Thirumeni Azhagar Shiva Temple – Mahendrapalli

This Paadal Petra Sthalam praised by Thirugnanasambandar is located at Mahendrapalli about 25 kms from Chidambaram.

As per the legend, Indra the Lord of devas has worshipped here. Indra is also known as Mahendra, hence the place got the name Mahendrapalli. Lord Brahma, Sun and Moon have also worshipped here. In the month of March, sunlight directly on the Shiva linga daily (lasts for a week).

The temple tank just in front of the temple is very special. As per the legend, Lord Krishna offered ritual prayers for His ancestors and because of this, Sun and Moon also came and worshipped. It is believed that worshipping in this temple is said to alleviate the Pithru (family ancestors) dosham.

On the Chidambaram-Sirkazhi road, immediately after crossing the kollidam bridge, there will be a road branching to the left. The temple is at about 11 kms on this road. There is another paadal petra sthalam- Achalpuram at about 6 kms from this temple which will first come while travelling in this road. Both the temples can be covered in the same visit. Bus bound for Mahendrapalli from Sirkazhi or Chidambaram can be taken but the frequency is very limited. It will be better to have a private transport arranged from Chidambaram or Sirkazhi.

Open from 9 am to 12 pm and from 6 pm to 7 pm every day. Since the number is visitors is less, this temple is likely to be in a closed condition mostly but the temple priest is living just adjacent to the temple. On request, he will be able to open the temple and offer the Darshan.

Lord Siva: Thirumeni Azhagar, Somasundarar

Ambal (Goddess): Vadivambal, Vadivambigai.

Sthala Vriksham : Thazhai

Theertham : Mahendra Theertham

Panchanatheeswarar Shiva Temple – Vadugur (Thiruvandarkoil)

This temple located in Puducherry is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams praised by Gnanasambandar. This is beautiful temple under the control of Archeological Survey of India (ASI) and has several inscriptions dating back to the period of Parantaka Chola and other great Chola kings like Rajaraja Chola, Rajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola.

As per the legend, the demon Mundasuran got a boon from Lord Shiva so that he will be protected from death due to devas and other lords. Because of this boon, the demon started waging wars with devas including Brahma and defeated them. They prayed to Lord Shiva for help and He instructed Vadugabhairava to kill the demon. He slayed the demon and in order to alleviate the sin of killing the demon, Bhairava prayed to Lord in this shrine. The place itself came be to known as Vadugur after the Bhairava’s name but the current name for this place is Thiruvandarkoil.

This temple is located on the Villupuram – Villianur – Puducherry Highway, after crossing the Tamil nadu border within 3 kms in Puducherry the temple can be reached.

Open from 6 am to 10 am and from 5 pm to 8 pm every day.

Lord Siva: Panchanatheeswarar, Vadugeeswarar

Ambal (Goddess): Thirupurasundari, Vaduvagirkanni

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!

An Android App for Lord Shiva Temples

A comprehensive android app to know about the important temples of Lord Shiva especially the Thevara Paadal Petra Sthalams. Please click the link below to get the app.


https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maha.lordsivatemples&hl=en

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.