facing the eastern direction .
Devi Mattuvar Kuzhali amman has a separate sanctum also facing the eastern direction. This place has other names. Those are Thiruchiru-giri, Thiruchira-puram, Dhashina-Kailasam Sevandhi-Ma-Nagar and at present Thiruchinapalli.

The saints who sang hymns on the Lord:
Thiru-gnana-sambandhar and Thirunavu-karasar

Legend: Once there was a Merchant family living on the other side of the banks of river Cauvery. The merchant's daughter called Satyavathi was living near a village called Arangapattinam. The daughter of merchant was pregnant and the delivery time was nearing. So he was trying to go and fetch his daughter for her confinement.
But the river was in heavy floods and so he could not go to his daughters place. The lady was very sad and was always thinking of her mother. But the floods became heavier and no one could come to her from her father's place.

Satyavathi developed labour pain. She could not bear the pain and was praying to Lord Siva. The Lord was always kind to his devootees. Hence he went to Satyawati's house disguised as her mother. As soon as satyavathi saw her mother she was surprised and enquired of her how it was possible to cross the flooded river. The Lord as her mother convinced her and attended to the delivery. Satyavathi gave birth a male baby.
The baby was named Satyavirthan. Because the lord went for the lady's confinement as her mother the deity is called Thayum Aanavar. ('Thai' in Tamil means 'mother' and 'anavar' is 'became' ).
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Sundareswar at Madurai

 The temple features:

This temple is located in Madurai 452 kms from Chennai.
The carpet area of the temple is 6,84,000sqft and is built East facing . This temple has 12 towers, four of the tallest stand at the outer walls of the temple. The 48.4m high southern tower is the most spectacular and has over 1500 sculptures. (from its top, it is possible to obtain a panoramic view of the city.) The King tower on the eastern side is an unfinished structure which has a 174 perimeter base and had this tower been completed, it would surely have been the largest of its kind in the country. The eight smaller towers are within the compounds of the twin temples.

The deity is called Sunderaswar in the east facing pose.It is said the deity is self incarnated. The Lord's consort Devi Meenakshi has separate sanctum facing east.
The temple tree is 'Kadamba'. and It has three theerthams those are Potramarai tank, Ezhlu kadal, and Vaigai There are many stone inscriptions in this temple giving the history of the kshetram

The saint who sang hymns on the Lord:
Thirugana-sambandhar.

Legend is Madurai was originally a forest called Kadambavanam. One day a farmer named Dhananjaya was passing through the forest. Fortunately the farmer saw Indra who was worshipping a swayambhu Eswara (self incarnated lingam) under a Kadamba tree. As soon as he saw this he immediately reported about this to King Kulasekara Pandya. The king went to the forest, cleared it and constructed a temple around the lingam. The city of Madurai was planned with the temple as its centre. On the day of dedication of the temple amirtham (nector) fell from Lord Siva's hair on the town. Hence it was named Madhurapuri. Later the name was modified as Madurai.

History:More than 2,500 years old with a rich cultural heritage and history Madurai is situated on the banks of river Vaigai and is the second largest city of Tamil Nadu. Madurai was built by the King Kulasekara Pandyan in the 6th century BC. The recorded history of Madurai emerges sometime during the 3rd century BC when it was the prosperous capital of Pandya dynasty with trading contacts with Greece and Rome. Megasthenes, the Greek Ambassador to the Court of the Mauryas, refers to the Pandyan princes who ruled over Madurai in 320 BC.

The next major rulers of Madurai were the Vijayanagara dynasty who won over the territory in 1371. They appointed the Nayakars as governors who in time became powerful in their own right. The 200 - year old reign of the Nayakars marks the golden period of Madurai when art, architecture and learning scaled new heights. In fact, the most beautiful buildings in the city including its most famous landmark, the Meenakshi temple, are Nayak contributions. Among Nayakas, Thirumalai Nayaka (1623-1659) was very popular since it was he who contributed to the creation of many magnificent structures in and around Madurai. The King tower (Raja Gopuram) of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, The Pudu Mandapam and The Thirumalai Nayakar's Mahal are living monuments to his artistic taste.

