Thyagaraja Temple, Tiruvarur

 

Thyagaraja Temple is a huge temple in India, and located in the town of Thiruvarur in Tamizhagam, in Southern India. It is a small town yet the temple is very famous. Here Siva is worshiped as Puttridankondar. The Main idol (That is Moolavar) is made by Emerald. Daily six times poojas are offered to the main deity. The utsavar is worshiped as Lord veedhi Vidangar means Ursavar (Thiyagarajar), depicted as a Somaskanda form. His consort Parvathi is depicted as Kondi.

The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written in Tamil by saint poets known as the Nayanars and it is classified as Paadal Petra Siva Sthalam. who sang in this kshetram according to periya puranam is Gnanasambanthar is 55songs Thirunavukarasar is 208 Sundharar is 87 and Manikkavasakar is 3 altogether total 353 songs sung in this temple. This is the only temple all the 4 Nayanars sung the highest number of songs.

The temple complex covers 30 acres, and is the largest temple in India. It houses nine gateway towers. The eastern tower is the tallest   one, with four stories and a height of 30 meters (98 ft). The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Veedhi Vidangar (Thiyagarajar) and Alliyankothai (Neelothbalambal) being the most prominent in this temple.

The historic name of Thiruvarur was Aaroor (Arur) and it finds mentioned in the 7th century saiva canonical work, Tevaram.

Another name is Kamalalayaksetra.

The presiding goddess Kamalambigai the meaning of the name is Devi's abode of lotus. So, this town is referred Kamalalayam.

Goddess Kamalamba is enshrined in a grand shrine in the outer prakaram (circumambulation path). The Tiruvarur Kamalamba Devi, Kandalama, is the yogini. She is a spiritual power of the tantric yogini. Her shrine inside the temple complex of Tiruvarur facing North direction of Kailash (abode of Lord Paramasiva), symbolizing release from the cycle of birth and death. She sits cross-legged in virginal purity. The Carnatic music legendry Muthuswamy Dikshatar, a tantric initiate, and a genius Sanskrit songs composer, and awesome logical methodology and incomparable creativity recalls Sri Vidya Tantrism and powers of Kamalamba as the Yogini Deity in his exquisitely rendered compositions “Kamalamba Navavarna Kritis”. The Kamalamba shrine is great veneration and it has its own cycle of annual festivals.

The Kamalalaya water pond named after this tantric deity, Kamalamba, outside the western gate of the temple covers over 16 acres and is one of the largest in the country.

Maintaining a tradition unbroken for over two thousand years, theppam, a joyous float festival in its water on a full moon January day is celebrated in this pond. A large raft with musicians singing praises of the lord is floated on the Kamalalayam. This is another specialty of this temple and this place.

The first striking features of the Tiruvarur Lord Tyagaraja temple to greet the devotee is the architecture of the great entryways, called the Gopurams, at the four cardinal directions. Each of the four exterior perimeter walls of the temple has a large Gopuram with reinforced wooden gates at its center. Of these four Gopurams, the Eastern Gopuram on the outermost perimeter wall called the Raja Gopuram is called the Maha Dwara (the great main entrance) as per Vaastu Shastra (Science of building to optimize the energy impregnation inside the space of the building) and is the most exquisite. Built between the 12th and 13th Century by the Cholas, the tall doorway of the Raja Gopuram was a granite structure up to the lintel level. This humongous granite base has several rearing Yali (animal from ancient India) figures, each mounted by a rider. The elegant slender bodies of these horse-like creatures that sport the face of a lion and the delicate relief carving on them are unique to the Chola artisans. These Kind of (Yalis) animals that lived in ancient India and represent the different stages of life. The six story, tapering superstructure above is constructed with deep red brick and mortar. (சுண்ணாம்புக் கலவை) Each of the six levels is proportionately smaller than the tier below, hollow, and set with proportionate window apertures aligned along the inner and outer facades.

