Famous Temples Near Karur

Visited on: November 1, 2015

Location

Karur is very well connected by road from other major cities. Karur has a Railway station on Trichy - Erode route. Around 80 kms from Trichy and 65 kms from Erode. Nearest airport is at Trichy.

General Information

• This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 7th Sthalam in Kongu Nadu.
• The temple is very big - its main Tower (Rajagopuram) is 120 feet high with 7-tiers and two corridors. This temple is facing the East.
• The Moolavar Lingam in the temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).
• This temple is renowned for its three splendours - Moorthy (The Presiding Deity), Sthalam (Place of divinity) and Theertham (The Holy Water).
• Lord Brahma is believed to be the first ever devotee to worship Lord Shiva in this temple.
• It is also believed that the divine bovine–goddess Kamadenu has worshipped Lord Shiva here. Its hoof mark is visible on the Lingam. The name Ahnilaiyappar is derived from “Ah” meaning cow (Kamadenu) and “nilai” meaning place.
• This is the birth place of Eripatha Nayanar, one of the 63 Nayanmars.
• King Pugazh Cholan, who later became a Nayanar (one of the 63 Nayanmars) also belongs to this place.

Karur has the reputation of being the birthplace of Karuvurar Siddhar, (also called Karuvur Devar), one of the 18 famous Siddhars of South India. Karuvurar Siddhar has praised the Lord in his hymns “Thiruvisaippa”, which forms a part of the 9^th Thirumurai. This Siddhar’s life forms an important part of this temple’s legacy. The story goes that some Brahmins complained against Karuvurar Siddhar to the king that the Siddhar was following the Vama Margam - offering wine and meat to the Lord. Upon enquiry it was revealed that this complaint was baseless and the king punished the complainants. However, unable to bear the continual harassment, he ran towards the shrine, embraced and became unified with the Lord Ahnilaiyappar. Because of his embracement, the Lingam is found in a slanting position. Inside the temple, there is a Jeeva Samathi of Karuvurar Siddhar.

Visited on: 2^nd November, 2015

Location

Bhavani is 16 kms away from Erode and about 55 kms away from Selam. The nearest Railway station for Bhavani is Erode. It is on the main Chennai-Trichi-Coimbatore bypass route. Nearest Airport is at Coimbatore which is 100 kms away.

General Information

• This is one of the 276 Devara Padal Petra Shiva Sthalam and 3rd Sthalam in Kongu Nadu.
• Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).
• The town, the Goddess of this temple and the nearby river all have the same name - Bhavani.
• Bhavani is mentioned in the Hymns as Thiru Nana whereas it is now called Kooduthurai by the locals.
• The temple was built at the confluence of rivers Cauvery, Bhavani and ‘Amutha Nathi’, an invisible underground water source. So the Lord Shiva here is called as Sri Sangameswarar (Sangamam meaning confluene).
• The temple is situated at the foothill of Padma Giri and is surrounded by four hills - Naga Giri, Veda Giri, Mangala Giri and Sanga Giri.
• The temple has a beautiful five-tiered main tower (Rajagopuram) with two corridors.

History of the Temple

Bhavani Sangameshwarar temple is an ancient one, having been built by the first Pallava King, Mahendra Verman. The bird’s eye view of this temple shows it as an island surrounded by the two rivers. 

It is also said that a British dignitary by the name of William Garo donated a swing / cradle (Oonjal) made of ivory after he miraculously escaped from the collapse of his Rest house in the year 1802.  He felt that he was saved by the Goddess herself and became an ardent devotee after this incident. His signature can be seen on the frame of the cradle.

Visited on: November 1, 2015

Location

About 22 kms from Karur. Route: Karur- Aravakkurichi- Venjamangudalur.  Town Bus route: Karur to Atrumedu. Nearest railway station is at Karur. Nearest airport is at Trichy which is 80 kms away from this place.

General Information

• This is one of the 276 Devara Padal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 5^th Shiva Sthalam in Kongu Nadu.
•  It is believed that the Lord Vigirtheeswarar is a Swaymbumurthy (self-manifested).

History of the Temple

This east facing temple is located at the junction of rivers Sitraru and Kudakanaru and a tributary of river Amaravathy (also called Manimutharu). Hence, this place gets the name Koodalur (confluence).

A hunter king by the name of Venjaman, who ruled this place is said to have worshipped Lord Shiva here. Hence this place is also called Venjamaakoodal.

The temple was washed away by severe floods in the river Kudakanaru. It was rebuilt in the year 1982. However, this temple is still 10-12 feet below the road level, which shows the possible impact of the damages done during the flood.

Visited on: November 1, 2015

Location 

40 kms from Erode and 25 kms from Karur. Kodumudi has a railway station on Trichy to Erode route.  Nearest airport is at Coimbatore and Trichy both are at a distance of about 110 kms. 

General Information

• This is one of the 276 Thevara Paadal Petra Sthalams and 6^th Shiva Sthalam in Kongu Nadu.
• This is a famous Sthalam for performing rituals to satiate one’s ancestors.
• This is also a Parikara Sthalam for Naga Dhosham.
• Moovar Paadal Petra Sthalam. 

History of the Temple

The temple is situated on the banks of the river Kaveri. There are three adjacent temples inside the same premises for Lords Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma.

 All the three towers are east facing.

The temple has epigraphs from the time period of King Sundarapandiyan Kesari’s rule.

Legend

According to the legend there was a competition between Adiseshan (the serpent on whom Sri Mahavishnu rests) and Vayu (Lord of the Winds) to determine who is stronger. Lord Indiran prescribed certain rules to conduct the competition. They put Mount Meru at the centre and it was held tightly by Adiseshan, Vayu blew the wind with all his might to push Adiseshan. In the ensuing struggle, Meru’s peak (Magudam) split into 5 pieces and fell in five different places.

It is believed that the pieces came down as 5 different gem stones – Red Corel at Thiruvannamalai, Ruby (Manickam) at Rathinagiri (Thiruvatpokki), Emerald (Maragatham) at Engoimalai, Sapphire (Neelam) at Pothigaimalai and Diamond at Kodumudi. As per legend the Diamond that feel at Kodumudi became the Swayambulingam (self-manifested lingam) and the rest of the stones became hills. Since the origin of the lingam is from the Meru, the lord is called Magudeswarar.  

It is also believed that Sage Agasthiyar installed and worshiped the idol of Lord Shiva and his finger prints can be seen on the deity.

It is also believed that Kodumudi is the place where Lord Shiva performed a dance for Sage Bharadwajar.

It is also said that both these sages were blessed with Lord Shiva’s wedding darshan here.