the Ultimate Web on Indian Gods & Temples

 by Padmani,

Abodes of Shiva

As per legend, Lord Ram worshiped Lord Shiva at many temples when he was on his way back to Ayodhya. He did so because he wanted to seek relief from the sins that he had accrued during the course of the war with Ravana in Sri Lanka. This is one of the many places where Lord Ram worshiped Lord Shiva. It is believed that Nandi was unaware of Lord Ram’s identity and hence did not allow him to touch the lord. Goddess Parvathi controlled Nandhi by holding him with her arm and allowed Ram to worship the lord. Hence this place gets the name Rama Nandhi Eswaram which later changed to Rama Nadeecharam. In the procession idol of Sri Somaskanda, Goddess Parvathi is holding Nandhi in her hand. However, now this idol is kept in Thirupugalur temple for safety reasons. Another legend associated with this temple is that Sage Agasthiyar visited this place and worshiped the lord. It is believed that the sage installed the idol of Bairavar here. Another legend associated with this temple is that a local king prayed to Lord Shiva for child boon and performed a yagna. Through his divine voice, the lord informed the king that he would be blessed with a girl child soon and this child would be an incarnation of Goddess Parvathy herself. At a later date, when the king went to the forest for hunting, he found four young girls under a tree. He brought them to his palace and raised them as his own daughters. When they attained the marriageable age, the king prayed to Lord Shiva and requested the lord to marry them. It is believed that the lord married them. Hence, there are four temples nearby each housing one of the goddesses – Sri Sarivar Kuzhali in this temple, Sri Vaaitha Thirukuzhal Nayaki in Thiruchengattangudi, Sri Karundhar Kuzhali in Thirupugalur and Sri Vanduvaar Kuzhali in Thirumarugal. It is believed that these four Goddesses once helped a pregnant woman deliver her child. Hence, these goddesses are referred by the common name Sri Choolikambal (Chool or Karu means pregnancy in Tamil). It is believed that when the goddesses returned to the temple after this incident, they stayed at a little distance away from the lord’s shrine. This is symbolically represented in all the four temples as the goddess’s shrine is located separate from the lord’s shrine.

This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 77th 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 two corridors and its main tower is not tiered. In place of the Gopuram, there is a beautiful sculpture depicting Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy. There is no flag post (Dwajasthambam) here.one inscriptions in this temple. According to these inscriptions, King Kulothunga Chola renovated this temple and gifted lands in the village called Sivapatha Sekara Mangalam for the maintenance of this temple. In these inscriptions, the lord of this temple is referred to as Sri Rama Nandeechara Mudaiyar. The historical name of this place is Rama Nandheecharam which was later changed to Ramanadeecharam and is now known as Thiru Kannapuram. This is one of the auspicious temples that Lord Ram visited on his way back to Ayothya.This temple is under the administrative control of (Thiruppugalur) Velakurichi Adheenam and the HR & CE. The idol of main deity is a tall Swayambu lingam on a big base (Avudayar). It is worth noting that when Aarthy is performed, its reflection is visible on the main deity. Behind the sanctum sanctorum, on either sides of Lord Lingothbavar, there are idols of Lord Mahavishnu and Lord Brahma in a worshipping posture. Devotees can enjoy the darshan of all the three lords (Trimurthys) – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. This is considered to be very auspicious. In this temple Goddess Parvathy is also praised as Sri Karu Katha Ambigai. There are a couple of paintings in the front hall of Goddess Parvathy’s shrine. One of them depicts Sage Agasthiyar worshiping Lord Shiva and in the other painting he is shown worshiping Lord Bairavar. Pregnant women worship Goddess Parvathy of this temple for safe childbirth. This temple is famous for people having the birth star Punarpoosa as this is the birth star of Lord Ram.

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), Makara Sankranthi in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan-Feb) and Shivrathri in the Tamil month of Masi (Feb-Mar). Pradosham is also observed regularly.