Thirunageswaram Sri Nageswaraswamy Temple 29th of 129 on the south bank of the Kaveri · Chola Nadu · Temples near Kumbakonam

Visited on: 25^th March, 2018.

Location

Thirunageswaram is situated at a distance of about 8 kms east of Kumbakonam on the Kumbakonam to Karaikkal route. From Thiruvidaimaruthur it is about 5 kms. There is a railway station in Thirunageswaram on the Kumbakonam to Mayiladuthurai route.

Other Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams near this place are – Thiruvidaimaruthur, Kumbakonam (3 temples – Kudamukku, Kharonam and Keezhkkottam), Aduthurai, Thiruneelakkudi, Thiruvavaduthurai, Thirukkozhambam, Therizhanthur, Kuthalam, Thirumanancheri, Velvikkudi, Ethirkolpadi and Mayiladuthurai.

One of the famous Vaishnava temples, Oppliyappan Koil (Lord Venkatesa Perumal of Thirupathi) is very close to this place.

General information

Moolavar

Sri Thiru Nageswarar, Sri Naganathaswami,
Sri Shanbakaaranyeswarar

Ambal

Sri Kuntramulai Nayagi, Sri Girigujaambigai,
Sri Piraiyanivaal Nuthal Ammai

Theertham (Holy water)

Surya Theertham

Sthala Vriksham (Sacred Tree)

Shenbagam tree

Pathigam (Hymn) rendered by

Saint Thirugnanasambanthar-2,
Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar)-3,
Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar)-1

• This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 29^th Shiva Sthalam on the Southern bank of the river Cauvery in Chozha Nadu (Thenkarai).
• Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).
• This is one of the 44 Paadal petra sthalams where the “Moovar” (the three saints - Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) and Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar)) had rendered their Pathigams.
• This is a very famous “Parihara Sthalam” for Raahu dosham.
• This east facing temple has three corridors and its main tower (Rajagopuram) has 5-tiers. There are 6 other towers (Gopurams) in this temple.
• The last consecration ceremony (Maha Kumbabishekam) took place on 15.08.2005.

History of the temple

According to legend, in ancient times, this region was a forest densely covered with Shenbaka trees. Hence this place gets the name Shenbakaranyam and the lord is praised as Sri Shenbakaranyeswarar.

The historical names of this place are Shenbaka vanam and Girikannikai vanam.

There are 16 stone inscriptions in this temple which date back to the periods of Chola kings Kandarathithan, Raajarajan and Rajendran. This temple was originally built by Kandarathithan. Later it was renovated and extended by Saint Sekkizhar and Govinda Dikshithar, a minister in the kingdom of Achuthappa Nayakkar.

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

Legend

It is believed that Lord Shiva himself declared that this is the best Sthalam in the world.

According to legend, Lord Shiva had asked Goddess Parvathi to go to earth and perform penance because she had punished Sage Birunki severely. Lord Shiva also told her that Goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswathi will accompany her. Goddess Parvathi selected this place (Thirunageswaram) to perform her penance. Pleased with her penance, Lord Shiva blessed her with his darshan and took her back to Mount Kailash. Goddess Parvathi is praised here as Sri Girigujambal. Her idol is also believed to be “Swayambu”.

All the “Ashtamaha” serpents – the eight great serpents- (Ananthan, Vasuki, Thatchakan, Karkodakan, Sankapalan, Kulikan, Padman and Mahapadman) along with Adhiseshan worshiped the lord here. Adhiseshan came from the “Padhala logam” (underworld) and visited this place. Hence, Lord Shiva here is praised as “Thiru Nageswarar” (“Nagam” means snake and “Nathar” means the lord in Tamil) and the place gets the name Thiru Nageswaram. In his hymn, Saint Thirunavukkarasar mentioned that this lord was worshiped by the five-headed serpent.

