Senganur Sri Sathyagireeswarar Temple, Thanjavur

Address

Senganur Sri Sathyagireeswarar Temple, Senganur,Tiruppanandal Post,Tiruvidaimarudur Taluk Thanjavur District,PIN 612504 PH:9345982373

Diety

Sathyagireeswarar Amman: Sakidevi ammai

Introduction

Sathyagireeswarar Temple is located at Senganur in the Thiruvidaimarudur taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. The historical name of the place is Seignalur. Senganur is located at a distance of 16 kilometres from Kumbakonam on the road to Chennai. It is one of the shrines of the 276 Paadal Petra Sthalams – Shiva Sthalams glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems by Tamil Saivite Nayanar Tirugnanasambandar.Hymns in praise of the deity have been sung by Arunagirinathar and Sekkizhar. The temple finds mention in Sekkizhar’s Periapuranam.This Temple is considered as one of the shrines of the 276 Paadal Petra Sthalams glorified in the early medieval Thevaram hymns.This Temple is the 95th Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam and 41st sthalam on the north side of river Cauvery in Chozha Nadu. Thirugnana Sambandar has sung hymns in praise of Lord Shiva of this temple. Lord Murugan of this Temple is praised by Saint Arunagirinathar in his.

Puranic Significance

It is believed that King Kochengat Chola built around 70 Maadakovils. This Temple is considered one among them. The unique feature about these temples are that it is not easily approachable by an elephant. He built these temples at an elevation and there are few steps need to be climbed before seeing Lord in the sanctum. Also, the entrance to the sanctum would be so narrow that elephants cannot enter it. Senganur was called as Sathyagiri, Kumara Puram, Asumathakavanam and Chandeswara Puram in ancient times. Senganur is considered as the birthplace of the Saivite saint Chandesha Nayanar. He is the only Nayanmar with the Eswara title. Senganur is considered as one of the important cities of Chola Kings. It is said that the crowning ceremony of Chola kings used to take place in this temple. Senganur is also the birth place of Acharya Priavachan Pillai an eminent scholar in Vaishnavite philosophy. He has authored elaborate commentaries on Nalayira Divya Prabandham. This temple is under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of Government of Tamil Nadu (HR&CE). Chandikeswarar: Chandikeswarar is one of the 63 Nayanmars. He is the only Nayanmar with the Eswara title. He is considered to be the guardian of the temple belongings. Hence, devotees clap their hands to show that they are leaving the temple empty-handed. It is also customary to leave even the sacred ash inside the temple itself. According to Periyapuranam, he was born into a Brahmin family in Seignalur (Senganur) and was called Visarasarman. His parents were Echa Dattan and Pavitrai. He learnt all arts in his young age. His Upanayanam (sacred thread ceremony) was performed when he was seven. He had no thoughts in mind but Lord Shiva alone. One day when Visarasarman was playing with his friends, he saw a cowherd beating a cow with a stick that attempted to hit him. Visarasarman told the cowherd that beating a cow was sin as allthe 33 crore gods were considered to reside in her and she is very important for survival of humans as well as for the continuance of rituals. He offered to take forth the task of herding the cows from then on. The cow herd readily agreed as he was tired of managing unruly animals. So, from the next day Visarasarman took up cow herding as his duty and cared for the cattle. As he was as kind as a mother, the cows produced plenty of milk. As Visarasarman was always drowned in Shiva thoughts, he made a Linga with the sands of Manniyaru River, installed it under an Aathi tree and performed pujas and abishek with the milk he got from the cows. The cows also gave high measures of milk to their owners too. Those who saw Visarasarman performing abishekam to Lord with the milk of the cows complained that he was wasting the milk meant for yajnas. His father too saw him doing pujas abishekam from a hiding. The angry father beat him and upset the milk pots. As Visarasarman was deep in his worship, not knowing the person upsetting the milk pots, attacked him with a stick, still continuing his worship. The stick turned into an axe and cut the legs of the father. Lord Shiva along with Mother Parvathi granted darshan to Visarasarman and said that he cut his father’s legs because of his devotion and thenceforth he would be his father and honoured with Kondrai flower garland. He was wearing then. Lord also named him Chandikeswara. It is believed that Chandikeswarar attained salvation at nearby Thiruvaippadi on a new moon day on Shivrathri. Mada Kovils: Kochengat Chola was an early Chola king and one of the 63 Nayanmars (Saivite saints) of Saivism. He is believed to have attained spiritual rebirth of a spider that fought with an elephant in its previous birth over the worship of the Lord Shiva. He had red eyes during birth as he remained in his mother’s womb a little longer. His mother, looking into the baby red eyes said Kochengkannano ( Tamil Ko=king, Cheng=red, Kan=eyes), which literally means king with red eyes and hence he was named Kochengat Cholan. After becoming a king, he followed Saivism and built 70 Maadakovils, temples with elevated structure where elephants cannot reach the sanctum, in the Chola empire. It is believed that this is one of the temple built by him.

