Mahalingeswarar Temple, Thiruvidaimarudur

Tiruvidaimarudur

The gateway tower of the temple

The gateway tower of the temple
Tiruvidaimarudur
Location in Tamil Nadu
Geography
Coordinates 10°59′40″N 79°27′01″E / 10.99444°N 79.45028°E / 10.99444; 79.45028Coordinates: 10°59′40″N 79°27′01″E / 10.99444°N 79.45028°E / 10.99444; 79.45028
Country India
State Tamil Nadu
District Thanjavur
Location Tiruvidaimarudur
Culture
Primary deity Mahalingaswamy(Shiva)
Consort Pirguchuntaragujambigai(Parvathi)
Temple tank Kaveri, Karunya and Amirta Theertam
Architecture
Architectural styles Dravidian architecture

Mahalingeswaraswamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in Tiruvidaimaruthur, a village in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is significant to the Hindu sect of Saivism as one of the seven major Shiva temples. Shiva is worshiped as Mahalingeswaraswamy, and is represented by the lingam, with his idol referred to as Jothimayalingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Pirguchuntaragujambigai. The lingam of the temple is believed to be the focal point for the seven consorts of Shiva. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.[1] The 9th century Saiva saint poet Manikkavasagar has sung praise about the temple in his works.

There are 149 inscriptions associated with the temple indicating contributions from Pandyas, Cholas, Thanjavur Nayaks and Thanjavur Maratha kingdom. The present masonry structure was built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to Thanjavur Nayaks during the 16th century.

The temple complex is one of the largest in state and it houses four gateway towers known as gopurams. The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Mahalingeswaraswamy, Pirguchuntaragujambigai and Mookambigai being the most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls and three precincts; the most notable is the second precinct built during the Vijayanagar period that has many sculptures. The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar. The temple is maintained and administered by Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam, a South Indian monastic institution.

Legend

Tiruvidaimaruthur temple

The name "Kumbakonam", roughly translated in English as the "Jug's Corner",[2] is believed to be an allusion to the mythical pot (kumbha) of the Hindu god Brahma that contained the seed of all living beings on earth. The kumbha is believed to have been displaced by a pralaya (dissolution of the universe) and ultimately came to rest at the spot where the town of Kumbakonam now stands.[3][4] The drops of nectar are believed to have fallen onto five shrines around Kumbakonam, namely Mahalingeswarar temple at Tiruvidaimarudur, Tirudharasuram, Naganathar Temple at Tirunageswaram, Tiruvorgam and Tirupadalavanam.[5]

The legend of a Chola prince who killed a Brahmin and was in turn, pursued by his spirit (brahmahatthi), is associated with the temple. The Chola prince, it is believed, entered the Mahalingeswarar Temple and prayed to his favourite God, Shiva for relief from the clutches of the spirit of the dead Brahmin or brahmahatthi. The Chola prince made his way out through another entrance thereby saving himself.[6] Some sources associate the legend with Pandya king Varagunapandian.[7] It continues till day where people take the second entrance to exit the premises after worship. There is a sculpture of Chola brahmahatthi on the eastern premises in one of the inner gopurams (tower gateway).

Shiva is believed to have appeared as a flame to please Agastya and other sages who were performing penance. Shiva is said to have emanated from the heart of Parvathi. It is also believed that several other deities like Rudra, Vinayaga, Murugan, Parvathi, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Brahma, Airavata (the elephant of celestial king Indra) and Vishnu worshipped Mahalingaswamy.[7]

Etymology

Image of the second precinct

Marudur is derived from the name of the holy tree, namely Maruda.[7][8] The Sthala Vriksha (temple tree) is Maruda.[7] This temple is classified as Madhya Arjunam, called Idai Maruthu meaning centre Marudur.[9] The Mallikarjuna swamy temple are Srisailam is called Thalai Maruthu (meaning top Marudur) and Tirupudaimaruthur temple at Ambasamudram in Tirunelveli district is called Kadai Maruthu (meaning lower Marudur).[9] Since Shiva raised out as a flame to the sages, the presiding deity is also referred as Jyothirmaya Mahalingam. It should be noted that historically Shiva was worshipped as Jyothi, the sacred flame and with the course of time, Jyothrilinga temples were developed. Since the place is full of Maruda tree, Shiva is also referred as Marudavanan. The Sanskrit meaning of the word Maruda is Archunam, deriving the Tamil name of Idaimaruthu against Mathiarchunam.[10]