The legend of this temple also finds a mention in the “Samudra Manthan” episode in Hindu mythology. After extracting the nectar from the “Thiruparkadal” ocean, it was distributed among all the devas. Raahu also took a portion of the nectar. However, when Lord Mahavishnu realised that Raahu was the son of a demon woman, he severed his head. Raahu prayed to Lord Shiva for forgiveness. It is believed that Lord Shiva restored him back to life by placing the severed head on a snake’s body. Lord Shiva also blessed him and gave him a place among the nine planets.

Raahu is believed to have worshiped Lord Shiva here. Normally, Raahu appears in a snake form with human head in other temples but here he has a separate shrine. In this shrine, the idol is depicted in a human form. Also, this is the only place where the idol of Raahu can be seen with his consorts - Nagavalli and Nagakanni.

Sekkizhar, who wrote the famous “Periya Puranam”, was an ardent Shiva devotee. He renovated this temple in the 12^th century and built a hall in the second corridor. It is believed that he received “Thiruvadi gnanam” from Lord Shiva in this temple. “Thiruvadi gnanam” means that the lord’s feet are placed on a devotee’s head. The idol of Saint Sekkizhar can be seen with the idols of his mother Azhakaambigai and brother Balaravaayar in the main hall (Thiruppani Mandapam). He also built a temple in his native place, Kuntrathur near Chennai, and named that with this temple’s name – Thirunageswaram.

It is also believed that Nandhi, Chandran, Suryan, Nalan, Gauthamar, Paraasarar and Bhageerathan have worshiped the lord here.

The Sthala Puranam mentions many legends associated with this temple. Some of them are -

Sage Gauthamar was re-united with his wife Akalika after worshiping the lord here.

King Nalan regained his lost wealth.

Paandavas regained their kingdom.

Chandira Varman, who had been turned into a dog due to a curse, was restored to his original form after he took a dip in this temple’s holy water and worshiped the lord here.

Nandi, after worshipping Lord Shiva here, attained the status of “Adhikara Nandheeswarar”.

Lord Vinayakar, after worshipping Lord Shiva here, attained the status of “Ganapathy” - the head of Ganas (“Ganas” are the attendants of Lord Shiva).

Indira, the King of Devas, worshiped Goddess Girigujambal here to seek absolution for sins.

It is believed that Sage Brinki got the darshan of all the three goddesses (Parvathy, Lakshmi and Saraswathi) simultaneously here.

This is the only place where Goddess Parvathy is depicted as a child in the morning, a young girl in the noon and in the evening as a fully-grown woman with knowledge of the 16 arts.

Deities in the temple

Other than the shrines of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy (both facing the east), shrines and idols of Nirutha Ganapathy, Shenbaga Vinayakar, Nandhi, Aadhi Vinayakar, Murugan with his consorts, Natarajar, Somaskandar, Nalvar, Sapthamathakkal, Mahalakshmi, Saraswathi, Navagraham, Chandran, Suryan and Maha Bairavar can be seen in the main hall and corridors.

Shivalingams worshiped by Agasthiyar, Parasarar, Gauthama, Viyakrapathar, Pathanjali and Markandeya can also be seen in the corridors.

63 Nayanmars can be seen in the corridors along with idols of Vinayakar, Murugan, Natarajar and Dakshinamurthy.

There is a separate shrine for Lord Vinayakar near the Theertham and it is known as “Sri Mazhuporutha Vinayakar”.

In the “koshtam” (place surrounding the sanctum sanctorum), idols of Narthana Ganapathy, Natarajar, Agasthiyar, Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbavar with Brahma and Mahavishnu, Durgai and Chandikeswarar can be seen. In the Navagraham, all the other idols are facing Suryan.

There are two shrines for Goddess Parvathy here. One is “Sri Arthachandra Bimba Gujambigai” or “Sri Piraiyanivaal Nuthal Ammai” (“Pirai” means Chandran (moon), “anivaal” means “to wear” and “nuthal” means forehead in Tamil). Every year, during the Tamil month of Karthigai, on the full moon day, the rays of Chandran fall on this goddess.