The Ashta Shakti Mandapam was built by Thirumalai Nayak's wives Rudrapathi Ammal and Tholima-ammai. The sculpted pillars of this mandapam tell the story of the great rulers of Madurai. The marriage hall was built by the daughter of King Malayatwaja pandian to perform Lord Siva & Meenakshi's marriage. Madurai passed on to the East India Company in 1781 with George Procter as the first collector of Madurai. In 1840 the Company razed the fort, which had previously surrounded the city and filled the moat. Four streets called Veli streets, which were constructed on top of the fill till today define the limits of the old city. After India's independence, Madurai is one of the major districts of Tamil Nadu.

In the Kambathadi Mandapam there is an unique idol of Nataraja dancing with his right leg raised to the shoulder instead of the left leg which is the usual with all Nataraja idols. This idol is covered with silver leaves. Hence this hall is named as Velli Ambalam (Silver sabha).
There is a legend to explain why the Lord was dancing with his right leg raised. Once Malaiyatwaja pandiya the king of Madurai was learning dancing. But after each lesson he felt severe pain in his legs. The king thought to himself ' The Lord is performing the dance on the left leg only for yugas while it pains severely even though I dance on both my legs. How painful it should be to the Lord dancing on one leg. Even thinking of it is very pain full.' Therefore the king went to Siva and prayed to the Lord to accede to his request that the Lord should dance on his right leg instead of the left leg.

The Lord appeared before him and acknowledged his desire and the Lord danced with his right leg for king Pandian.
Henceforth 'Velli ambalam' became one of the five Nataraja sabhas. .

Pancha Sabha Temples of Lord Siva are as follows:1. Chidambaram (gold) 2. Madurai (silver) 3. Tirunelveli (copper) 4. Tiruvalankadu (ruby) 5. Kutralam (pictures) These are revered as the five Cosmic Dance Halls of Lord Siva

The Portamarai-kulam or the golden lotus tank is the place where the Tamil literary society called Sangam used to meet to decide the merits of literary works presented to them. The manuscripts that sank in the tank were dismissed while those that floated were considered to be great works of literature. A pillared corridor surrounds the tank. The temple museum is housed in the hall with 985 richly carved pillars each one surpassing the other in beauty. More scenes from the celestial wedding can be seen in the Vasantha Mandapam. Icons, pictures and drawings exhibiting the 1200 years old history of the temple can be seen in the museum. It was constructed by Tirumalai Nayakar and is used during the celebration of the  festival in April-May. Just outside this mandapam, towards the west, are the Musical Pillars. Each pillar when stuck with a small stone produces a different musical note

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Magudeswarar at Kodumud

The temple features:

This temple is located in Kodumudi about 39 kms in the South eastern direction from Erode on the banks of the river Kaveri in Tamil Nadu.
The carpet area of the temple is 3,09,760 sqft with a tower in 5 stages on the eastern side and It has two corridors.There are many stone inscriptions giving this temple's history. The deity is called Magudeswarar and is in the east facing pose. It is said that it is self incarnated . The Lord's consort Devi Sowndira-Nayaki has a separate sanctum also facing the eastern side.. The temple tree is Vanni tree and it has four theerthams. Those are Kaveri theertham, Deva theertham, Baratwaja theertham and Brahma theertham

The saints who sang hymns on the Lord:
Thiru-gnana-sambandhar,Thiru-navuk-karasar, and sundarar.

significance of this place: A small piece of rock dropped from top of mount Meru on this place which became the hill and also the Lingam. Hence this place is called Kodumudi.
But the Local population say that when the Lord performed 'Agora thandavam' on mount meru a bunch of hair from his head dropped on this place due to violent shaking of his head. So this place is called kodumudi.

This place has other names also. Because Brahma worshipped  the Siva in this place it is named Brahma puri. Sri Vishnu worshipped the Siva in this place. So it is called Hari-Hara puram. Sri Vishnu's mount Garuda worshipped the Lord and brought amudham from the heaven to this place. So it is named Amudha-Puri.

