the Ultimate Web on Indian Gods & Temples

 by Padmani,

Abodes of Shiva

Before waging war against demon Surapadma, Lord Murugan penanced in this holy site and received his bow (Vil in Tamil) from his mother. Hence, procession idol of Lord Murugan here is seen with a bow in his hand along with his consorts. He is praised as Sri Villenthiya Velavar. Since planet Mars worshiped Lord Murugan here, a procession idol of Mars is also present. According to legend, Devas who churned the nectar from the ocean (Thirupparkadal) began to consume it without worshiping Lord Vinayakar. Angry, Lord Vinayakar took away the pot to teach them a lesson. When he passed through this place which was a Kadamba forest, a drop of nectar fell and became a Swayambu Lingam. Realizing their folly, Indira and Devas came here and begged Lord Vinayakar’s pardon who in turn advised them to worship Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva, responding to their prayers returned the nectar and stayed here as Sri Amirthakadeswarar – Amirtham means nectar, Kada means (pot) and Easwar means the lord. As Lord Indra got the boon of getting Amrit here, this temple gets the name Karakkoil.Another legend associated with this place is that of Adithi, mother of Indra. It is believed that she was coming here every day from the celestial world (Devalokam) and worshiped Lord Amirthakadeswarar for granting the nectar to her children and Devas. Indira wanted to make her job easier by taking the Lord to celestial world. He changed temple as a chariot and tried to drive it to his place without worshiping or getting permission from Lord Vinayakar. Angered Lord Vinayakar pressed left wheel of the chariot which got grounded. The sanctum sanctorum is in form of a chariot driven by horses with the left wheel stuck to earth as Lord Vinayakar left it grounded. Indra’s attempts failed and he begged Lord Vinayakar for pardon who agreed to let the temple if Indira installed one crore Shivalingams. Indra took the challenge with pride but every piece got damaged in the making. Realizing his fault over his pride, Indira fell at the feet of Lord Amirthakadeswarar. Lord asked him to make one Shivalingam chanting his name one crore times and Indira thus made the “Rudrakoteeswara Lingam”. This lingam is present in the Keezha Kadambur temple close by. Lord appeared before Indra and asked him to stay here itself and worship for his mother which Indra obeyed. It is believed that Indira performs poojas to this lord in this temple each day. It is also believed that Lord Murugan, Lord Indra, Roma Rishi, Chandran, Suryan, Sage Patanjali, King Parvatha Rajan, Saint Thirugnanasambanthar and Saint Thirunavukarasar have worshiped lord here. One of the beliefs is that all nine planets worship Lord Shiva here on their respective days – when Lord Shiva here is adorned in clothes of different hues attributed to respective planet. Legend says, Lord Suryan (Sun) worships Lord Shiva of this temple by directing his rays on lingam every year for three days during early sunrise from 3rd to 5th in the Tamil month of Panguni (Mar-Apr). During this time, special poojas are performed.

