Nagapattinam is a quite town located in the scenic east coast road.It is 20 kms away from Karaikal and five kms from Nagoor. Before treading into the details of the Shiva temples let us briefly go back to trace the enchanting history of Nagapattinam.Origins of Nagapattinam can be traced as far as 3rd century BC. Ashoka viharam was supposedly built here by the great Ashoka of the Magadha dynasty.Nagapattinam derives its name from Nagar meaning native inhabitants of Srilanka who came and settled here.It was a important sea port for Cholas with two historically important temples.
Kayarohanswamy temple and Soundararaja Perumal temple glorifying Siva and Vishnu are the two important temples.Nagapattinam stands for unity in diversity as it represents Christianity by having Velankani and Muslims in the form of Nagoor.
It is a citadel not only for its rich Tamil culture but also for having temples of great importance in all 4 religions.Budha viharam a form of Budhist monastry was also present here during Chola reign.
That is in a nut shell about Nega (Naga) pattinam.
Now we will go to the Shiva temples frequented by our beloved Nalvars.
Kayarohanaswamy temple:
Before going into the temple history let us know about about Athipatha Nayanmar. Athipathar is a fisher man and a staunch Saivite.
He goes for fishing daily and at the end of the day he throws the first fish back to sea as a token of gift to Shiva. Due to some unknown reasons fishermen are unable to net huge catch of fishes.Most of the day they come back empty handed.
Last ten days Athipathar could get one or two fishes only and as usual he throws the first fish or sometimes the only fish back to the sea for Shiva.Because of this poverty strikes fisherman community and Athipathar is no exception.
One day Athipathar gets a gold fish and it happens to be the only catch.His comrades dissuaded him from throwing the fish back to the sea but Athipathar threw the golden fish into the sea without even thinking or hearing the advise of other fishermen.
Shiva appeared before him and made him one of the Nayanmars.
Shiva does not stop here.He also gives salvation to Azhuguni Sithar whose Jeeva samadhi is in this temple. Azhuguni sidhar is a disciple of Gorakkar whose Samadhi is also at Nagapattinam.
Why the deity is called as Kayarohanar? Kayam means "body" Rohanam means "embracing" or "hugging".
Pundarika munivar ( sage) was given salvation by lord Shiva by embracing him with his body.Hence Kaya(body)Roganam(embrace).Why this is unique is the next question? Here importance is given to body.
Breaking the rule of soul greater than body.Shiva can make soul greater than body or body greater than Shiva because he is Shiva.
The origin of word Nagai is not sure - Whether it is because of Negars from Srilanka are whether it is because of Serpent (in tamil Nagapambu )which worshiped her gave the name Nagapattinam, only Shiva can tell.
There is always a big crowd in front of Amman and when I probed for the reason I understood the Amman in one of the Sakthi Peedams and also one of the Atchi Amman's.
What is this Atchi Amman?
Parvathi alias Sakthi at Nagaipattinam is considered sacred because she depicts one of the 5 stages of life in women.At Kashi she is a child-Visalakshi,at Kanchi she is young girl- Kamatchi,at Nagai she is at the pubertal stage- Neelayadashi,at Thiruvarur,she is a woman to get married and called Kamalambigai and at Madurai she is Meenakshi representing married women.
She is called Neelaya Dakshi because she has blue eyes.Hmm that was interesting. In front of Amman there is a Nandhi,what it is doing?. It looks both ways.Yes for sure.It is looking goddess as well as whats there on the left side. I enquired the Aiyer who said the nandhi has Erattai parvai(two looks)one towards Amman protecting her and the other one doing its duty looking at Shiva.
Next to Shiva there is another diety called Thiyagarajar sanathi and he is one among the Saptha vidanga murthy.Here he dances like a wave called Paravara tharanga natanam.The Vidangar is Sundara vidangar.
Vidanga means "Small lingam".The original Lingam is made of ruby and it has been stolen.A replica made of Gomedhagam is now present there.
A duplicate for Shiva.The person who stole did not understand Shiva is everywhere even inside him.
Sikkal:
One has to take the thiruvarur road and after a drive of 5 Kms to the left this temple is present.
Once again Murugan scores over Shiva here.At Nagapattinam it was goddess and now it is his son who is popular here.Shiva after all is omnipotent always gives space to every one.That is why he is supreme.
I keep learning from him.As soon as we go near the temple the Rajagopuram stands at 70 feet height which makes remarkable viewing.
There are two temples adjacent to each other.One is a Vishnu temple and a Shiva temple next to it.Eyebrows go up automatically and there is a reason for it.
Vashista munivar(sage)was doing his daily penance to the Shivalingam with butter(vennai).Vishnu in the guise of a small child took away the butter and started running.Sage Vashista came behind him and asked for butter.Vishnu appeared before him and showed the butter held between his fingers.Hence Perumal here is called Vennai Perumal.Vishnu before defeating Mahabali,took Shivas blessings at this place.
