23rd December 2022
வாரம் ஒரு கோவில் தரிசனம்
by S. Subramaniam
Sri Kachabeswarar Temple, Thirukachur, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India.
Location:
Shri Kachabeshwarar temple, also known as Sri Thyagaraja temple, is located at the base of the hill Oushadha giri in Thirukachur. It is one among the twin Shiva temples
the other being Sri Marundeeswarar Temple situated at the top of the hill
Thirkachur is at a distance of about 6 kms from Maraimalai Nagar and 2 kms from Singaperumal koil en-route Sriperumputhur.
Uniqueness:
The Lord of the temple is believed to have been worshiped by Lord Maha Vishnu in his incarceration as the Tortoise - the Kurma avatar.
Salient features:
The presiding deity of the temple is Sri Kachabeswarar or Sri Virunthu Itta Eswarar and Devi Parvati is known as Sri Anjanakshi Amman or Sri Kanniumai Ammai. The holy waters of the temple (Sthala Theertham) is
Koorma Theertham and Baniyan tree is marked as the holy tree (Sthala Vriksham.)
Name of the place & and the Lord:
In Sanskrit there are several terms to describe a tortoise / turtle such as Koormam, Kachabam and Kamatha etc. . The Lord gets the name Kachaba Iswarar, as he was worshiped by Maha Vishnu in his incarnation as a turtle (Koorma Avatar) and the place gets the name Thiru Kachur. During ancient times the place was called Adi Kanchi as is mentioned in the Kanchi Puranam.
As the Lord fed Sundara Moorthy Nayanar & troupe, he is also called Virunthu Itta Eswarar (Virunthu in Tamil referring to feast).
History of the temple:
The temple as per Sthala Puranam (legend of temple) is a very ancient one but the present structure was erected by King Kulothungan-I (1070-1122 CE). This a typical Chozha period temple.
Legends
Legend 1 of 2 - Lord's Name Kachabeswarar.
During the churning of the Milk ocean, Lord Vishnu assumed the role of a tortoise on whose back the mountain was placed. Before taking the Kurma Avatar Vishnu worshiped Lord Shiva at this temple to get power. That's why the Lord came to be known as Kachabeswarar.
Legend 2 of 2 - Lord's Name Virunthu Itta Eswarar
When Sundarar and his followers reached this temple they were extremely tired and hungry. It is believed that Lord Shiva received them in the form of an old man and advised them to wait for a while so that he could bring some food for them. The old man then went out with his begging bowl (Thiru Odu) to collect food and came back to offer it to the guests.
While Sundarar and his followers were eating the food, the old man suddenly disappeared. Sundarar then realized that the old man was none other than Lord Shiva himself and rendered a hymn (Pathigam) exclaiming him. As the Lord provided food to the guests he has come to be known as Virunthu Itta Eswarar or the one who treated the guests with a feast.
The Temple
The temple complex covers two acres and the temple tank is located diagonally outside the main gateway. There is no temple tower and the top is a flat structure called Mottai Gopuram.
The temple has a number of shrines, with those of Kachabeswarar and his consort. All the shrines of the temple are enclosed in large concentric rectangular granite walls. There is a sixteen pillared hall in front of the main tower that has sculpted columns depicting various legends and Hindu deities.
The sacred tree of this temple - banyan tree is believed to be representing the “Maka nakshatra”. Devotees birth star is Makam visit this temple for worship.
This apart, there is 27 pillared hall - representing the 27 nakshatras ( bitth stars).
Other dieties
Goddess Anjanakshi in Kachabeswarar temple blesses the devotees from a separate shrine.
Idols of lords Vinayakar, Murugan with his consorts, and Bairaver can be seen in the corridors.
There are five separate lingams in the corridors - Ramanathar, Naganathar, Soleeswarar, Margasakayar and Kasi Visvanathar.
There is also a small Shiva shrine outside this temple called “Irandeeswarar” (“Irandha” in Tamil meaning begging).
There is another shrine outside this temple for Lord Vinayakar called Thalamoola Vinayakar (Karukkadi Vinayakar). Those aspiring for excellence in arts can worship Lord Vinayakar here.
Shrine of Lord Thiyagaraja is behind the 27 pillars Nakshatra Mandapam.
It is believed that Lord Shiva staged his “Ajaba Dance” here for Lord Mahavishnu. Usually the dancing form of Lord Shiva is associated with Nataraja but in few rare temples it is associated with Thyagaraja.
This is one of the important Thyagaraja Swamy temples - the other important ones being located at
Thiruvarur, Thiruvotriyur, and Thiruvanmiyur.
Literary mentions
Sundarar has sung hymns glorifying Lord Shiva of this temple. He makes a special mention about going around with a beggit bowl to fetch food to feed his guests. Arunagiri Nathar has composed Thoripugazh hymns in praise of Lord Muruga of this temple.
Contact details:
Sri Kachabeswarar Temple,
Thirukachur, Chengalpattu Taluk
Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu-– 603 204, India.
Tele: +91- 44 - 27463514, 27464325, 09445356399, 9381186389.
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.
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