In 1202 A.D., the Chola king Kulothunga Chola III constructed this, Raja Gopuram. The historical book “Kulothunga Meykirthi” and the “Tribhuvam” inscription song said that King Kulothunga III established villages in the Pandya and Chera countries to support this temple at Tiruvarur, earned and offered all  from the war to the Deity Lord Tyagaraja affectionately called as Tyagesa. The immortal sculpture of this warrior benefactor, Kulotunga Chola III with his guru Easwara Shivar, has been sculpted in the second tier of the Rajagopuram. Also it is said not only made renovation of the temple but they endowed lots and lots of wealth and lands to the temple for its maintaining and daily pujas and festivals.

The beauty of Architecture:

The temple complex occupies an area of around 17 acres (6.9 ha) with the Kamalalayam tank to its west. The temple has nine gopurams, 80 vimanas, twelve temple walls, 13 halls, fifteen large temple water bodies, three gardens, and three large precincts. The major gopuram of the temple is seven-tiered and raises to a height of 118 ft (36 m). The two main shrines of the temple are for Vanmikinathar (Shiva) and Thyagarajar. within this two, the former is the most ancient, and derives its name from the anthill, which takes the place of Linga in the main shrine. Appar, (Thirunavukarasar) the 7th-century poet saint, refers to the main deity in his hymn as puttritrukondan (one who resides in the anthill). The Stala vriksham (temple tree) is red patiri (trumpet flower tree). kondan (one who resides in the anthill). The Stala vriksham (temple tree) is red patiri (trumpet flower tree). The principles and practices of tree-worship and ophiolatry (worship of snake) are ancient bases whereupon a later date Linga worship seems to have been established.

As per folk legend says, that Thiruvarur is mentioned as the capital town of a legendary Chola king, Manu Needhi Chozan who killed his own son to provided justice to a cow is history, that event in the temple sculptural of a stone chariot.  Manuneethi Chozan and the cow and calf sculptured under the chariot in Vittavasal, against the northeast direction of the temple tower.

Here the nine Navagrahas are located towards south in straight line also located in northwest corner of the 1st circumambulatory way (prakaram) and it is believed that all the planetary deities got relieved off their curse and hence worshiped Thyagaraja. This temple is having the of maximum number of shrines sanctums (called sannithis in Tamil) in India. The foot of Thyagaraja is shown twice a year and on other occasions it is covered with flowers.

The right leg of the Tyagaraja deity and left leg of the goddess named Kondi (Devi Parvathi) is displayed during "panguniuthram “and "thiruvathirai star" festival.  but Lord Thiyagaraja never and ever shown of his left leg. Some of the major shrines in this temple are of Aananthiswarar, Neelothmbal, Asaleswarar, Adageswarar, Varuneswarar, Annamalieswarar and Kamalambal. Particularly the feature of the temple, Nandi appears standing pose towards Isaan.

The temple has a lot of halls, with six of them being the most prominent. Bhaktha Katchi hall is located to the left of the image of Moosukuntha Nandi. The festival image of Thyagaraja arrives at this hall after the Panguni Uthiram festival. (Oonjal) Swing Hall is located opposite to the baktha Katchi hall. The festival images of Chandrasekarar and darunendhu Sekari Amman arrive at this hall during the Thiruvadhirai festival. Raja Narayana hall is a public hall for localities of Thiruvarure. Panguni uthira hall is located in the western part of the temple, which is also known as sababathi hall, all the sanctums show the beauty of the temple.

The present structure was built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, later expansions are attributed by the empire of Vijayanagara Maintained the Sangama Dynasty (1336–1485 CE), the Saluva Dynasty and the Tuluva Dynasty (1491–1570 CE). Each one of the dynasties, endowed plenty of the lands, and wealth, for its daily puja and festivals rituals pujas.

The temple has six daily rituals puja at various times from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar. The temple has the huge chariot in Asia and the annual Chariot festival is celebrated during the month of March.

It is the best  to live in this place and visit this temple. however, the people living alien country, or neighboring state of the country at least once in a lifetime should visit this place worship is at their best action.