Bhakthajaneswarar Shiva Temple - Thirunavalur

Thirunavalur near Villupuram Town, Tamilnadu has the privilege of being the birthplace of Sundarar, one among the four great Saints of Saivism. This place is also called Thirunamanallur.

This Paadal Petra Sthalam has been praised by Sundarar in Thevaram. As per the legend, Lord Vishnu before taking taking the Narasimha Avatar to kill the demon Hiranyan, worshiped Lord Shiva in this temple. There is a separate shrine for Lord Vishnu inside the temple premises.  There is also a shrine for Sundarar and his consorts Paravai and Sangili. Another legend is that Sukran worshiped the Lord here and got his Dosha absolved. Hence it will be beneficial for those who are having Sukra Dosha to have darshan and pray to the Lord Bhakthajaneswara in this temple.

This place is located on the Chennai - Thiruchirapalli Highway. after crossing Villupuram there is a place called Madapattu and Thirunavalur is about 2 kms from this point. Those travelling by bus should board bus from Villpuram and get down at a place called Kedilam. From this place, another bus which is plying on Thirukovilur to Thirunavalur should be boarded to reach the destination.

Lord Siva: Bhakthajaneswarar, Thirunavaleswarar

Ambal (Goddess): Sundarambigai, Manonmani

Sthala Vriksham : Naaval

Theertham :Garuda Theertham

Temple is open from 6 am to 12 noon and from 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm everyday.

Sundarar praises the Lord as follows

The Lord who annihilated the three worlds of demons by a single arrow, one who forcefully dragged me to Thiruvennainallur for my deliverance, one who deserved the service from four faced Brahma, Indra and Vishnu resides in Thirunavalur!

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A temple as holy as Kasi in Virudhachalam, Tamilnadu

Whenever someone thinks of India’s spirituality, the first name to strike the memory is Kashi. It is such a holy city in Varanasi to be called as Spiritual Capital of India. I was pleasantly surprised when I came to know of the Lord Siva Temple at Virudhachalam which is a Mukthi (salvation) temple and considered as holy as Kashi. This temple is called as Virudha Kasi and worshipping here is regarded to give the same benefits of worshipping Kasi Viswanathar.

Virudhachalam is about 215 kms from Chennai and well connected by bus and train. The temple is at a distance of 2 km from the railway station.

This is a large temple with 5 temple towers and each of them are seven tiered. Upon entering the main tower, there is a view point on the left side from which I could see the magnificient view of all the gopurams (towers). Lord Vinayaka’s temple inside the campus is unique by its location 18 feet down the ground level. Hence He is referred as Pathala Vinayagar. After having Darshan of Lord Vinayaga, I entered the main tower which is named as Gandaraditya tower after the Chola King Gandaraditya who is the forefather of Raja Raja chola. Gandaraditya himself was a staunch devotee of Lord Siva and sung hymns in praise of the Lord which is part of Panniru Thirumurai (Saivism literature). Another significant feature I could see is things which were in multiple of 5 – five Nandis, five Praharam and five Kodimaram (flagstaff). After having the Darshan of Pazhamalainathar in the sanctum, I went to circumambulation of temple premise admiring the beauty of the sculptures in the temple tower.

On the southwest inside the temple premise, there is a Lord Muruga temple with 28 Siva Lingas installed in it. As per the legend, each of these Lingas represent the 28 Saiva agamas and praised by Arunagirinathar in his literary work Thirupugazh on Lord Muruga. There is an amazing 3000 year old Vanni Tree ( Botanical name -Prosopis cineraria) which is considered as the Sthala Viruksham.

This Paadal Petra Sthalam has been praised by Sundarar (3 pathigams), Gnanasambandar (7 pathigams) and Appar (1 pathigam). It is said that when Sundarar visited this temple he had 12000 gold coins and felt uncomfortable to travel along with this, hence he left the coins in Lord Siva’s custody here and collected back in Tiruvarur. Thus the lord acted as the treasurer for his devotee Sundarar!

Lord Siva: Pazhamalainathar, Virudhachalesar

Ambal (Goddess): Periyanayaki, Virudhagambikai, Balambikai

Sthala Vriksham : Vanni

Theertham : Manimuthar

Temple is open from 6 am to 12 noon and from 4 pm to 9 pm every day.

