This temple to Shiva sprawls over a 14-acre campus and is both grand and serene. Beyond the temple are lush paddy fields and groves.
He who attracts his devotees/ The way honey attracts bees/ He who wears white ashes/ And is the Truth for those who seek it/ Oh, He who sits by the five rivers, Let us sing of him!' joyously sang Manikkavachagar, one of the Thevaram saints, of the deity of this kshetra.
The lingam in the main sanctum and the idols of Goddess Dharmasamvardhini (Aramvalartha Nayaki in Tamil ' both mean, `She who nurtures dharma'), Vinayaka, Muruga and Nandi, are said to have been found underground by a king whose chariot wheels got embedded in the ground where the temple now stands. A wise minister advised the king to dig around the wheels and there came into view not only the idols but also a living siddha (a realised being) who was in deep meditation, his locks spread across the pit like banyan roots. The stunned king fell at his feet. The yogi blessed him and commanded him to build the temple for Aiyarappar at the same spot. 'You will find the gold and the materials required for the construction under the hooves of the Nandi idol,' he further told the king. So it was found. Inscriptions and architectural details point to the temple having been built in the early Chola period.
Of special importance is the shrine of Shiva as Alkondesar, opposite the southern entrance. Legend goes that it was here that Shiva killed Yama, the god of death, for daring to lay hands on a young devotee of his. Outside the shrine, kungiliyam (benzoin) burns in a holder night and day, the belief being that the smoke protects people from the fear of death. Notice the words: not death but the fear of it.
In the third prakaram of the temple is an interesting feature: if one stands in its south-western corner, faces the north, and calls `Aiyarappa!', the word echoes several times. The temple tank, Surya Pushkarni, is a large one. It was from bathing in this tank that the aging and frail saint, Tirunavukkarasar, rose to see a vision of Shiva on Mount Kailash.
I have seen Him with the crescent moon in his hair,/ With the Daughter of the mountains by his side,/ In Aiyaru, I see the Bull,/ I see His feet,/ I see what no one else has seen!' sang Appar in ecstasy.
The temple celebrates this event in a festival in Adi (Jul-Aug).
*Location About a kilometre from the main bazaar street in the middle of the town Timings 6 am-noon, 4-9 pm Temple Tel 04362-260332 Related info Non-Hindus are not allowed into the sanctum. Still and video cameras can only be used in the outer prakarams
He who attracts his devotees/ The way honey attracts bees/ He who wears white ashes/ And is the Truth for those who seek it/ Oh, He who sits by the five rivers, Let us sing of him!' joyously sang Manikkavachagar, one of the Thevaram saints, of the deity of this kshetra.
The lingam in the main sanctum and the idols of Goddess Dharmasamvardhini (Aramvalartha Nayaki in Tamil ' both mean, `She who nurtures dharma'), Vinayaka, Muruga and Nandi, are said to have been found underground by a king whose chariot wheels got embedded in the ground where the temple now stands. A wise minister advised the king to dig around the wheels and there came into view not only the idols but also a living siddha (a realised being) who was in deep meditation, his locks spread across the pit like banyan roots. The stunned king fell at his feet. The yogi blessed him and commanded him to build the temple for Aiyarappar at the same spot. 'You will find the gold and the materials required for the construction under the hooves of the Nandi idol,' he further told the king. So it was found. Inscriptions and architectural details point to the temple having been built in the early Chola period.
Of special importance is the shrine of Shiva as Alkondesar, opposite the southern entrance. Legend goes that it was here that Shiva killed Yama, the god of death, for daring to lay hands on a young devotee of his. Outside the shrine, kungiliyam (benzoin) burns in a holder night and day, the belief being that the smoke protects people from the fear of death. Notice the words: not death but the fear of it.
In the third prakaram of the temple is an interesting feature: if one stands in its south-western corner, faces the north, and calls `Aiyarappa!', the word echoes several times. The temple tank, Surya Pushkarni, is a large one. It was from bathing in this tank that the aging and frail saint, Tirunavukkarasar, rose to see a vision of Shiva on Mount Kailash.
I have seen Him with the crescent moon in his hair,/ With the Daughter of the mountains by his side,/ In Aiyaru, I see the Bull,/ I see His feet,/ I see what no one else has seen!' sang Appar in ecstasy.
The temple celebrates this event in a festival in Adi (Jul-Aug).
*Location About a kilometre from the main bazaar street in the middle of the town Timings 6 am-noon, 4-9 pm Temple Tel 04362-260332 Related info Non-Hindus are not allowed into the sanctum. Still and video cameras can only be used in the outer prakarams
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