There was a merchant called Kanmadan who worshipped this deity and was relieved from his stomach disease. Henceforth this place is called Kan-Mada-Puram.
Malayathvaja -Pandian of Pandiya dynasty of Madurai renovated this temple and endowed much wealth. Therefore it is called Thiru-Pandi- Kodumudi.
Once sage Barathwaja did penance to Magudeswar in this land for a long time. The Lord was pleased and appeared before him and asked for his desire. The sage bowed his head and said that he wished to see the Lord's dance performance in this place. Lord Magudeswara was very happy and did Satveega dance performence in this place for the sage. From that time this place is also called Barathwaja kshetram.
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Thenupureeswarar at Patteeswaram

 The temple features:

This temple is located in Patteeswaram about 6-7kms in the South western direction from Kumbakonam on the banks of the river Thirumalai aaru in Tamil nadu.
The carpet area of the temple is 2,00,640 sqft with 4 towers in 7 stages on each of the four sides. The deity is called Thenu-pureeswarar and is in the east facing pose. It is said that it is self incarnated . The Lord's consort Devi Gnanambigai has a separate sanctum. facing south. The temple tree is Vanni  and the theertham is gnanavavi.

The saint who sang hymns on the Lord:
Thiru-gnana-sambandhar  

Legend:
There are many legends connected with this temple. Before Sri Rama proceed to Lanka he visited this temple for getting rid of his Chaya Dosham. Including in feature killing Ravana. Sri Rama had committed three different kinds of sins. Those are Brahma-hatti, Veera-hatti and Chaya.
There is no exception to the natural human Law though Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu. Sri Rama installed a Siva lingam. He dug a well by shooting an arrow from his bow into the ground to fill Dhanushkodi teertham for the Lingam installed by him at this temple. The Lord is called Ramalingam. Sri Rama worshiped the Lord here and was relieved from his Chaya Dosham.

Once in twelve years thousands of religious persons take their holy dip in Mahamakham tank on the day of the star Makha in the month of Kumbha. It is said that the pot-containing ambrosia (Amrita) while drifting about in the deluge touched this spot. Hence this place is of rare mythological significance. Patteswaram temple is one among them.

The divine cow called Kamadhenu had four daughters Patti, Chapali, Vimali and Nandini. The eldest daughter Patti worshipped Siva in this temple and used to anoint the Lingam by discharging milk from her udders. Siva was pleased with the devotional worship of Patti and the place came to be called after Kamadenu's daughter - patti.

Another story connected with this temple is that Gnanasambandar visited Sakthi-mutram during the course of his tours, worshipping the deities at different temples of South India. It was midday of the mid-summer month and he felt too tired to proceed further to see Lord Dhenu-puree-swara at Patteeswaram. He prayed to Lord Siva and the Lord was pleased with his prayers ordered his disciples (Bhootaganas) to erect canopies of pearl throughout the route so that his beloved devotee could comfortably travel the distance without being affected by the heat.

The disciples of the Lord executed his orders and Gnanasambandar proceeded to the temple. Because he travelled in the hot sun he could not see the Lord as it was very dark all around and the obstruction of the view by Nandhi (the Lord's mount) The Lord was very kind enough and told Nandhi to move on to his right side leaving the front view free from obstruction. Accordingly Nandhi moved to the right side and the Saint Gnanasambandar had the Lord's darshan comfortably. Therefore, Nandi is not in its usual position like in other Siva temples but a little on the right side of the Lord in this temple.
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Siva-kolund-eswarar at Thiru-Sakthi Muttram

 The temple features:

This temple is located in Sakthi-Muttram 6 kms from Kumbakonam in Tamil nadu
The carpet area of the temple is approximately 1,30,872 sqft .The temple has a tower which is in 5 stages and It has 2 corridors.(Pragarams) The main entrance is facing the eastern direction.

The deity is called Siva-kolund-eswarar. (kozhundhu is flame). It is said the deity is self-incarnated.
The lord's consort Devi Periya-Nayaki has a seperate Sanctum .
There is a theertham called Soola theertham and the temple tree is Bilvam.

This place is also called Sakti-vanam i.e. where Sakti did penance (vanam means forest)

The saint who sang hymns on the Lord:
Thiru-navu-k-arasar

There are many stone inscriptions giving the details about this kshetram.

Significance of this temple is that Devi Peria Nayagi gladly embraced Siva who was in the form of fire.

