the Ultimate Web on Indian Gods & Temples

 by Padmani,

Abodes of Shiva

In ancient times this place was densely covered with Vanni trees. It is believed that at that time the cows did not have any horns and were frequently tormented by other wild animals. It is believed that the cows went to Nandhi - Lord Shiva’s bull mount, to seek protection. Nandhi advised them to come to this place and worship the lord. Nandhi, Kamadenu - the divine cow, and other cows came to this place and worshiped the lord. Pleased with their penance, Lord Shiva blessed them with horns to protect themselves. The name of this place Thiru Amathur is derived from Thiru Aa Matha Vur - Aa means cow, Matha means mother, Vur means village in Tamil and Thiru is a respectful prefix. For this reason, this place is revered as the parental house of cows. According to Hindu mythology, all gods including Lords Shiva, Mahavishnu, Brahma, Goddess Parvathi, Lakshmi and Saraswathi and all Devars reside in the body of the cow. It is believed that the divine cow, Kamadenu along with other cows worshiped the main deity here by pouring their milk on the lingam. The marks of the cow’s hoof and rivulets due to the pouring of milk can be seen on the lingam. There is a place inside Goddess Muthambikai’s temple called the Thiruvattaparai. There is a Shivalingam in Thiruvattaparai which is very famous. There is a small hall called Sathya Palakai -literally translated as a place to make promises, in the southwest corner. According to legend, sitting at this spot, Lord Ram alongwith Hanuman entered into an alliance with Sukrivan to fight and kill Ravana. To cleanse himself of the sins accrued by killing Ravana, Lord Ram worshiped Lord Shiva here. There is a well inside this temple called Dhanda Theertham which is believed to have been created by Lord Ram. Even today, people who have been wrongly accused of some crime come to the Sathya Palakai at the Thiru Vattaparai and make pledges of their innocence. It is strongly believed that if someone makes a false promise at this place, they will be severely punished by the Goddess. The legend is that Goddess Muthambikai once punished a man by having him bit by a snake because he had cheated his younger brother and made a false promise at this place. To signify this event, the tail portion of a snake adorns the Goddess’s chest. This can be seen during abishekam. Lord Shiva, a Swayambumurthy, is facing east and Goddess Muthambikai is facing west. There is a Sri Chakra in the goddess’s shrine is believed to have been installed by Sri Adi Sankara. The corridor also houses the Ashta lingams. The eight lingams that constitutes the Ashta lingams are - Sri Abirameswarar - main deity, Esanya Lingeswarar, Kasi Viswanathar, Arunachaleswarar, Kubera Lingam, Vayu Lingam, Hanuman Lingam and Sattanathar.

This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 21st Shiva Sthalam in Nadu Naadu. Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested). Lord Shiva’s idol has the impression of a hoof at the top. There are multiple rivulet markings which signify that this lord was worshiped with milk that flowed from udders of cows. Inscribed on the chest of Goddess Muthambikai’s idol here is a small piece of what looks like a snake’s tail. There are two separate temples here. Goddess Muthambikai’s temple is right in front of Lord Shiva’s temple. Lord Shiva’s temple has a 7-tiered main tower (Rajagopuram) with 2 corridors while the goddess’s temple has a 5-tiered main tower with a single corridor. This temple was originally built by the Pallava rulers. Later on, the Cholas made several endowments. This is evident from the stone inscriptions available here. At a later date, Achutha Deva Pallavar is believed to have renovated this temple. There is an idol of Achutha Deva Pallavar here. In this temple, there are stone inscriptions that document the histories of 26 kings from 955 to 1584 AD. The important kings among them are Rajaraja Cholan-I, Rajendra Cholan-I, Rajathi Rajan-I, Kulothungan-I, Vikramathithan, Sadaya Verman, Vikrama Pandian and Krishnadeva Rayar.

10-day Brahmotsavam in the Tamil month of Panguni (Mar-Apr) is an important festival celebrated here. Other important festivals celebrated in this temple are – Shivrathri in the Tamil month of Masi (Feb-Mar),Aadi Pooram in the Tamil month of Aadi (July-Aug), Vinayakar Chaturthi in the Tamil month of Aavani (Aug-Sept),Navrathri in the Tamil month of Purattasi (Sept-Oct) and Annabishekam in the Tamil month of Aippasi (Oct–Nov). Pradosham is also observed regularly.