The other one is “Sri Girigujaambigai”. This goddess is shown in a yogic posture. This idol is made of clay (sudhai) and no abhishekam is performed. Only civet (“Punugu”) is applied on some specific days. On her either side, idols of Goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswathi can be seen. Saraswathi is holding her veena and Lakshmi is holding lotus flowers.

In Goddess Girigujaambigai’s shrine, idols of Vinayakar, Balamurugan, Navashakthi, Sanganidhi, Thathpurusha Sakthi, Padumanidhi, Ganga, Vaishnavi with Sanakathi rishis, Giriyashakthi, Gnanambigai, Bairavar, Balasastha (Iyanar), and Durgai can be seen.

Salient features

An important event in this temple is the milk abhishekam that is performed for Raahu. Special poojas are performed for Raahu between 4:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (“Rahukaalam”) on all Sundays. At this time, the milk that is poured on this idol changes its colour to blue as it passes over the body. The colour of the milk again changes back to white when it reaches the ground. A large number of devotees gather here to worship Raahu during this time.

Lord Murugan’s shrine is in between those of Lord Shiva and Goddess Piraiyanivaal Nuthal Ammai. This type of placement is called “Somaskanda”.

Behind the sanctum sanctorum, on either side of Lord Lingothbavar, there are idols of Lord Mahavishnu and Lord Brahma in a worshipping posture. Devotees can enjoy the darshan of all the three lords (Trimurthys) – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. This is considered to be very auspicious.

The 100-pillared hall has beautiful sculptures. It looks as if the entire hall is placed on a chariot.

The three Goddesses – Girigujambikai (Parvathy), Mahalakshmi and Saraswathi are gracing the devotees from a single shrine here.

On 16^th February 1986, a snake shed its skin (length 5.5 feet) in the form of a garland on the idol of Lord Raahu. This skin is preserved in a glass box.

Worshiping Lord Shiva in the morning at the Sri Nageswarar temple in Kudanthai Keezhkkottam, at noon in this temple and in the evening at the Thiruppampuram temple is considered very auspicious.

It is believed that earlier this temple had 12 Theerthams, including those of the three rivers – Naattaru, Arisilaru and Kirthimanaru which were created by Lord Shiva using his trident. However, now only one of them - the “Surya Pushkarini” can be seen inside the temple.

Saint Arunagirinadhar has sung songs in praise of Lord Murugan of this temple in his revered Thirupugazh.

There is a Tamil proverb which can be loosely translated as follows – No one can bless like Raahu and no one can create obstacles like Kethu. Since this is a parihara sthalam for Raahu, devotees can worship him here to seek his blessings.

In Goddess Girigujambikai’s shrine, there is a small enclave which houses idols of Lord Vinayakar and Yoga Raahu. This idol of Yoga Raahu is quite unique.

There are beautiful paintings in Goddess Girigujambikai’s shrine depicting the legends associated with this temple.

Greatness of this temple

This is a famous “Parihara Sthalam” for those suffering from the adverse effects of planet Raahu and Kethu. For example, doshas like “Sarpa dosha”, “Kalathira dosha”, “Pithru dosha” and “Kalasarpa dosha”.

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

Important festivals

Some of the important festivals celebrated in this temple are –

10-day Brahmmotsavam in the Tamil month of Karthikai (Nov-Dec) and Saint Sekkizhar festival in the Tamil month of Vaikasi Poosam star day.

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

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

Thiruvadhirai in the Tamil month of Markazhi (Dec-Jan),

Masi Maham and Shivarathri in the Tamil month of Masi (Feb-Mar) and

Panguni Uthiram in the Tamil month of Panguni (Mar-Apr).

The transition days of the Raahu planet are also celebrated here with special poojas.

Pradosham is also observed regularly.

Temple timings

From 06:00 AM to 12:00 Noon and from 04:00 PM to 08:30 PM.

Temple address

Sri Nageswaraswamy Temple,
Thirunageswaram,
Kumbakonam Taluk,
Thanjavur District,
Tamil Nadu-612 204.
Tele: +91- 435-246 3354, 94434 89839.