This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 34th Shiva Sthalam on the northern bank of the river Cauvery in Chozha Nadu (Vadakarai). Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).The vimanam (roof tower) of sanctum sanctorum has been beautifully sculpted completely in granite, resembling a magnificent chariot. This east facing temple has two corridors and main tower (Rajagopuram) has 3-tiers. Though Nandhi and Balipeetam are present, there is no flag post (“Kodimaram”) present. This ancient village is named Kadambur and temple as Karakkoil. The village is named after temple’s Sthala Viruksham - Kadamba tree. Also, Kadambar ruled this region thus, the name. It is believed that current stone chariot form of temple was built by the Chola King Kulothungan-I in the year 1113 AD, prior to which, it was a brick structure. The Chettiyars of Devakottai renovated this temple in later years. Tamil literary sources describe nine categories of temple structures dedicated to Lord Shiva. They are – Perung koyil, Karak koyil, Gnazhar koyil, Kokudik koyil, Ilam koyil, Manik koyil, Alak koyil, Madak koyil and Thoongani koyil. Amongst them, this temple is a Karakkoil type where the Sanctum Sanctorum (Garbagraham) is in chariot like structure pulled by horses with an enchanting appearance. Karakkoil in Sanskrit is Vijayam – meaning victory. This temple is under the administrative control of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of Government of Tamil Nadu (HR&CE).Sri Kadambavana Nathar can be seen under Sthala Viruksham - Kadamba tree. It is believed that by worshiping this lord will result in relief from debts. The idol of Lord Mahavishnu graces with a Shivalingam in his hand with Goddess Mahalakshmi. The idols of Garudazhwar and Anjaneyar can be seen either side of him. The relief of Sage Pathanjali, holding Lord Natarajar on his head showing his overwhelming joy of enjoying the dance darshan of the lord. The entrance to sanctum sanctorum, Gubera entrance is protected by enchanting Sanganidhi and Padumanidhi. Lord Vinayakar gets the name Aaravara Vinayakar as he created great noise by pressing Indra’s Rath and taking the nectar pot (Aaravaram means noisy). Goddess Parvathy here is praised as Sri Vidhyu Jyothi Nayaki – Vidya refers to Saraswathi, Jyothi refers to Mahalakshmi and Nayaki refers to Parvathy. It is believed that she graces devotees by combining the powers of three Shakthis as Saraswathi with veena in the morning, as Mahalakshmi with elephant in the noon and as Parvathy with trident in the evening. The invaluable treasure of this temple is a procession idol called Sri Dasa Puja Rishaba Thandava Moorthy - small in size depicting Lord Shiva dancing on his bull mount with his all ten arms spread and holding weapons. In the base (peeta-stage) below are Goddess Parvathi, Lord Mahavishnu, Bhairavar, Veerabadrar, Lord Vinayakar, Maharishis Narada, Brungi and Mruganda, Nandhi, Gandharvas (a group in the celestial world known for musical skills) and Boodhaganas. This idol is more than 1000 years old and is taken out for performing pooja once a fortnight during the “Pradosham” (13th day of new moon or full moon day) days between 4:30 and 6:00 PM only. Rest of the time, this idol is kept under lock and key. The idol of Lord Dakshinamurthi looks breath-taking with a mesmerizing smile. A hole in his ear that extends to the next ear is an exquisite art of sculpture. A sculpture in tower above him depicts Lord Dakshinamurthi in 3 forms – one of them is Yoga Dakshinamoorthy seated on bull under a banyan tree with flute and veena. The idol of Goddess Durgai in koshtam is mesmerising with her Simha Vahanam. This idol is placed on a big buffalo head, holding a Sanku and Chakra. She is depicted here as Mahishsura Marthini, Simha Vahini and Vishnu Durgai. Lord Brahma can be seen worshiping Lord Shiva with both Yama, the Lord of Death and his assistant Chitra Gupta on the other side. Lord Saneeswarar here is seen with eagle as his mount against his usual crow mount. This is because eagle was his mount initially and King Dasaratha, father of Lord Ram, gave him the crow as mount later. Hence, Saneeswarar in this temple with eagle mount, is considered to belong to a period preceding the epic of Ramayana. There is a Shivalingam named Sri Papahareswarar - Devotees perform special poojas to this lord on their 60th and 80th birth anniversaries to wash away past sins. Devotees believe that by worshiping lord here, they shall be blessed with long, healthy and prosperous life. This is also a Sevvai Dosha Parikara Sthalam (Angaragan - Mars). Sacred tree of this temple - Kadamba tree is believed to be representing Sathaya nakshatram (a constellation). Devotees who are born in the period of this constellation visit this temple for worship. It is also believed that by worshiping lord of this sacred temple, devotees shall be relieved from problems caused due to adverse planetary position in their horoscope.

Some of the important festivals celebrated in this temple are – Vinayakar Chaturthi in the Tamil month of Aavani (Aug-Sept), Annabishekam in the Tamil month of Aippasi (Oct–Nov), Thiru Karthikai in the Tamil month of Karthikai (Nov-Dec), Thiruvadhirai in the Tamil month of Markazhi (Dec-Jan), Makara Sankranthi in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan-Feb) and Shivrathri in the Tamil month of Masi (Feb-Mar). Pradosham is observed regularly in a grand manner. Special poojas are performed to Lord Saneeswarar on Saturdays in the Tamil month of Purattasi (September-October).