Beliefs

Devotees pray here for regaining lost position & power, for wealth and to overcome any adverse situation. Devotees offer vastras to Lord and Mother and contribute to the renovation of the temple.

Special Features

The temple is facing towards east facing with an entrance arch. The entrance arch has stucco images of Rishabaroodar being worshipped by Chandikeswarar. Rishabaroodar is flanked byVinayaga and Murugan with his consorts. It is believed that King Kochengat Chola built around 70 Maadakovils. This Temple is considered one among them. The unique feature about these temples are that it is not easily approachable by an elephant. He built these temples at an elevation and there are few steps need to be climbed before seeing Lord in the sanctum. Also, the entrance to the sanctum would be so narrow that elephants cannot enter it. The temple has two prakarams, one at the top around the sanctum (Maadakoil) and other at the ground level. Nandi and Balipeedam can be found facing the sanctum. The Sanctum Sanctorum consists of Sanctum, Ardha Mandapam and Maha Mandapam and are in the hill top. Presiding deity is called as Sathyagireeswarar / Sathyagirinathar / Shaktigireeswarar and is facing east. He is housed in the sanctum in the form of Lingam. Lord is a Swayambhu Moorthy (self-manifested). Vinayaga, Dakshinamurthy, Vishnu, Brahma and Durga are the Koshta idols located around the sanctum walls. Chandikeswarar shrine can be seen in his usual location. He appears majestically as Lord Shiva himself with crescent moon, long hair, Kundalams (ear rings) and the holy Ganga on the head. Mother is called as Sakidevi. She is housed in a separate south facing shrine. Her shrine is situated in Maha Mandapam to the left side of the sanctum. Shrines of Nataraja and Naalvars can be seen in the Ardha Mandapam. There is a shrine for Bhairava in the Maha Mandapam. If the idol of Bhairavar is tapped, it produces a bronze metal sound. Shrines of Chandran and Surya can be seen in the Maha Mandapam. Shrines of Maha Ganapathy, Kasi Vinayagar, Gaja Lakshmi, Kasi Viswanathar, Kasi Visalakshi and Subramanya can be seen in the inner prakaram around the sanctum. There is a separate south facing shrine for Lord Murugan at the entrance of the Mada Kovil in ground level. Saint Arunagirinathar had sung hymns in praise of Lord Murugan of this temple in his revered Thirupugazh. There is also a separate shrine for Shaktigireeswarar (under the tree) in the outer prakaram. Theerthams associated with this temple are Manniyaru, Sathya Pushkarini, Kumara Theertham and Malaiyappan Kulam (Appan Kulam). Sathya Pushkarini is situated to the west of the temple. It is believed to be created by Lord Shiva.

Festivals

The temple celebrates the birth day of Chandeswara Nayanar in the month of Thai (January-February) on the Uthiram star day. Avani Vinayakar Chaturthi (Aug-Sep), Aippasi Skanda Shashti (Oct – Nov), Aippasi Annabishekam (Oct – Nov), Thiru Karthikai (Nov-Dec) and Masi Shivrathri (Feb-Mar) are the other festivals celebrated here. Monthly pradoshams are also observed regularly.