the Ultimate Web on Indian Gods & Temples

 by Padmani,

Abodes of Shiva

The legend is that Sage Vamadeva visited many Shiva Sthalams seeking relief from a curse he had incurred. When he came to this place, he was taking rest for a while under a peepal (Arasu) tree. Mesmerized by the beautiful surrounding and atmosphere, he started imagining how pleasant it would be to have a temple for Lord Shiva built under this tree. Knowing the Sage’s wish, Lord Shiva blessed him with an appearance, relieved Vamadeva’s curse and stayed there as a swayambumurthy. Since the Lord appeared under an Arasu tree, he is named Sri Arasaleeswarar and this place itself is named Arasili. However, over a period of time, this Shivalingam disappeared from this place and is believed to have gotten submerged under the earth. Another legend is that the Chalukya King Sathyaviradhan, a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva developed a garden (nandavanam) with flowering plants specifically for making offerings of flowers during worship. He did not have any children and was praying for the boon of child birth. However, he noticed that gradually the quantity of flowers was decreasing. He was intrigued and decided to keep a check on his garden. He found that a couple of deers were grazing the garden and trampling the flowers. Angered, the king tried to kill them with his arrow but the deers escaped into a bush. To the surprise of the king, a hunter came out from the bush and started fighting with him. Suddenly the hunter also went into the bush and disappeared. The king realised that this was Lord Shiva’s doing and that it was the lord himself who had appeared as both the deer and the hunter. The king started clearing the bush and found a lingam which was bleeding after being struck by his arrow. It is believed that, at that point, Lord Shiva appeared before him and blessed him that he would have children. This lingam is said to be the one that was earlier installed by the sage Vamadeva. The arrow scar on this Lingam is still visible and is covered with a piece of cloth during poojas. It is also said that the King Sathyaviradhan’s son Indirasenan and his granddaughter Sundari lived and worshiped this lingam here. It is believed that the village’s name Ozundiyapattu is derived from Odi olindu akapattu which represents that the lord came here as a deer, hid, escaped and was later found.

This is one of the 276 Devara Padal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 31st Shiva Sthalam in Thondai Nadu. Lord Shiva’s lingam in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested) and is very small in size. This temple has a small main tower (Rajagopuram) and a single corridor. It is east facing and is believed to have been built by the kings of Chalukyas. Lord Dakshinamurthy’s portrayal is somewhat different in this temple. The demon Muyalagan under Lord Dakshinamurthy’s feet is mostly depicted as facing the right side. However, in this temple he is facing left. Another unique feature of this shrine is that above Dakshinamurthy’s idol, there is a Natarajar sculpture in the Ananda Thandavam pose.Since this temple’s Sthala Viruksham (peepal tree) is related to star poosam, this temple is considered as a Parihara Sthalam for Poosa nakshathirm. It is believed that worshiping Lord Shiva here will grant the boon of childbirth to childless couples.

Since the kings from the Chalukya dynasty worshiped Lord Shiva on Prathosham days here, poojas on Prathosham days is famous.Ten day Brahmotsavam in the Tamil month of Vaikasi (May-June), Maha Shivrathri in Maasi (February-March) and Tirukarthikai in Karthikai (November-December) are the major festivals celebrated in this temple.