Friday Temple Visit - Week # 94
25th November 2022
வாரம் ஒரு கோவில் தரிசனம்
by S. Subramaniam
Sri Mullaivananathar Temple at Then Thirumullaivasal, Sirkazhi, Tamil Nadu, India.
Location:
Sri Mullaivananathar Temple is located at village Thirumullaivasal on the banks of River Uppanar, close to (half a kilometer from) the river's confluence with the sea - the Bay of Bengal. The temple is about 10 Kms from Sirkazhi, 20 kms from Poompuhar and 30 Kms from Chidambaram.
Uniqueness:
This is perhaps the only Shiva temple where Devi Parvati is worshiped not as a consort of the Lord but as his pupil. The relationship between the Lord and the Devi is that of a Guru and student in this temple.
Salient features:
The presiding deity of the temple Lord Shiva is known by various names such as Sri Mullaivananathar, Sri Yuthika Parameswarar, Sri Masila Maniswarar. Devi Parvati is called Sri Anikonda Kothai Amman or Sri Satyananda Soundari. The sthala vriksham - (holy tree of the temple) is the Jasmine plant (Mullai in Tamil). Four sthala theerthams (holy waters) are associated with the temple, namely, Vishnu Theertham, Brahma Theertham, Chandra Theertham and Ganga Theertham.
Name of the place / Lord:
The Lingam installed in this temple is believed to be a self manifested one, (Swayambu Lingam) that appeared from the bushes of Jasmine flowers (called Mullai in Tamil). Hence the Lord gets the name Mullai Vana Nathar and the place, Thirumullaivasal.
There are two places by the same name Thirumullaivasal in Tamilnadu, one located close to Chennai City and the other near Sirkazhi. Since this place is located in the South, the prefix Then (south) is added to it.
History:
The temple is believed to have been built by Sangam era Chozha King Killivalavan (200-180 BC). Interestingly the king is also credited with making substantial additions to the famous Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple at Srirangam.
The Temple was completely reconstructed during the reign of Aditya Chozhan (871-907 CE) and extensively renovated during the reign of Vijayanagara Kings and the Marathas.
LEGENDS
Legend 1 of 3 - Associated with Devi Parvati
As per the Sthala Puranam (legend associated with the temple), Goddess Parvati desired to learn the meaning of the Panchakshari Mantra - the holy five lettered name of the Lord Na-Ma-Shi-Va-Ya. She did severe penance at this place. Pleased at Devi's penance, Lord Shiva imparted the knowledge of the mantra to her. As Lord Shiva did preaching to Parvati, he is considered as her teacher (Guru) and Devi as his student. Hence, there is no Palliyarai (bed chamber) at this temple and the daily rituals of night time Poojas associated with it are not performed.
Legend 2 of 3 - Story associated with King Killivalavan.
The Chozha monarch, Killivalavan (grandson of the great Karikala Chozhan) was suffering from skin related ailments and was advised to take a holy dip in the sea. Enroute, the king and his troops traversed through this region which was then a dense forest of Jasmine creepers.
While clearing the bushes to make room for their way, the king's sword accidentally hit a rock and blood started oozing out of it. After further digging, a lingam appeared whose head was slightly damaged due to the sword cut.
Driven by the sense of guilty consciousness for having comitted a great blunder, the king decided to commit suicide. It was then the Lord appeared before him, absolved the king of the sin committed by him and directed him to build a temple at the site. Thus the Thirumullaivasal temple came into existence. The sword cut scar on the head of the Lingam is still visible.
Legend 3 of 3 relating to Vishnu Theertham
As per another legend, Susavi, the eldest son of Vamadeva, was a great vedic scholar who hailed from Pandiya Nadu. He was on his way to Varanasi to immerse the ashes and bones of his deceased father when Sage Markandeya advised him to dip them in the Vishnu Theertham located in this temple.
The sage informed Susavi that the Vishnu Theertham contained holy Ganges water. He followed the sage's advice and immersed the ashes and bones in the water and to his astonishment he found the bones got turned into diamonds. He performed all the last rites of his father at this place. It is still believed that holy Ganga springs in the Vishnu Theertham. The tank is situated on the northwest side of the temple.
The Temple
This Temple is an east facing one with no big gopuram (temple tower) but only with an entrance arch. Dhwaja Sthambam, Balipeedam and Nandi can be seen immediately after the entrance arch.
There are stone panels carved with reliefs depicting the Sthala Puranam in the prakaram. The Sthala Vriksham of the temple, the Jasmine creeper, can be seen entwined around the Kiluvai tree.
Other deities of the temple:
The Lingam of the temple, a self manifested one, is about 3.5 feet in height. The shrine of Devi Parvati is situated to the left side of the sanctum in maha mandapam.
The koshtam contains only the shrine of Dakshinamoorthy. The idol of Dakshinamoorthy is big and intricately carved. He is accompanied by the four Sanakatha sages.
Shrines and Idols of Lord Vara Shakti Vinayaka, Shanmukha Subramanya with his consorts Valli & Devasena, Nalvar, Bhairavar, Mahalakshmi, Devi Durga, Vishnu and Navagrahas can be seen in the temple premises.
Literary Mentions
The Temple is considered as one of the 276 Paadal Petra Sthalams glorified in the Thevaram poems. Sambandar has been credited with composing hymns on the Lord of this temple. The Temple finds mention in Periyapuranam by Sekkizhar. Vallalar has sung hymns in praise of Lord Shiva of this Temple. The Sthala Puranam of this temple was written by Vadugunatha Desikar.
The famous Tamil poet of Sangam age, Alathur Kizhar, has composed poems in the Purananuru about King Kurappalli Thunjiya Killivalavan. Poem # 36 of Purananuru speaks of the king's bravery.
Contact:
Sri Mullaivananathar Temple,
Thirumullaivasal Post, Sirkazhi Taluk,
Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu – 609 113, India. Telephone: +91 94865 24626.
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