the Ultimate Web on Indian Gods & Temples

 by Padmani,

Abodes of Shiva

It is believed that Goddess Parvathy came to this place before her marriage in order to perform penance. Pleased with her penance, Lord Shiva blessed her with his darshan and married her in Thiruveezhimizhalai (a nearby place). According to legend, Agni participated in the yagna conducted by king Dakshan. In this yagna, Dakshan had intentionally not invited Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva was angered by this slight and instructed to Veerabadrar and Badrakalai to punish the participants who had attended it without his permission. In this process, Agni lost his hands and tongues and was also inflicted with some curses. As a result of these curses, Agni was unable to participate in any yagna. This resulted in the failure of monsoon and caused severe drought. Worried by this, he came to this place, installed a Shivalingam, created a pond and worshiped the lord with the leaves of Vanni tree. It is believed that Lord Shiva pardoned him, absolved him of his sins and restored his lost body parts. Agni prayed to Lord Shiva that he should stay back here and bless the devotees who come here to get relief from ushnam ailment. Hence the lord here is praised as Sri Agreenswarar and this place gets the name Vanni Oor / Agni Ooor. This name has later changed to Vanniyur / Anniyur. (Oor means village in Tamil). It is believed that Lord Brahma, Agni, Sage Agasthiyar, Sanathkumarar and Sanathanar have worshiped the lord here.

This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 62nd Shiva Sthalam on the Southern bank of the river Cauveri in Chozha Nadu (Thenkarai). Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested). This east facing temple has a single corridor and its main tower (Rajagopuram) has 2-tiers. This temple has no flag post Dwajasthambam. This ancient temple is situated on the northern banks of the river Arisilaru, a tributary of river Cauvery. The historical name of this place is Vanniyur but now it is known as Anniyur. This temple is under the administrative control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of Government of Tamil Nadu (HR&CE).This temple’s Sthala Viruksham, Vanni tree is believed to be more than 1600 years old. It is believed that Lord Suryan (Sun) worships Lord Shiva of this temple by directing his rays on the lingam every year for three days (18, 19 and 20) in the Tamil month of Aavani (Aug-Sept), and three days (18,19 and 20) in Panguni (Mar-Apr). There are eight Shiva temples which are believed to have been worshiped by Ashta Dik Palakars. Vanniyur is one among them. Worshiping these lords is considered to be very auspicious. These temples are – Indra - Nagambadi, Agni – Vanniyur, Yama – Karuvili, Niruthi – Vayalur, Varunan – Sivanakaram, Vayu – Akalangan, Kubera – S.Pudur, and Esanan – Nallavur. As Goddess Parvathy worshiped Lord Shiva here and got married later, devotees pray to the goddess for removal of obstacles in their marriage proposals. Devotees believe that taking a dip in this temple’s Agni Theertham and worshiping the lord will cure blood pressure and ushnam ailment.

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) and Shivrathri in the Tamil month of Masi (Feb-Mar). Pradosham is also observed regularly.