Chandramouleeswarar – Shiva Temple, Thiruvakkarai/ Vakra Kaliamman Temple

Although this is a Paadal Petra Sthalam praised by Gnanasambandar, it is more popularly known as Vakra Kaliamman temple. The special feature of the temple is a very rare form of the presiding deity known as Mumukha Linga (Three faced linga). Lord Shiva’s face is on the front of the linga while the faces of Vishnu and Brahma are flanked on either sides. As.htabhuja Kali (eight armed Kali) graces the devotees in a separate shrine located just at the entrance of the temple. Praying at this temple is said to give child boon, alleviate the problems faced in married life and other benefits in temple. Full moon day is a festival day during which special poojas are conducted for Kali.

The temple is open throughout the day from 7 am to 8:30 pm daily.

Lord Siva: Chandramouleeswarar,Chandrasekharar

Ambal (Goddess): Amritheswari, Vadivambigai

Sthala Vriksham : Vilva

Theertham : Surya Pushkarni

How to reach

There is a place called Perambakkam located on the Tindivanam-Mayilam-Pondicherry road ( bus services available from Tindivanam). There will be an entrance arch just opposite to Perambakkam bus stop which leads to Thiruvakkarai at about 7 kms from the arch.  If travelling by bus alight at Perambakkam bus stop and from there share auto services are available to reach the temple. Alternatively this place can be reached from Villipuram also ( about 30 kms ).

Temple Legend

Vakran, a demon and devotee of Lord Shiva Him worshipped Him here and hence the place got the name Vakkarai. Nevertheless, Vakran was a demon and Mahavishnu took the task of slaying him. When Vishnu was trying to kill Vakran, the blood of the demon spilled on the floor and a new demon was forming from each of the blood drop thus making it impossible to kill him. Kali joined the battle to assist Vishnu and she cleared up the blood of the demon as and when it fell thereby preventing the manifestation and resulting in extinction of the demon. Seeing this, Vakran’s sister Dhunmukhi got enraged and had a fierceful battle with Kali, mother Kali killed her too. But Dhunmukhi was pregnant at the time of death and the fetus in her womb was worn by Kali as ear rings as a remedy to the sin of killing a pregnant woman.

Nearby attractions

There is a famous Lord Murugan temple at Mailam which is nearby.

Agatheeswarar – Shiva Temple, Kiliyanur

This is an ancient (more than 1200 yrs old) small temple praised by Gnanasambandar. This is a recently discovered 276th Paadal Petra Sthalam.

Lord Siva: Agatheeswarar
Ambal (Goddess): Akilandeswari
Sthala Vriksham : Vanni
Theertham : Agni

How to reach

This temple can be reached either from Tindivanam or Puducherry. The place is located at about 2kms from the highway 66 (Tindivanam to Puducherry passing via Kiliyanur). There are no direct buses to the temple. Auto facility is available from a nearby place called Thiruchitrambalam Koot road which can be reached by bus from Tindivanam.

Temple Legend
As per the legend, the presiding deity was installed by sage Agasthiyar and worshipped by Sukar, Aadhisheshan,, and Kalava Maharishisheshan.

Nearby Attractions
Two more Paadal petra sthalams – Olinthiyampattu and Irumbai Maakalam are located at a distance of about 8 kms from this place. Thiruvakkarai another shrine is located at about 25 kms from here.

Arasilinathar – Shiva Temple, Olunthiyapattu

This place was earlier called as Thiruarasili but currently named as Oluthiyapattu. This temple has been praised by Gnanasambandar.

The Siva Lingam is very small in this temple but extremely beautiful under a canopy of rudrashka beads. There will be a scar on the lingam which is normally kept closed by a turban. This Siva Lingam is said to have disappeared during sage Vamadeva period and again reappeared for Chalukya King Satyavratan. Hence the place is called as Olunthiyapattu (Ozhinthu in Tamil means “lost” and Agapatathu means “got back”. Ozhinthu + Agapatathu = Olunthiyapattu in due course). This temple is a remedial shrine (Parihara sthalam) for anybody born in Poosam star and having dosha.  Open from 7 am to 8:30 am and from 5 pm to 8 pm daily.

Lord Siva: Arasilinathar
Ambal (Goddess): Periyanayaki
Sthala Vriksham : Arasa maran
Theertham :

How to reach
This temple can be reached either from Tindivanam or Puducherry. The place called Olunthiyapattu is located on the highway 66 from Tindivanam to Puducherry passing via Kiliyanur. Temple is located at about 2 kms inside from the highway. There are no direct buses to the temple. Auto facility is available from a nearby place called Thiruchitrambalam Koot road which can be reached by bus from Tindivanam.

Temple Legend
Sage Vamadeva was visiting various Shiva temples in order to get relief for his curse. When he was in this place, he was resting under a Arasa Maram (Banyan Tree).  He mused of constructing a Shiva temple under the cool shade of this tree and to his surprise Lord Shiva appeared in the form of a small Linga and relieved him of his curse. Since the Lord appeared as Swayambhu under the Arasa maram He is called as Arasilinathar.