Legend: Devi did penance to Lord siva for the previlege of embracing him. Lord siva appeared before the devi and asked for her disire. Devi said ' My Lord I wish to hold you closely in my arms..' As soon as she expressed her desire he revealed himself in the form of a terrific fire. The devi also changed herself as fire and happily embraced the lord. Because Lord siva appeared as a fire, hence forth this deity is known Thee-pizhamb-eswarar ('thee' is fire, 'pizhambu' is flame)

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Mayoora-Nadhar at Mayavaram (The present name is Myladu-thurai)

 The temple features:

This temple is located in Mayavaram 21 kms from Seerkali in Tamilnadu. It is situated on the south bank of river Kavery. The plinth area of this temple is 3,97,632 sqft and it has a tower 165 ft in height and in nine stages. This temple has 3 corridors and 3 theerthams. They are Rishaba theertham, Brahma theertham and Ana-vidya-saras theertham. The Sthala Viruksham is Mango tree. The deity is called Mayoora-nadhar facing the eastern side and it is said it is self incarnated. The consort of the Lord Abayambikai has a separate sanctum and facing the southern direction.
 

The saint who sang hymns on the Lord
Thiru-gana-sambandhar
 

This temple has 16 stone inscriptions lying on its second corridor.

Legend: Daksha did not invite his daughter Parvati and his son-in-law Lord Siva to the yagna that he conducted. Being vexed at the disrespectful attitude of Daksha towards him, Lord Siva sent Veerabhadra to go and desecrate the sacrifice fire at the yagna conducted by Daksha. Lord Siva told parvathi not to attend the Yagna celebration by her father Daksha-Prajabathi. However the Devi attended the yaga. While Veerabhadra was desecrating the yagna a pea-hen got injured and ran to Parvati Devi and took refuge under her.

After everything was over, Parvati Devi repented very much for having disobeyed the Lord. To wash off the sin, she entered into the 'Yogagni'. At the time of entering into the fire she thought about the pea-hen to which she had given refuge and so in the next birth she took the form of a peahen and came to this place.
The Devi did penance for long years and at last she attained re-union with Lord Siva. Hence this place came to be known as Mayuram or Mayavaram (Mayuram means pea-hen). This temple has other names also. They are Suda-vanam, Sikliandi-puram, Brahma-puram, and Brahma-vanam and so on

The Very Important significance of this place is that there are five Lord Viswanadha temples and a Medha Dakshana moorty temples located around this Mayoora Nadha's temple. This can not be seen in any other place.

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Vaideeswarar at Vaideeswaran-Kovil

 The temple features:

This temple is located at Vaideeswaran-Kovil on the northern side of river Kaveri in Tanjavoor district in Tamil Nadu.
The carpet area of the temple is approximately 4,50,000 sqft with tall granite walls surrounding the temple. There are two majestic towers located on the eastern and western sides and there is also one small tower on the rear side of the temple. . The deity is called Vaideeswarar and is in the east facing pose. It is said that it is self incarnated The lord's consort Devi Tailambikai has a separate sanctum facing south. There are two big corridors and separate inner corridors for the temple festivels. The temple tree is Neem tree and the theertham is called Angaraha theertham.

The saint who sang hymns on the Lord:
Thiru-gnana-sambandhar
 

Signficance of this temple is that the Lord came as a Vaidya (doctor) and cured Angaraha (one of the zodiac signs Mars) of leprosy.

Legend: Once King Veera Serva was listening to Siva Puranam every day. This pious deed helped him to escape from an attack of tuberculosis. But his son got the disease. According to the advice of a priest the prince came to this Kunda (tank) called Angaraha theertham, took a dip and did pooja to the Lord and Devi. He wore the sacred ash after the pooja. Immediately he was cured of his illness. Even today many of devotees of the Lord come here with similar complaints and get as Prasadham "Tiru Chaandu Pills." This is purported to be the medicine which Lord Vaidyanatha gave to Angaraha to cure his illness.

