Thiru Needur Sri Arul Somanatha Swamy Temple 21st of 63 on the north bank of the Kaveri · Chola Nadu · Temples near Mayiladuthurai

Visited on: 10^th February, 2017 and 24^th March, 2018.

Location

Thiru Needur is situated at a distance of about 4 kms north of Mayiladuthurai on the Mayiladuthurai to Manalmedu route. Needur has a railway station which is about one kilometre away from this temple.

Other Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams near this place are –

Mayiladuthurai, Anniyur, Thiru Nintriyur, Thiru Nani Palli, Thiru Kadaimudi, Vaitheeswaran Koil, Kurumanakkudi, Thiruppunkur, Thiru Karuppariyalur, Thiru Kurukkai, Thiru Kurakkukka and Thiru Vazhkoliputhur.

General Information

Moolavar

Sri Arul Somanatha Swamy, Sri Gana Nardhana Sankarar, Sri Padi Padiya Devar

Ambal

Sri Veyuru Tholiyammai, Sri Vedanayagi, Sri Aditya Abayapradambigai, Sri Adhigandhi Ammai

Theertham (Holy water)

Senkazhuneer Odai

Sthala Vriksham (Sacred Tree)

Mahizha tree (Bakula)

Pathigam (Hymn) rendered by

Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) and
Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar)

• This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 21^st Shiva Sthalam on the northern bank of the river Cauvery in Chozha Nadu (Vadakarai).
• Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).
• This east facing temple has two corridors and it does not have a main tower.
• At the entrance there is an arch with beautiful sculptures of Lord Shiva, with Goddess Parvathy, on his bull mount along with sculptures of Vinayakar and Murugan.
• The last consecration ceremony (Maha Kumbabishekam) took place on 05.04.2007 and prior to that on 04.07.1985 and 30.06.1947.
• This is the birth place of Saint Munaiyaduvar, one of the 63 Nayanmars.

History of the Temple

Needur in Tamil means eternal place. According to Hindu mythology, at the end of every “Yuga”, there is a huge flood (deluge) that leads to the destruction of all living beings in the earth. This is called the “Pralayam”. It is believed that this place was not destroyed even at the end of the “Pralayam”. Hence it gets this name.

The historical names of this place are Magizhavanam, Vagularanyam and Magizharanyam.

There are some stone inscriptions in this temple which date back to the periods of Chola Kings Kulothungan-I, Rajathirajan-II and Rajarajan-III.

This temple is under the administrative control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of Government of Tamil Nadu (HR&CE).

Legend

The Sthala Puranam states that Indra made a Shivalingam here out of the sand from river Cauvery’s bank for his worship. He also sang a melodious song hoping to see the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva was pleased with his devotion and granted him with his darshan. Hence the lord here is also praised as “Sri Gana Nardhana Sankarar” – Lord who danced to a devotional song. This happened on a Thiruvathirai star day in the Tamil month of Margazhi. Since this lingam is a “Pruthivi lingam” (made out of sand), no abhishekam is performed directly to it. It is always covered with a metal sheet. Indra’s finger prints are visible on the lingam.

Another legend is that a demon called Thanmasudhan was born as a crab due to a curse in his previous birth. He sought the advice of Sage Narada who told him to visit Needur and worship the lord here. He came to this place, took a dip in the river Cauvery and worshiped the lord. Lord Shiva blessed the crab with his darshan and granted him salvation. Further the lord absorbed the crab inside the lingam by making a hole in it. The crab’s footprint and the hole can still be seen on the lingam. Special poojas are performed on the full moon day in the Tamil month of Aadi in commemoration of this event. Hence, Lord Shiva is also praised as “Sri Karkateswarar” (“Karkatam” means crab in Sanskrit).

Suryan worshiped Goddess Parvathy here and hence she is praised as “Sri Aditya Varada Ambigai” (Aditya means Suryan in Tamil).

Chandran worshiped the lord here and was cured from his illness. Hence the lord here is also praised as “Sri Soma Nathar” (“Soman” means Chandran in Tamil). Further, it is believed that Chandran created a tank here which is known as Chandra Theertham.

It is believed that when Goddess Bhadra Kaali visited this place after worshiping the lord at Kedarnath and Kaasi, she was entrusted with the task of protecting the villagers here. There is a separate shrine for her in the name of Sri Aalalasundhari.

