Sakkottai Sri Amirdhagadeswarar Temple, Thanjavur

Address

Sakkottai Sri Amirdhagadeswarar Temple Sakkottai (Po.), Kumbakonam (Tk.), Thanjavur (Dt), PIN – 612 401

Diety

Sri Amirthakalasa Nathar Amman: Sri Amirthavalli

Introduction

Amirtha Kalasa Nathar Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Sakkottai, a village in the outskirts of Kumbakonam, in Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu. Presiding Deity is called as Amirtha Kalasa Nathar / Amirthakadeswarar and Mother is called as Amirthavalli. This temple is situated on the southern bank of the river Arasalaru. This Temple is one of the twelve famous Shiva temples in and around Kumbakonam participate in the famous Maha Maham festival.This is one of the Saptha Sthana temples associated with Adhi Kumbeswarar Temple,Kumbakonam. The presiding deity is revered in the 7 th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Thevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the Nayanmars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. Sundarar venerated Amirthakateshwarar in Thevaram, compiled as the Seventh Thirumurai. This is the 185th Devaram Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam and 68th Sthalam on the south side of river Cauvery in Chozha Nadu. The temple is closely associated with Sakya Nayanmar, one of 63 saints associated with Saivism. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Theertham (Holy water): Nankuveda Theertham Sthala Vriksham (Sacred Tree): Vanni tree

Puranic Significance

This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 68th Shiva Sthalam on the Southern bank of the river Cauveri in Chozha Nadu (Thenkarai).This ancient temple is situated on the southern bank of the river Arisilaru. This temple was built in granite by the Cholas. Later it was renovated by the Chola King Kulothungan-III and the Nayakkars. This temple is also referred to as “Kottai Shiva temple”. It is believed that earlier this temple was surrounded by a big fortress with tanks (Akazhi) around it. The Akazhi was on both sides of the wall of the fortress. However, only the ruins of the wall and the tank can be seen. In his hymn, Saint Sundaramurthy Nayanar sings about the glory and grandeur of this fort, its halls, this temple and its tanks. It is believed that a lot of Sakkiyas (Buddhist) used to reside here. Hence this place gets the name Sakkiya Kottai which has later been changed to Sakkottai. Another reason for the name Sakkottai is that Saint Sakkiya Nayanar, one of the 63-Nayanmars, worshiped the lord here. This is despite the fact that he was a Buddhist (Sakkiya). Because of his staunch devotion towards Lord Shiva, it is believed that he was blessed with the darshan of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy. Lord Shiva also blessed him by naming him one of the 63b Nayanmars. According to Hindu mythology, at the end of every “yuga”, there is a huge flood that leads to the destruction of all living beings in the earth. This is called the “Pralayam”. Lord Shiva, through Lord Brahma, arranged for the seeds of all living organisms and four Vedas and Puranas to be put in a pot (“Amutha Kalas” or Kumbham or Kudam in Tamil) filled with nectar (“amirtham”). This was decorated with flowers and cloth and a string was tied to it. This was kept on top of the Mount Kailash. When the Maha Pralayam started, it destroyed all living creatures on the earth. The Amutha Kalas also got displaced and started floating on the seas for years. Eventually when the Pralayam stopped, the Kalas settled in Kumbakonam. Then Lord Shiva took the form of a hunter (Kiratha Murthy) and split open the pot with his arrow. The life on earth started flourishing again. It is believed that when Lord Shiva opened the pot with his arrow, the pot broke and the decorative items on it fell in various places across the earth. Each of these pieces became Shivalingams. Sakkottai: Another legend states that Nayanmar saint Sakya was a staunch devotee of Shiva. He used to wear in Sakya style, which was not typical of Saivism. He used to worship Shiva at this place and even did puja for a stone he crossed. In his devotion, he used to forget that he was adorning the image of Shiva with stones instead of flowers. One day he forgot to do his austerities and started consuming food. He suddenly realized his mistake and ran to the place where he usually worships Shiva to find stones from Kailash started falling at his feet, with Shiva and Parvathy appearing before him. It is believed that as Sakya worshipped Shiva here, the place used to be called Sakkottai. Place of Buddhists: Sambandar in his works in Thevaram mentions that this place was originally occupied by Buddhists (Sakkiyar) and hence it came to be known as Sakkiyar Kottai, which with time became Sakkottai. Parvathy performed penance here: It is believed that Goddess Parvathy performed penance here. Pleased with her penance, it is believed that Lord Shiva married her. In the first stanza of his hymn, Saint Sundarar mentions this legend. There is a shrine dedicated to her in the name of Thapas Amman in the corridor.

Beliefs

This temple is famous for conducting rituals for Sashtiyaptha Poorthy, Bheemaratha Santhi and Sadabishekam (60th, 70th and 80th birthdays respectively).

Special Features

Other than the shrines of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy, shrines and idols of Narthana Vinayakar, Dhandayuthapani, Nalvar, Navagraham, Vayu lingam, Prithvi lingam, Theyu lingam, Murugan with his consorts, Ardhanareeswarar, Thapas Amman, Gajalakshmi, Sapthamathas (carved out of a single stone), Bairavar, Pitchandavar, Chandran, Suryan, Saneeswarar, Rahu and Sage Sakkiya Nayanar can be seen in the main hall and corridors. In the “koshtam” (place surrounding the sanctum sanctorum), idols of Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbhavar (with Mahavishnu and Brahma on his either side), Brahma, Durgai and Chandikeswarar can be seen.

Festivals

Three major yearly festivals on its calendar. Maha Shivrathri and Masi Magam during the Tamil month of Masi (February – March) and Margazhi Tiruvadhirai during Margazhi (December – January) are the major festivals celebrated in the temple.