Friday Temple Visit - Week # 97
16th December 2022
வாரம் ஒரு கோவில் தரிசனம்
by S. Subramaniam.
Shri Agneeswarar Temple, Thirukattupalli, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India
Location:
Shri Agneeswarar Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Thirukattupalli on the southern banks of river Kudamurutti in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is located about 8 Kms from Budalur, 15 Kms from Kallanai (Grand Anicut), 19 Kms from Thiruvaiyaru and 26 Kms from Thanjavur.
[ For academic interest, it may be noted that Grand Anicut is an ancient dam, built by Chozha Monarch Karikala Chozhan in 150 CE and is the oldest water-diversion structure in the world still in use. ]
Uniqueness of the Temple:
This temple is perhaps the only Shiva temple located below the ground level called Pathala Moolasthanam. Another interesting feature is Lord Dakshinamurthy can be seen in this temple in Monkey-pose. The oldest and first shrine of Lord Brahma is located in this temple.
Salient features:
The Presiding Deity of the temple is called Shri Agneeswarar or Theeyaadiyappar (in Tamil) and Devi Parvati is known as Soundara Nayaki or Vaarkonda Mulai Amman (in Tamil)
The temple has two Sthala Vriksham (holy tree of the temple) namely Vanni (Shami tree) and Vilvam (Bael tree). Apart from the Kudamurutti river, the Surya Theertham and the Agni Theertham (in the form of a well) also serve as Temple Theerthams.
Name of the place and the Lord
The fire God Agni is believed to have worshiped the Lord to cleanse the sins. Hence the Lord came to be known as Agneeswarar and the place Agneeswaram. In Tamil the Lord is called Thee Adi Appar - Thee being equivalent to the term Agni.
The place was once covered by dense forest and from it derived the name Thiru Kaattu Palli. Interestingly the word Palli in the name indicates Jain connection - more about it in the legend part.
History of the temple
The temple is a very ancient one as indicated by two facts (1) worship of the Lord by Indra cand other Devas, Agni being one of them (2) the installation of the first ever shrine for Lord Brahma. However, the exact age of the temple is not known.
Records indicate that the credit of erecting the present structure goes to Aditya Chozhan (871-907 CE) and several additions were made by his great grandson Uttama Chozhan (970-985 CE). Later, contributions were made by Raja Raja Chozhan, Sindara Pandiyan and Vijayanagara rulers.
This temple was part of an old fort captured by the British in 1771; it was recaptured by Hyder Ali in 1781.
Legends of the Temple
Legend 1 of 5 - Relating to fire God Agni Deva.
Once all the Devas with their chief Indra assembled here and prayed to the Lord. Agni Deva had a special request since he burns all the evils of the devotees who perform homams, he had to carry their sins. He prayed to the Lord to cleanse him of his sins.
Lord Shiva gave Agni Deva s boon that henceforth he (the Lord) would absorb all the sins and Agni Deva would always remain pure. Hence the Lord came to known as Agneeswarar.
Legend 2 of 5 Relating to Lord Brahma.
Lord Brahma, who had told a lie once, was removed from the group of Trinity. He prayed to Lord Shiva at this temple to pardon him. The Lord absolved him of his sin, readmitted Brahma to the Trinity fold and also instructed that a shrine for Brahma be built within the complex. That's how the first ever shrine of Lord Brahma came into existence.
Legand 3 of 5 - Relating to Sevvanthi flower
A certain Chozha king, who had Urayur as his capital, had an unique plant in his garden that used to blossom exactly two Sevvanthi (Chrysanthemum) flowers daily. The king used to give them to his two sives. While the elder one wore it herself, the younger one used to offer it to Lord Shiva of this temple. While Urayur lost all it's glory, Thirikkattupalli remaIns even to this date.
Legend 4 of 5 - The Jain Connection
Throughout the history of ancient Tamil kingdoms during the first millennium, we find plenty of evidence of constant conflicts between various religious sects such as Shaivasm, Vaishnavism, the Buddhists and the Jains. It is against this background that the Thirukattupalli temple stands out. As per Historians, a statue of one of the Thirthankars was unearthed from this place. The word Palli is also usually associated with Jains only. Strangely the archakas in this temple are referred to as Tirthankaras and addressed as Gurukkal as is the common practice.
Legend 5 of 5 - The Brahat Charanam sub-sect.
Inscriptions found in this temple indicate that one of the Generals of Rajaraja Chola I named Mummadi-Chola-Brammarayan hailed from this place. Brahmins belonging to a particular sect of Tamil Iyers called Brahatcharanam regard themselves as the descendants of this general.
The Temple:
The main tower (Rajagopuram) is of a five-tier model. The flag post (Kodimaram or Dwajasthambam) is covered by copper. Lord is a self manifested idol (Swayambu Moorthy) with five cobras offering hooded protection to him. The Sanctum is several steps below the ground level and one has to step down the steps to have darshan and there is provision to go around (circumvent) the Lord.
Other deities
The Shrine of Devi Soundara Nayaki is situated on the right side of the sanctum facing south. Goddess is seen in a standing posture.
Lord Brahma is also having a separate shrine here. It is believed that this was the first temple where Brahma was installed in a separate shrine.
There are two Dhakshamurthys in the second corridor - Guru Dakshina Murthy and Yoga Dakshinamurthy. His sitting position looks like that of a monkey. He wears Maharakanti Rudraksham on his neck and Sun and Moon adorn his braid (head). This is a very rare Murthy which we do not find in many temples.
There are shrines for Valampuri Vinayagar, Muruga and Unnamulai Amman, Idols of Bhairavar and Nalvar can be found in the Mandapam in the inner precinct
We have a separate, pretty large shrine for Srinivasa Perumal with his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi.
In the Navagraha shrine against the general traditions, all the planets are facing the Sun.
Literary Mentions
This Temple is considered as one of the 276 Thevara Paadal Petra Sthalams. Thiru Gyana Sambandhar and Thiru Navuku Arasar have sung Hymns on Lord Siva of this temple.
Contact
Shri Agneeswarar Temple,
Thirukattupalli Post – 613 104,
Thanjavur District, Tamilnadu, India
Phone: +91 94423 47433
Disclaimer: All matters contained in this article are the property of www.templesofasia.com. The opinions expressed in this article are purely that of the author. The author alone is responsible for the accuracy, authenticity, completeness and validity of all the information in the article.
Comments