Pilgrims who come here to get their illness cured take this medicine after observing the following directions. They are first required to take bath in the Anga-sanatana Teertham on an auspicious day during the Sukla Paksha, ( the fortnight following new-moon day). The should collect some Mrittika (mud) from the temple in a new pot and take it to the temple. Mix this with some sacred ash and a few drops of water from Siddhamurta Teertham and grind this into a paste. This should be offered in prayer to the Goddess and taken in with a little water from the Teertham. This will cure them of any illness

A Sage called Sadamantha was doing penance near the tank. There a frog was being chased by a snake from the tank and the frog jumped on him.The sage was disturbed and angrily pronounced that there should be no snakes or frogs in this tank. Accordingly even to day no frogs or snakes can be seen in this tank.

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Margabandeeswarar at Viranchipuram

 The temple features:

This temple is located in viranchipuram 12 kms in the western direction from vellore in Tamil nadu.
The carpet area of the temple is 4,56,000 sqft with a tower in 7 stages and 152 ft in height on the eastern side entrance. The deity is called Marga-band-eeswarar and is in the east facing pose. It is said that it is self incarnated . The lord's consort Devi Malar- vizhi-amman has a separate sanctum. facing south. The temple tree is palm tree and the theertham is simma theertham.

The saints who sang hymns on the Lord:
Thiru-gnana-sambandhar , Thirunavu-karasu , Manikka-vasagar, and sundararLegend:
This is an ancient siva temple about 1300 years old. It is situated on the banks of the river palar in vellore district in Tamilnadu.

This is a fine structure with high walls and beautiful sculptures. This temple has 1008 'sivalingams' and there was an ancient stone device to read the time. It was designed like a clock.

Long time ago a siva devotee by name Dhanapalan was doing business in pepper an expensive spice of the south India . Once he was proceeding to kanchipuram with a big load of pepper bags. It was evening time and he reached Virinchi-puram with his bulluck cart with the heavy load.
Kanchipuram was a flourishing business center. In ancient days highway robbery was common and the merchant was very much worried whether he could reach kanchipuram safely with his cart and all his pepper bags. In his distress he prayed to lord siva of virinchi-puram to help him reach kanchipuram safely without falling prey in the hands of the highway robbers. With his worries he went to sleep.That night the merchant had a dream in which Lord Siva told him that the next day he would have a co-traveller who would go with him and leave him and his pepper bags safely in kanchipuram.

The merchant very happily woke up from his bed in the morning and was glad to see a traveller on a white horse and he went with the merchant as the guide. The merchant could reach kanchipuram safely and the man on the white horse disappeared . He was lord siva himself. The merchant with awe and gratitude fulfilled his earlier promise of offering ten bags of pepper to lord siva.

This legand is may be a simple event. But to people of faith this is an event full of divine meaning. The lord is our hope and support in the times of crisis and helplessness. The voyage of life is full of hurdles and risks. Without god's help we cannot travel and reach our destination.

Once a littile boy hailing from an ancient saivaite family had the blessings of lord siva and started to explain with authority the various scriptures relating to the worship of lord siva to the amazement of all elders and others. To honour the devotion and dedication of the little devotee the Siva linga bowed and received the floral worship of the boy. This historic event is remembered every year in this temple on the festival day.

People who have no issues after a considerable period of married life throng to this temple and offer floral worship to lord siva and in a year many of them are blessed with a child. Thus the temple is the last refuge for so many people who have no children or peace of mind. Lord Siva listens to their prayers and helps them, guide them and go with them in their voyage of life

Every siva temple has a philosophy behind it and a message to be conveyed to the people. Usually the name of the main deity itself will make this explicit to the devotees. It is said that our life is a voyage. It is also advised that the almighty god should be treated as our co-traveller. When god is our co-traveller in our voyage of life we are sure to reach the goal of the Lord's Eternal Bliss. Margabandhu means guide. God is our friend, philosopher and guide. Normally behind the history of every temple there is an event which conveys the message to the people.

