Visited on: 11th February, 2017.
Location
Kuthalam is situated at a distance of about 12 kms from Mayiladuthurai on the Mayiladuthurai to Kumbakonam route. It is about 24 kms from Kumbakonam. There is a railway station in Kuthalam and this temple is about 2 kms away from it.
Other Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams near this place are - Therizhanthur, Thiruvaduthurai, Thiruvidaimaruthur, Thirumanancheri, Thiru Velvikkudi, Thiru Ethirkolpadi and Mayiladuthurai.
General information
- Moolavar
- Sri Sonnavaaru Arivar, Sri Uktha Vedeeswarar
- Ambal
- Sri Mukizhambikai, Sri Parimala Sugandha Nayaki, Sri Arumpanna Valamulaiyal
- Theertham (Holy water)
- Sundara Theertham, River Kaveri
- Sthala Vriksham (Sacred Tree)
- Kayilai tree/ Uththala tree
- Pathigam (Hymn) rendered by
- Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar and Saint Sundaramurthy
- This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 37th Shiva Sthalam on the Southern bank of the river Cauveri in Chozha Nadu (Thenkarai).
- Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).
- This is a Moovar Paadal Petra Sthalam.
- This west facing temple’s main tower (Rajagopuram) has 5-tiers and it has 2 corridors. Goddess Parvathy’s main tower has 3-tiers and a single corridor.
- Last consecration ceremony (Kumbabishekam) took place on 01.02.1960.
History of the temple
The historical name of this place is Uththala Vanam which has been changed over a period of time to Kuththalam.
In the scriptures found in this temple, this place has also been referred to as Choleeswaram and Thiruthurutthi. In the Devaram hymns, this place is mentioned as “Thuruthi” which means an island in Tamil. It is believed that in the ancient times this place was an island in the river Cauvery.
This is one of the 27 temples which comes under the administrative control of the Dharumapuram Aadheenam.
Legend
Thiruthuruthi enjoys a special place in mythology because it is linked to the legends of a few nearby Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams.
- At Therezhunthur, Lord Shiva cursed Goddess Parvathy which made her turn into a cow. Lord Mahavishnu played the role of a shepherd here.
- At Thirukkozhambam, Goddess Parvathy, who was in the form of a cow, worshiped Lord Shiva. During the worship, as the cow’s leg hit Lord Shiva by mistake, its hoof made a mark on the lord’s chest.
- At Thiruvaduthurai, again Goddess Parvathy (in the form a cow) worshiped Lord Shiva. It is here that Goddess Parvathy was relieved of her curse and got restored to her original form.
- At Thiruthuruthi (Kuthalam), Sage Bharatha performed a yagna and it is believed that Goddess Parvathy came out of the fire in the form of a child.
- At Ethirkolpadi, Lord Shiva was received as a groom by his father-in-law, Sage Bharatha.
- At Thiruvelvikudi, the wedding ceremony including the yagna (“Velvi”) was performed. This is the great place where the earthly wedding of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy took place.
- At Thirumanancheri, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy granted their wedding darshan to everyone.
It is believed that once Goddess Parvathi was cursed to be born on earth. She is believed to have appeared from the fire of Sage Bharatha’s “Kameshti yagna”. The sage raised her as his own daughter and she spent her childhood in this place. Wanting to marry Lord Shiva, she installed a shivalingam near the banks of the river Cauvery and would offer her prayers there every day. Lord Shiva was pleased with her penance and appeared before her and said that he would marry her as it was her destiny (“vidhi” in Tamil). Hence the lord here is also praised as “Sonnavaru Arivar” which means he kept his word to Goddess Parvathy.
When she grew up and attained the marriageable age, the sage prayed to Lord Shiva that he help him find a suitable groom for her. Responding to his prayers, Lord Shiva appeared before him and told him that he would marry his daughter soon. The lord further told the sage that his daughter was none other than Goddess Parvathy herself. He also explained him that the reason for her appearance on earth was to grant her the wish of being married on earth.
It is also believed that this is the place where their betrothal ceremony had taken place.
The Sthala Vriksham of this temple, “Ukthala tree”, is believed to have come from the celestial world at the time of the lord’s betrothal with Goddess Parvathy. This tree can still be seen today and it is a testament to that.
Since the betrothal is believed to have taken place under this tree, the footwear (Padakoradu/ Padukas) left by the lord can also be seen near it. It is also believed that this kind of Uthala tree is not available anywhere else in the world.
It is believed that when Saint Sundaramurthy Nayanar visited this place, he was very weak and was suffering from some illness. He prayed to lord for relief from his ailments. It is believed that Lord Shiva directed him to take a dip in the temple’s tank (Paduma Theertham). After taking a dip, Sundarar was relieved from his illness and was energised. Thereafter the tank was named “Sundarar Theertham”. A separate shrine for Sundarar can be seen near it. In his hymn, he sang about the lords of Thiruthuruthi and Thiruvelvikkudi.
It is believed that lords Suryan, Agni, Varuna, Kali and Sage Baratha have worshiped the lord here. Lord Suryan (Kathiravan in Tamil) stayed in a nearby village (Kathiramangalam) and worshiped the lord of this temple.
The seven sages (Saptharishis) – Kasyapa, Aangirasa, Gaudama, Markandeya, Vashistar, Agasthiyar and Pulasthiyar have also worshiped the lord here.
Deities in the temple
In this temple, Goddess Parvathy can be seen in two places. There is a separate shrine where she is praised as Goddess Arumpannavalamulai Ammai. In the corridors, there is another smaller shrine where she is praised as Goddess Parimalasugantha Nayagi.
Other than the shrines of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy, shrines and idols of lords Thunaivantha Vinayakar, Valanchuzhi Vinayakar, Murugan, Natarajar, Dakshinmurthy, Agasthiyar, Viswanathar, Sabtharishis, 63 Nayanmars, Nalvars, Pancha lingams, Navagraham, Mangala Saneeswarar, Mahalakshmi, Suryan and Bairavar can be seen in the corridors.
Salient features
The idol of Lord Murugan looks very beautiful. The unique feature of this idol is that his peacock mount can be seen in front of him.
The sanctum sanctorum’s tower has many beautiful sculptures which highlights the exemplary craftsmanship of the artists of that time.
The lord is also praised in saint Manickavasakar’s Thiruvasagam. Iyadigal Kadavar Kon, Nambi Andar Nambi and Sekkizhar have also praised the lord of this temple in their songs.
Greatness of this temple
Devotees believe that worshiping the lord here will remove obstacles from their wedding proposals.
Important festivals
Some of the important festivals celebrated in this temple are –
Maha Shivrathri in the Tamil month of Masi (February-March);
Panguni Uthiram in the Tamil month of Panguni (March-April);
Vinayakar Chaturthi in the Tamil month of Aavani (Aug-Sept); and
Somavaram (Mondays) in the Tamil month of Karthikai (November-December).
Pradosham is also observed regularly.
Temple timings
From 09.00 AM to 12.00 noon and 05.30 PM to 08.30 PM.
Temple address
Sri Uktha Vedeeswararaswamy Temple,
Kutthalam Post,
Mayiladuthurai Taluk,
Nagapattinam District,
Tamil Nadu – 609 801.
Tele: +91 4364 235 225, 94878 83800.
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