Inscriptions

There are a total of 149 inscriptions associated with the temple.[7] The temple at Thiruvidaimarudur is over 2,000 years old and is associated with the Pandya king Varaguna Pandian. The temple contains inscriptions of the Hoysala kings and some Vijayanagara grants, and many records of the later Nayaks and Marathas.[11] The inscriptions in the walls of the temple are from Kulothunga Chola I indicating revenue survey and settlement and other additions made inside the temple.[6] This inscription (No. 32 of 1895) on the second precinct records a grant of 120 sheep for two lamps and the pujaris and inhabitants are appointed trustees of the grant. The date is the 172nd day of 26th year of the reign of Kulothunga I, who conquered the Kalinga region. The other inscriptions mention the name of the queen and adore her as the "mistress of the whole world". Three other queens, Dinachintamani, Elisai Vallabhi and Tyagavalli.[12]

The temple is also famous historically for devadasi tradition, which involves donating dance women to the temple during the medieval period.[6] The inscriptions indicate the tradition, dances, rearrangement during festivals and procession of deities during festivals.[6] The record is dated in the seventh regnal year of Vikrama Chola (1118-35 CE).[13] There are five inscriptions in this vein from the 10th century and there are three later inscriptions date 1123 CE, 1142 CE and 1218 CE. The possible reasoning for the hundred-year gap indicates the shifting of all temple women to Brihadeeswarar temple by Rajaraja I.[14] Since the temple received lot of gifts, the Cholas deputed a special army to protect the endowments.[15]

Temple

A view of the temple tank

The temple has a five-tiered Rajagopuram and three precincts, each enclosed inside huge walls and having gateway towers for each of them.[7] The temple is rectangular in plan with East-West orientation and has four entrances in each of the four directions. Mahalingam, literally meaning big lingam, is the presiding deity and is considered the centre of all consort deities of Tamil Nadu.[8] There are five temple tanks inside the temple, namely Karunyamirdha Theertham, Soma Theertham, Kanaga Theertham, Kalyana Theertham and Iravatha Theertham.[8] There are 27 other water bodies that are associated with the temple. There is a separate shrine for Mookambiga and it is built in north Indian style.[8] The shrine of Mookambiga is where Parvathi is believed to have performed her penance.[7] There are stone images of Pattinathar and Bhadragiriyar in the eastern and western gateways of the temple respectively.[8] The central shrine of the temple is that of Mahalingaswamy facing East. The shrine of Ambal faces the east and is situated close to the Mookambigai Amman shrine.[7] The temple was widely expanded during the Nayak period in the 16th century with the development of twin Mahalinga and Devi shrines.[16] The shrines of Muruga and Nataraja are enshrined in the spaces between the pier.[16] There are other shrines for Padithurai Vinayagar and Agora Veerabadrar.[7]

The three precincts are called Aswametha Pradakshina, Kodumudi and Pranava. The Vinayagar in the Southern side is called Anda Vinayagar and as per Hindu legend, the Vinayagar ruled the world and hence obtained the name. Pranava precinct has lot of sculptures dating back to the Nayak period of the 16th century. One of the notable among them is the sculpture of a chariot having twelve pillars, each denoting the twelve lagnas. In the northern portion of Kodumudi precinct, there is an image of Chokkanathar.[17]

The second precinct of the temple portraying sculptures

The piers standing has attached colonettes, lotus beams and suspended beams are atypical of Nayak style though the attached hall and innermost compound are recent additions.[16] Govinda Dikshitar, the minister of Nayak is believed to have built the Pushyamantapas (halls) in this temple.[18] Achyutappa also added gift of a village to the temple, the income of which was to be utilized for the temple car festival for the goddess in Adipuram day.[19]

Thanjavur Marathas ruled the region during the 18th century. Pratap Singh (1736–63) was a patron of the temple after his paryer to Mahalingaswamy to marry love was fulfilled. He is believed to have donated one lakh metal lamps to the temple. His concubine Theepanachiar is believed to have personified as one of the lamps. An ornamental metal image of a lady called Pavai Nonbu holding a lamp is still present in temple. The base of the lamp has an inscription indicating the gift of Marathas to the temple.[20]

In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam, a South Indian monastic institution. A Saiva Siddantha library inside the temple maintains palm leaf manuscripts and Saiva literature.[8] The temple is one of the most visited temples in the district.[21]

Worship and festivals

Historic image of temple car of the temple
Modern image of temple car of the temple