Deities in the temple

Other than the shrines of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy, shrines and idols of

Siddhi Ganapathy, Murugan with his consorts, Somaskandar, Mahalakshmi, Sapthamadas, Sivalokanathar, Kailasanathar, Kasi Viswanathar, Sinmayanantha Ganapathy, Suryan, Chandran, Kala Bairavar, Munaiyaduvar and Saneeswarar can be seen in the main hall and corridors. There is no Navagraham here. There are three separate idols of Lord Vinayakar.

There is also a separate shrine for Saint Munaiyaduvar Nayanar in the outer corridor.

At the entrance, there is a shrine for Sri Sivaloka Ganapathy.

In the “koshtam” (place surrounding the sanctum sanctorum), idols of Bala Ganapathy, Dakshinamurthy, Annamalayar, Brahma, Durgai and Chandikeswarar can be seen.

The procession idols of this temple include idols of Lord Indra, Goddess Badrakaali and Saint Munaiyaduvar. There is no procession idol of Lord Natarajar. In its place, there is an idol made out of clay.

Salient Features

Needur has been mentioned in one of the ancient Sangam literature, Akanaanooru. In their hymns, both Saint Thirunavukkarasar and Saint Sundarar had mentioned this place’s prosperity and wealth.

Traditionally, people worship Lord Vinayakar first before commencing any work. They then seek the advice of elders. In this regard, it is significant to note that there are three separate idols of Lord Vinayakar - “Mikapperiyar Chinthamani” (the lord who is wise and elderly), “Mikappazhayar Selvamaang Ganapathy” (the lord who is experienced) and “Mihappanikar Sivaanantha Ganapathy” (the lord who acts as an advisor). Devotees can worship Lord Vinayakar here before undertaking any new work.

It is believed that Lord Suryan (Sun) worships Lord Shiva of this temple by directing his rays on the lingam every year for a few days in the Tamil month of Aavani. On every Sunday special poojas are performed to Suryan here.

There is a beautiful relief on the sanctum wall depicting Bhadrakaali and Suryan worshiping the lord.

Goddess Parvathy’s shrine is facing the south. In front of the hall of her shrine, an idol of Lord Saneeswarar is placed facing the east direction. One can simultaneously worship the goddess and Lord Saneeswarar. This is considered to be very auspicious, especially for those afflicted with Sani doshas.

This is the birth place of Saint Munaiyaduvar, one of the 63 Nayanmars. He was a renowned Shiva “bhakta” who had enormous respect for other devotees of Lord Shiva. He was a soldier who commanded an army and assisted many kings in their battles. He was always a ray of hope for the desperate, the weak and the vanquished. He would be called upon to turn any defeat into a victory. Whatever money he earned, he would spend on the maintenance and renovation of this temple. For this reason, he was called “Munaiyaduvar”. Pleased with his activities, Lord Shiva blessed him with his darshan and gave him a place among the 63 Nayanmars. Special poojas are performed for him in the Tamil month of Panguni (March-April) on “Poosam” star day.

The Sthala Viruksham of this temple (Makizha tree) is very old and huge.

There are 9 Theerthams associated with this temple. They are - Surya Theertham, Ananda Theertham, Senkazhuneer Odai, Chandra Theertham, Indra Theertham, Padrakaali Theertham, Munivarar Theertham, Paruthi Kundam and Varuna Theertham.

Greatness of this temple

Devotees believe that by worshiping the lord here, obstacles from their marriage proposals will be removed.

Devotees can also worship Lord Shiva here in order to seek the blessings of wealth and prosperity.

Important Festivals

Some of the important festivals celebrated in this temple are –

Vinayakar Chaturthi in the Tamil month of Aavani (Aug-Sept),

Navarathri in the Tamil month of Purattasi (Sept-Oct),

Skanda Shashti and Annabishekam in the Tamil month of Aippasi (Oct–Nov),

Thiru Karthikai in the Tamil month of Karthikai (Nov-Dec),

Makara Sankranthi in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan-Feb), and

Shivrathri in the Tamil month of Masi (Feb-Mar).

Pradosham is also observed regularly.

Temple Timings

From 08.00 AM to 12.00 Noon and from 04.00 PM to 08.00 PM.

Temple Address

Sri Arul Somanatha Swamy Temple,
Thiru Needur Post,
Mayiladuthurai Taluk,
Nagapattinam District,
Tamil Nadu – 609203.
Tele: +91 4364 250424.

The temple priest, Sri K.Sivasubramaniya Gurukkal can be contacted at 9786879971.