But after the period of Sage Vamadeva, this Shiva linga went into the earth and disappeared. After several years, king Satyavratan belonging to Chalukya dynasty ruled this region. He was an ardent devotee of Shiva but he had no heirs to succeed his throne. He had set up an exclusive garden that grew flowers for the daily prayers of Shiva. Every day the King used to send his workers to fetch the flowers for Pooja. One day, the worker returned back to the King and reported that were no flowers in the garden. Again next day the worker came back without flowers. This has continued for few more days and the King grew suspicious that someone had been plucking the flowers stealthily. To find the truth, he hid himself in a bush near the garden along with some of his soldiers. To his surprise, he saw a deer eating away all the flowers and started chasing the deer. The deer because of its deftness escaped the chase and hid in a large cavity in a Banyan tree. The King shot an arrow which went inside the cavity of the tree, soon there was a trail of blood. The King thought it was from the deer which he had shot and checked the cavity. To his great surprise, he could not find the deer inside but was shell shocked to see a small Shiva linga bleeding. He prayed to Shiva who appeared who manifested in His divine form and let the king know that He was the one who came as a deer and the linga is the same as the one that manifested for Sage Vamadeva. The King was graced with a male child and several other prosperity by the Lord. The King constructed this temple and worshipped the Siva lingam given by the lord. The picture below shows this legend being depicted in the front arch of the temple.

Nearby Attractions
Puducherry is very close to this temple. Auroville dome will be visible from the Tindivanam-Puducherry highway.
Two more Paadal petra sthalams – Kiliyanur and Irumbai Maakalam are located at a distance of about 8 kms from this place. Thiruvakkarai another shrine is located at about 25 kms from here.

Maakaleswarar – Shiva Temple, Irumbai Maakalam

This temple praised by Gnanasambandar is one among the three Maakalam temples in India. The first one is located in Ujjain, second near Mayiladuthurai (Ambar Maakalam) and third one is this temple known as Irumbai Maakalam.

The entire temple is now renovated with beautiful paintings on the inner walls of the temple and it is a delight to have Darshan. The Shiva lingam here is an aggregate of three pieces and one can see that there is a metallic strap kind of arrangement on the lingam. The temple is open from 7 am to 12 noon and from 4 pm to 8 pm daily.

Lord Siva: Maakaleswarar
Ambal (Goddess): Kuyil Mozhi Ammai
Sthala Vriksham : Punnai
Theertham : Maakala Theertham

How to reach
This temple can be reached either from Tindivanam or Puducherry. The placed called Irumbai is located on the highway 66 from Tindivanam to Puducherry passing via Kiliyanur. Temple is located at about 2 kms inside from the highway. There are no direct buses to the temple. Auto facility is available from a nearby place called Thiruchitrambalam Koot road which can be reached by bus from Tindivanam.

Temple Legend
Kaduveli Siddharwas performing penance under a tree in this region. There was no rainfall which resulted in an acute drought and famine. The King ruling that region wrongly thought the drought was due to the penance of Kaduveli Siddhar, hence he distracted his penance with the help of a beautiful dancer. Kaduveli Siddhar came out of his trance but he was not agitated when he realized that the intention of the King was to save the people from the drought. He took pity on the people and prayed to the Lord for rainfall. In due course there was substantial rainfall alleviating the worries of the King and his people. There was a grand festival organized to celebrate the prosperity and the same dancer who had earlier distracted the penance of Kaduveli Siddhar was dancing before the procession. While dancing, one of her anket fell down and the Siddhar immediately tied the anklet to her leg with an intention that there should not be an interruption to the performance. However, people who are gathered around mocked at him for his act. The Siddhar when he realized that the same people whom he saved from the drought are ridiculing him got angry and prayed to Lord Shiva because of which the Siva Linga inside the temple exploded into three parts. The King and his citizens realized their mistake and appealed to him to forgive them. Siddhar’s anger subsided and the three pieces of lingam got restored as one piece.
Another legend is that Parvati has worshipped the Lord in this shrine to absolve her sins of killing two demons. These demons – Amban and Ambasuran wanted to marry Parvati, agitated by this atrocious act of demons, the great mother took the form of Mahakali and slayed them.

Nearby Attractions
Puducherry is very close to this temple. Auroville dome will be visible from the Tindivanam-Puducherry highway.

Two more Paadal petra sthalams – Kiliyanur and Olunthiyapattu are located at a distance of about 12 km from this place. Thiruvakkarai another shrine is located at about 25 kms from here.