Why this place is called Sikkal?To know this first we should know about the Kamadhenu story.
Kamadhenu(divine cow)was very hungry as she was unable to get food to eat during a famine.She ate the flesh of a tiger and inherited the wrath of Shiva for this unholy behavior.She was transformed to a tiger and to regain her original form she came down to this place and took bath in the holy tank at this temple.She regained her original form and filled the entire tank with her milk.
Vashista munivar came here and took butter from the milk.Out of the butter he made a Linga and started worshiping it.As he decided to go from this place he wanted to take the lingam from this place.Lingam got stuck here and could not be removed.Since it got stuck here it got the name Sikkal(stuck). Sikkal story starts with Kamadhenu and ends with Vashista munivar.
Why murugan is famous here?.Murugan is called Singaravelar because he looks beautiful.This place is one of the most important abodes of Muruga.
Muruga got the Vel(lance)from Parvathi at this place.He subsequently used this Vel to kill Surapadman at Thiruchendur.After killing Suran, Muruga inherited Brahmahatti dosham as he had killed Asuran who is by birth a Brahmin and a ardent Saivite.He came back and took bath at the holy pond at Velur(next temple) to clear the Dosha.When he came out of the pond the radiance of lord Muruga emanated and he was looking very beautiful.Hence he was called Singaravelan.
Muruga is called Veiyarvai(sweat)Sindhum velar.Why? Skandha sasti is celebrated for 6 days at this place and Vel vangum vizha(Vel - lance,vangum-getting,vizha- festival) happens to fall on the fifth day.When the idol of Muruga is taken out on the fifth day to get the Vel from Parvathi the face of Muruga is full of sweat. Iyers keep wiping the sweat and throw it over the devotees.
Why on this particular day sweat comes from his face - no one knows the scientific reason.The reason given however is Murugan's fury against Suran on that particular day makes him sweat out of anger.Next day he vanquishes Suran at Thiruchendur. Parvathi is called Velnedunkanni as she has eyes like a Vel.
This magnificent temple was built by Kochengannan and it is a Mada kovil.
When we come out of the temple we get a sense of completeness.We had seen Shiva,Vishnu,Ganapathy,Murugan,Amman,Lakshmi,Anjaneyar.This infact is depicted on the wall of the temple.
Sikkal is a complete temple a must visit for Saivite as well as Vaishnavite.
Kilvelur temple:
A 5 km drive from this place towards Thiruvarur will bring us to Kilvelur.A left turn and few hundred meters drive and a right turn will bring us to this lovely temple.
This temple is also built by Kochengenan and its a Mada koil.We had already discussed about Mada koil in our previous blogs.
This place is called Velur because Muruga made a pond at this place using his Vel(lance).
When Muruga did penance here he was troubled by bad elements and to protect him from them Parvathi took the form of Anjuvathathuamman(5 directions).The fifth direction being sky.
Amman is famous here and once again people throng here.
When Brahma lost his ability to create he came here and worshipped Shiva and got back his power.Hence Shiva is called as Atchayalinga swamy.
Kuberan has a separate shrine here.
There is a sacred pond here where there is a belief if someone takes bath here they are relieved of skin diseases.
Thevur:
From Kilvelur Temple one has to take a right turn and head straight towards Katchanam.5 kms drive will take you to this little unknown temple but with rich heritage and history.
This is a Gurusthlam(Jupiter).Dakshinamurthy is significant here because he is supposed to be in his oldest form here.He does not have the Muyalagan below his foot. Muyalagan is supposed to be the personification of ignorance.
Dakshinamurthy is a form of Shiva. As Dakshinamurthy, Shiva teaches us to be as" You ARE".
The Tamil word Muyalagan means trying heart in English.Shiva as Dakshinamurthy says be silent and by being silent you will learn. Apart from Muyalagan Rishis also sit in front of young Shiva. For all their questions Shiva just gives a smile and nothing else.The Rishis understood the truth of silence.
At this place Indran did penance to clear the sin he incurred for killing Virudasuran .Hence Siva is called Devapuriswarar.
Another important aspect of this temple is Kal Vazhai(stone banana tree). One can see this astonishing feature where the banana tree grows on a rock and it is supposed to be over 1000 years old.
Durgaiamman here is called as Shiva Vishnu Durgai.
She has a sangu(conch) in one hand and a deer in another hand depicting both forms of faith.
I came to this temple to see Shiva and when I came out of the temple I understood the confluence of two different faiths are the same as depicted by Shiva Vishnu Durgai.
To cap it all Dakshinamurthy's smile is still lingering,the transcending smile and the importance of silence.