The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Shaivaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 6:00 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 8:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 9:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: abhisheka (sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Mahalingeswarar and Pirguchuntaragujambigai. The worship is held amidst music with nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like somavaram and sukravaram, fortnightly rituals like pradosham and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi.[22] The most prominent festival of the temple, Thaipoosam, is celebrated for ten days during the Tamil month of Thai.[7][22] The festival deity of Mahalingeswarar and his consort circumambulate the temple and the streets in the village in different vehicles. The festival ends with Theerthavari on the last day. During the Tamil month of Vaikasi, Tirukalyanam (sacred marriage), Ambal Tapasu (penance of Ambal), Ambal Thannai thaane festivals are celebrated.[22]

Religious significance

According to legend, Mahalingaswamy is the centre of all Shiva temples in the region and the Saptha Vigraha moorthis (seven prime consorts in all Siva Temples) are located at seven cardinal points around the temple, located in various parts of the state.[8][23] The seven deities are -

The other deities of a Shiva temple associated with Mahalingeswaraswamy are Durga in Thenupuriswarar Temple at Patteswaram, Somaskanda in Thyagaraja Temple, Tiruvarur at Tiruvarur and Nandi at Tiruvavaduthurai Temple at Thiruvaduthurai.

The temple is also referred as Pancha Linga stala due to the presence of five lingams, four of which in the cardinal directions and the fifth one at the centre. The temple of Viswanatha lies in the east street, Rishipuriswara in the west, Atmanatha in South street and Chokkanatha in North street.[7]

Also, there are six places that are considered to be on par with Kasi in Tamilnadu, which are -

Literary Mention

The temple is revered in the verses of Tevaram, the 7th century saivite canonical work by the three saint poets namely, Appar, Campantar and Cuntarar. Appar has glorified the temple in five, Cuntarar in one and Campantar in six verses.[9] Appar refers the temple as Idaimaruthur.

"பாச மொன்றில ராய்ப்பல பக்தர்கள்
வாச நாண்மலர் கொண்டடி வைகலும்
ஈச நென்பெறு மான்இடை மருதினிற்
பூச நாம்புகு தும்புன லாடவே"[24]

In another verse, he hails the deity here as

மங்கை காணக் கொடார்மண மாலையைக்
கங்கை காணக் கொடார்முடிக் கண்ணியை
நங்கை மீர் இடைக் மருதரிந் நங்கைக்கே
எங்கு வாங்கிக் கொடுத்தார் இதழியே[24]

translating to

"Praise to you father in Idaimaruthur.
Praise to you who carried Ganges river in your plait."[25]

Appar's verses point out the saiva agamas practised during the period.

"Because of our loneliness it is difficult for us to keep company of with dark ghosts
So my tongue will go on uttering the saiva agamas in the presence of the companion (mind)
to the accompaniment of the unrivalled music of Tiruvidaimaruthur"[26]

Manickavasagar praises the deith here as under

"You are the Esan who had blessed Brahman, Vishnu and Indra when they bowed.
You descended on earth and disclosed your perfect ways.
You, in your grace, gave supreme virtues to that good dame of Idaimaruthur that is full of mansions set with good and brightful gems
Our Lords are those who know that grace"[27]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Campantar Tevaram -2" (PDF). Projectmadurai.org. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  2. ↑ Herbermann 1934, p. 710
  3. ↑ Sastri 1991, p. 73
  4. ↑ Pillai, p. 88
  5. ↑ Dalal 2010, p. 202
  6. 1 2 3 4 Ayyar 1991, p. 299
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R. 2001, pp. 145-6
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tourist guide to Tamil Nadu 2007, p. 53.
  9. 1 2 3 Senthil Kumar 2011, pp. 59-60
  10. ↑ Narayanaswamy 1987, pp. 35-6
  11. ↑ Imperial gazetteer of India: Provincial series, Volume 18, p.137
  12. ↑ Hultzsch 1899, pp. 155-156
  13. ↑ Singh 1997, p. 57
  14. ↑ Orr 2000, p. 142
  15. ↑ Vasudevan 2003, p. 116
  16. 1 2 3 Michell 2005, pp. 97-99
  17. ↑ Narayanaswamy 1987, p. 37
  18. ↑ V. 1995, p. 120
  19. ↑ V. 1995, p. 53
  20. ↑ K. 1987, pp. 38-9
  21. ↑ "What to see - Thanjavur district attractions". Thanjavur District Administration. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  22. 1 2 3 "Sri Mahalingam temple". Dinamalar. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  23. 1 2 Narayanaswamy 1987, pp. 34-5
  24. 1 2 Swamigal, pp. 5.14-5.15
  25. ↑ Iraianban 1999, p. 63
  26. ↑ Anand 2004, p. 48
  27. ↑ Iraianban 1999, p. 251

References

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