Pratapa Veera Anjaneyar (Moolai Anjaneyar) Temple - Thanjavur

Address

Pratapa Veera Anjaneyar (Moolai Anjaneyar) Temple – Thanjavur

Melarajavidi,

Thanjavur District -613008.

Phone: +91 99433 81527

Moolavar

Veera Anjaneyar (Moolai Anjaneyar)

Introduction

Pratapa Veera Anjaneyar Temple, Tanjavur: This temple is in the heart of Tanjavur town. Temple is popularly known as Moolai Anjaneyar temple. This is the second largest Anjaneyar temple in Tamilnadu, after the one in Iyyenkulam, near Kanchipuram. Tanjavur is having four Rajaveedhis (main Streets). When there was a proposal to construct an Anjaneyar Temple, Hanuman came in the dream of the king and ordered him to construct this East facing temple on the North west corner of the Rajaveedhi. (Mela Rajaveedhi). Corner in Tamil is called Moolai. Hence He came to be called Moolai Anjaneyar.

The Bangaru Kamakshi Amman the shifting of the golden Kamakshi idol from Kancheepuram. The idol was first brought to this temple and kept hidden. Later Hanuman came in the dream of some Rama devotees and ordered them to construct a separate temple in the nearby land where Kamakshi was installed.

Puranic Significance

There was a king by name Pratapa Simhan in Tanjavur who was a great devotee of Veera Anjaneyar (the name by which the Lord was known earlier). Once, when the enemy armies surrounded Tanjavur and mounted attack, the King prayed to the Lord. Anjaneyar sent an army of big monkeys who created havoc in the enemy camp and drove them away. It is believed that when his end came, the King became one with his Ishta Devata and from that day, the Lord came to be called Pratapa Veera Anjaneyar.

The Temple is believed to be 1000 years old. This is a small temple with Anjaneya in the main shrine, facing east. He is in the posture of lifting the Meru Mountain. His face is towards the North. As this shows His Pratapam (valour/power), He is perhaps called Pratapa Veera Anjeneyar. The present temple was constructed by the Maratha Ruler of Tanjavur Shri Pratapa Simha in the 18th century under the guidance of his guru Shri Sethu Bava Swami. It is not surprising since the Maratha rulers of Tanjavur were descendents of Shivaji, who was a disciple of Samartha Ramadas, the ardent Hanuman devotee.

There are several unique things in this temple. Most of the paintings and sculptures in this temple are present in the 18 pillared Alankara Mandapam.

One is a sudai sculpture depicting Bala Anjaneya on the lap of His mother. Those who are longing for children, pray to Him. There is a sculpture showing a snake trying to capture the moon. Local legends say that those who have darshan of this will get relief from Rahu and Ketu ill effects. There is a neem tree in this temple which is considered as Ambal’s Swaroopam (representation). It is believed that Ambal is present in this tree to listen to Rama Nama.

Special Features

Worshipping this Anjaneyar on the Moolam star is considered very auspicious. For people with special prayers, Lighting 18 lamps and going around the temple 18 times, offer immense relief. This could be done for 18 days, 18 weeks, 18 months or even 18 years, depending upon one’s convenience. There are some devotees who write the Rama Nama 56 times after completing one round. This way, after completing the 18 rounds, they would have completed the writing of 1008 Namas. Doing this prayer during the month of Margazhi (Dec-Jan) is popular among the devotees. Those who want to do this on Moolam star days should first register with the temple authorities.

Though it is a small temple, there are shrines of Seetha Pattabiraman, Krishna with Bama and Rukmani, Lakshminarayanar, Shankaranarayanar, Hanuman in meditating pose and Hanuman sitting on the seat created with His tail in front of Ravana. There is a Rasi Mandala sculpture on the ceiling, depicting the 12 zodiac signs (similar to Avudayar Koil). Standing in front of their respective signs, devotees pray to Hanuman.