Kayarohanswamy temple and Soundararaja Perumal temple glorifying Siva and Vishnu are the two important temples.Nagapattinam stands for unity in diversity as it represents Christianity by having Velankani and Muslims in the form of Nagoor.
It is a citadel not only for its rich Tamil culture but also for having temples of great importance in all 4 religions.Budha viharam a form of Budhist monastry was also present here during Chola reign.
That is in a nut shell about Nega (Naga) pattinam.
Now we will go to the Shiva temples frequented by our beloved Nalvars.
Kayarohanaswamy temple:
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| A NICE VIEW OF THE TEMPLE |
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| MUSUKUNDA CHAKRAVARTHY WITH INDRAN |
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| THE ENTRANCE |
Before going into the temple history let us know about about Athipatha Nayanmar. Athipathar is a fisher man and a staunch Saivite.
He goes for fishing daily and at the end of the day he throws the first fish back to sea as a token of gift to Shiva. Due to some unknown reasons fishermen are unable to net huge catch of fishes.Most of the day they come back empty handed.
Last ten days Athipathar could get one or two fishes only and as usual he throws the first fish or sometimes the only fish back to the sea for Shiva.Because of this poverty strikes fisherman community and Athipathar is no exception.
One day Athipathar gets a gold fish and it happens to be the only catch.His comrades dissuaded him from throwing the fish back to the sea but Athipathar threw the golden fish into the sea without even thinking or hearing the advise of other fishermen.
Shiva appeared before him and made him one of the Nayanmars.
Shiva does not stop here.He also gives salvation to Azhuguni Sithar whose Jeeva samadhi is in this temple. Azhuguni sidhar is a disciple of Gorakkar whose Samadhi is also at Nagapattinam.
Why the deity is called as Kayarohanar? Kayam means "body" Rohanam means "embracing" or "hugging".
Pundarika munivar ( sage) was given salvation by lord Shiva by embracing him with his body.Hence Kaya(body)Roganam(embrace).Why this is unique is the next question? Here importance is given to body.
Breaking the rule of soul greater than body.Shiva can make soul greater than body or body greater than Shiva because he is Shiva.
The origin of word Nagai is not sure - Whether it is because of Negars from Srilanka are whether it is because of Serpent (in tamil Nagapambu )which worshiped her gave the name Nagapattinam, only Shiva can tell.
There is always a big crowd in front of Amman and when I probed for the reason I understood the Amman in one of the Sakthi Peedams and also one of the Atchi Amman's.
What is this Atchi Amman?
Parvathi alias Sakthi at Nagaipattinam is considered sacred because she depicts one of the 5 stages of life in women.At Kashi she is a child-Visalakshi,at Kanchi she is young girl- Kamatchi,at Nagai she is at the pubertal stage- Neelayadashi,at Thiruvarur,she is a woman to get married and called Kamalambigai and at Madurai she is Meenakshi representing married women.
She is called Neelaya Dakshi because she has blue eyes.Hmm that was interesting. In front of Amman there is a Nandhi,what it is doing?. It looks both ways.Yes for sure.It is looking goddess as well as whats there on the left side. I enquired the Aiyer who said the nandhi has Erattai parvai(two looks)one towards Amman protecting her and the other one doing its duty looking at Shiva.
Next to Shiva there is another diety called Thiyagarajar sanathi and he is one among the Saptha vidanga murthy.Here he dances like a wave called Paravara tharanga natanam.The Vidangar is Sundara vidangar.
Vidanga means "Small lingam".The original Lingam is made of ruby and it has been stolen.A replica made of Gomedhagam is now present there.
A duplicate for Shiva.The person who stole did not understand Shiva is everywhere even inside him.
Sikkal:
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| FROM INSIDE |
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| FROM INSIDE INTO THE CLOUDS |
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| ADJACENT VISHNU TEMPLE |
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| A LIST OF TEMPLES WHERE MURUGA AND HANUMAN COEXIST |
One has to take the thiruvarur road and after a drive of 5 Kms to the left this temple is present.
Once again Murugan scores over Shiva here.At Nagapattinam it was goddess and now it is his son who is popular here.Shiva after all is omnipotent always gives space to every one.That is why he is supreme.
I keep learning from him.As soon as we go near the temple the Rajagopuram stands at 70 feet height which makes remarkable viewing.
There are two temples adjacent to each other.One is a Vishnu temple and a Shiva temple next to it.Eyebrows go up automatically and there is a reason for it.
Vashista munivar(sage)was doing his daily penance to the Shivalingam with butter(vennai).Vishnu in the guise of a small child took away the butter and started running.Sage Vashista came behind him and asked for butter.Vishnu appeared before him and showed the butter held between his fingers.Hence Perumal here is called Vennai Perumal.Vishnu before defeating Mahabali,took Shivas blessings at this place.