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Thirukooda-Nadhar at Kutralam

The temple features:

This temple is located in Kutralam 6 kms in the south west direction from Then-Kasi in Tamil nadu.
This place also has other names asThiru-kooda-chalam, Kurumbala, Uthalaka vanam and so on.
This temple is built 550 ft above the sea level at the foothill of a 5000 ft high hillock. The carpet area of the temple in the shape of a 'shanku" (conch) is 1,53,032 sqft with four entrances on the eastern side. The deity is called Thirukooda-nadhar and it is said that it is self incarnated in the east facing pose. The lord's consort Devi Kulal-wai-mozhi ammai has a separate sanctum. facing south. The temple trees are Kurumbala and Kutralam and there are many theerthams. The important theerthams are Siva madu, Gangai, Vada-Aruvi (Aruvi is water-falls) Chitra nadhi, Aagamam, Magudagama,
Kutralam is one of the 5 Pancha Sabhas of Lord Nataraja and is called Chitra Sabhai. The five famous Sabas in which Lord Siva is represented in the dancing pose are Chidambaram, Madurai, Tiruvalankadu, Tirunelveli and Kutralam. Kutralam is also known as Trikoota-chalam

Devi Parvathi is also of significance here and this temple is regarded as one of the 51 Shakti Peethams.(Parasakthi-Peetam) But it is not mentioned in the Devi Bagavatham. There are 86 stone inscriptions here giving details of the kshetram.

The saints who sang hymns on the Lord:
Thiru-gnana-sambandhar , Thirunavo-karasu , Manikka-vasagar, and sundararLegend:
Resulting from the presence of a multitude of Ganas at Siva Parvati wedding in the himalayas waiting for a glimpse of the divine couple the earth became imbalanced.. Agastyar at Lord Siva's request, preceded in southern direction to stabilize the earth and came to Kutralam which restored the stability.

There was a Vishnu idol here which shrunk in size and took the shape of a Siva-lingam when a number of Siva-ganas shouted " kurugu" repeatedly. ('kurugu' in Tamil means shrink). Hence the place is called Kutralam.

The temple has a shanku (conch) shaped corridor. Hence is referred to as Sangu-kovil. The Siva-lingam shows itself as Brahma and Vishnu alternatively at the Mummu-rasuk-kovil in the Tirikoota hall (mandapam) In this temple.

The Chitra Saba in the main temple houses more than one thousand beautiful pictures. Architecturally the Chitrasaba resembles the other Nataraja Sabas elsewhere in Tamilnadu. However its interior is striking with thousands of paintings and graphic works executed directly on the walls of the Chitra saba depicting images from the epics. Natarajar is brought here during the festival time from the Kurum-pala-veesar temple.
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Nellayappar at Thirunel-veli

The temple features:

This temple is located in Thirunelveli, 147 kms in the southern direction from Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
The carpet area of the temple is 6,38,400 sqft and the entrance is built on the eastern side. It has a 9-stage tower and 4 corridors.(Pragarams)
The deity is called Nellaiyapper and it is said that it is self incarnated in the east facing pose. The Lord's consort Devi Kanthimathi has a separate Temple. This temple's carpet area is about 850 x 756 ft, in the south facing pose. The temple tree is Bamboo and there are many theerthams. But the important theerthams are Potramarai, Karumari, Bairava and Sarva. There are many stone inscriptions here giving details of the kshetram.

The saints who sang hymns on the Lord:
Thiru-gnana-sambandhar Legend:
There are many legends connected with this temple. In the south-eastern corner of the prakaram a Siva Lingam called as Anavarata Khan was installed by a Nawab. It is said that the nawab's wife was suffereing from some acute respiratory disease. The Nawab consulted an astrologer on the way to cure his wife's disease.
The astrologer advised him that his wife should worship Nellaiappar and perform puja ceremonies in the temple. According to astrologer's advice she performed all the pujas.The muslim queen was cured from her disease. She not only recovered from her disease but also gave birth to a male child. The boy was named Anavarata Khan and the shrine was built in a corner of the prakaram in memory of the Muslim queen and the prince.

Another legend: A Brahmin became very distressed and prayed to the Lord for help to protect his paddy field from the rain. The Lord pleased with his prayer protected the paddy field from the rain by covering it and standing around it like a fence. So this place is named as Thiru-Nel-Veli ( Nel - means paddy and Veli - means fence). The Lord also came to be known as Nellaiappar.

The Devi is called Kanthimathi (Kanthi means lustre and Mathi means moon). The temple is situated in the canter of the town. It was built by a Pandya king in the 7th Century. 

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