Why this place is called Sikkal?To know this first we should know about the Kamadhenu story.
Kamadhenu(divine cow)was very hungry as she was unable to get food to eat during a famine.She ate the flesh of a tiger and inherited the wrath of Shiva for this unholy behavior.She was transformed to a tiger and to regain her original form she came down to this place and took bath in the holy tank at this temple.She regained her original form and filled the entire tank with her milk.
Vashista munivar came here and took butter from the milk.Out of the butter he made a Linga and started worshiping it.As he decided to go from this place he wanted to take the lingam from this place.Lingam got stuck here and could not be removed.Since it got stuck here it got the name Sikkal(stuck). Sikkal story starts with Kamadhenu and ends with Vashista munivar.
Why murugan is famous here?.Murugan is called Singaravelar because he looks beautiful.This place is one of the most important abodes of Muruga.
Muruga got the Vel(lance)from Parvathi at this place.He subsequently used this Vel to kill Surapadman at Thiruchendur.After killing Suran, Muruga inherited Brahmahatti dosham as he had killed Asuran who is by birth a Brahmin and a ardent Saivite.He came back and took bath at the holy pond at Velur(next temple) to clear the Dosha.When he came out of the pond the radiance of lord Muruga emanated and he was looking very beautiful.Hence he was called Singaravelan.
Muruga is called Veiyarvai(sweat)Sindhum velar.Why? Skandha sasti is celebrated for 6 days at this place and Vel vangum vizha(Vel - lance,vangum-getting,vizha- festival) happens to fall on the fifth day.When the idol of Muruga is taken out on the fifth day to get the Vel from Parvathi the face of Muruga is full of sweat. Iyers keep wiping the sweat and throw it over the devotees.
Why on this particular day sweat comes from his face - no one knows the scientific reason.The reason given however is Murugan's fury against Suran on that particular day makes him sweat out of anger.Next day he vanquishes Suran at Thiruchendur. Parvathi is called Velnedunkanni as she has eyes like a Vel.
This magnificent temple was built by Kochengannan and it is a Mada kovil.
When we come out of the temple we get a sense of completeness.We had seen Shiva,Vishnu,Ganapathy,Murugan,Amman,Lakshmi,Anjaneyar.This infact is depicted on the wall of the temple.
Sikkal is a complete temple a must visit for Saivite as well as Vaishnavite.
Kilvelur temple:
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| GOPURA DARISNAM - UNDER RENOVATION |
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| MADAKOVIL |
A 5 km drive from this place towards Thiruvarur will bring us to Kilvelur.A left turn and few hundred meters drive and a right turn will bring us to this lovely temple.
This temple is also built by Kochengenan and its a Mada koil.We had already discussed about Mada koil in our previous blogs.
This place is called Velur because Muruga made a pond at this place using his Vel(lance).
When Muruga did penance here he was troubled by bad elements and to protect him from them Parvathi took the form of Anjuvathathuamman(5 directions).The fifth direction being sky.
Amman is famous here and once again people throng here.
When Brahma lost his ability to create he came here and worshipped Shiva and got back his power.Hence Shiva is called as Atchayalinga swamy.
Kuberan has a separate shrine here.
There is a sacred pond here where there is a belief if someone takes bath here they are relieved of skin diseases.
Thevur:
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| KALVAZHAI - BANANA TREE GROWING IN STONE |
 |
| SIVA VISHNU DURGAI |
From Kilvelur Temple one has to take a right turn and head straight towards Katchanam.5 kms drive will take you to this little unknown temple but with rich heritage and history.
This is a Gurusthlam(Jupiter).Dakshinamurthy is significant here because he is supposed to be in his oldest form here.He does not have the Muyalagan below his foot. Muyalagan is supposed to be the personification of ignorance.
Dakshinamurthy is a form of Shiva. As Dakshinamurthy, Shiva teaches us to be as" You ARE".
The Tamil word Muyalagan means trying heart in English.Shiva as Dakshinamurthy says be silent and by being silent you will learn. Apart from Muyalagan Rishis also sit in front of young Shiva. For all their questions Shiva just gives a smile and nothing else.The Rishis understood the truth of silence.
At this place Indran did penance to clear the sin he incurred for killing Virudasuran .Hence Siva is called Devapuriswarar.
Another important aspect of this temple is Kal Vazhai(stone banana tree). One can see this astonishing feature where the banana tree grows on a rock and it is supposed to be over 1000 years old.
Durgaiamman here is called as Shiva Vishnu Durgai.
She has a sangu(conch) in one hand and a deer in another hand depicting both forms of faith.
I came to this temple to see Shiva and when I came out of the temple I understood the confluence of two different faiths are the same as depicted by Shiva Vishnu Durgai.
To cap it all Dakshinamurthy's smile is still lingering,the transcending smile and the importance of silence.
