Thevur Sri Dhevapureeswarar Temple, Thiruvarur

Diety: Pureeswarar, Deva Gurunathar, Aadhi Deekshiram Udayar, Kathali Vaneswarar Amman: Then Mozhiyal,
Temple Address: Thevur Sri Dhevapureeswarar Temple, Thevur ,Tiruvarur District, TamilNadu PH:9486278810
Open between: 06:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 04:00 AM to 08:30 AM

Introduction

Deva Pureeswarar Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Thevur near Kilvelur in Thiruvarur District of Tamilnadu. This is one of the 78 Maadakovils, built on an elevation, by Ko Chenkata Chola Nayanar so that elephants cannot enter the sanctum. Presiding Deity is called as Deva Pureeswarar / Deva Gurunathar / Aadhi Deekshiram Udayar / Kathali Vaneswarar. Mother is called as Then Mozhiyal / Pann Nilaviya Mozhiyumai / Madhura Bhashini. Praises of the temple have been sung by the Nayanmars, Appar and Sambandar. This is the 202nd Devaram Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam and 85th Sthalam on the south side of River Cauvery, in Chozha Nadu. The temple is frequented by unmarried people and those seeking children.

Puranic Significance

Thiruthevur: According to Hindu mythology, the Devas worshipped Shiva at Thevur to rid themselves of the sin of killing Vruddhasura. Hence this place got the name Thiruthevur. Ramayana Connection: The temple is also associated with the legends of the Ramayana. Ravana fought with Kubera and robbed him of his pots of wealth. Kubera set out on a pilgrimage to get back his wealth. He worshipped Lord Devapureeswarar in this temple with Red Lotus flowers on a Friday at Shukra Hora time – 6.00 a.m. to 7.00 a.m. and 12.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. are Shukra Hora time on Fridays. Pleased with his worship, Lord helped Kubera to get back his wealth robbed by Ravana, according Sthala Purana. Sthala Purana says by worshiping Lord Siva here one will get back their position and wealth which they have lost. Mahabharata Connection: As per the Mahabharata, Virata worshipped Shiva at the temple along with his daughter Uttara. Devagurunathar: Brihaspathi, the Guru of the Devas, worshipped Shiva here; hence the deity is called Devagurunathar. So there is no Muyalagan seen under the legs of Deva Guru. SthalaVriksham: It is said that the Kal Vazhai came down from the Devaloka and remained near the Lord as the sacred tree of the temple. This grows on stones. Gautama worshipped Shiva to help people from Drought: Sage Gautama worshipped Lord with his own Linga here for gold etc. to help people from starvation during a 12 year famine period. Kulavardanan completed his Yagna with the blessings of Lord Shiva: Magatha King Kulavardanan completed his yajna with the blessings of Lord Devapureeswarar, according to Sthala Purana. People worshipped Shiva here: Gautama Muni, Indhra, Kubera, Kal Vaazhai, Guru Bhagavan,Virata, Uttara, Kulavardanan and Surya are also believed to have worshipped Shiva here.

Beliefs

As the place is revered as Guru Sthala – Jupiter, prayer in this temple dispenses with any adverse aspect of the planet. People pray to Lord Devapureeswarar for prosperity, recovery of losses and excellence in academic pursuits. Those seeking wedding and child boon perform pujas to this tree on Mondays.

Special Features

This is one of the 78 Maadakovils, built on an elevation, by Ko Chenkata Chola Nayanar so that elephants cannot enter the sanctum. The Temple is facing east and the Rajagopuram is of 3 tiers. Lord of the temple is a Swayambumurthy. Presiding Deity is called as Deva Pureeswarar / Deva Gurunathar / Aadhi Deekshiram Udayar / Kathali Vaneswarar. Mother is called as Then Mozhiyal / Pann Nilaviya Mozhiyumai / Madhura Bhashini. Sthala Vriksham is Kal Vazhai / Velvazhai tree (a plantain variety) grows from rocks, not on soil. All deities here have the prefix Deva. Theertham of this Temple is Deva Theertham and is located in front of the temple. Varuna, Gowthama, Marutha, & Sanjeevini Theerthams are the other Theerthams associated with this temple. Ambal is in separate temple in standing posture. Nandhi is located to the left side of Rajagopuram entrance. Deva Guru – Jupiter worshipped Lord Shiva in the temple, hence the symbol of ignorance – Muyalagan is not under the feet of Lord Dakshinamurthy in the temple (Lord Dakshinamurthy is the authority deity for planet Jupiter). Traditionally temples have either Mother Shiva Durga or aVishnu Durga. It is a rare difference in this place that Mother Durga is holding a conch representing Vishnu feature and a deer representing Shiva feature, thus as Shiva-Vishnu Durga. Shrines of Vinayakar, Murugan, Gowthama Lingam, Agalya Lingam, Indra Lingam, 63 Nayanmar, Maha Lakshmi, Durgai, Navagrahams, Bairavar, Chandran, and Soorya are located in the inner prakaram. 0/21, 10:39 AM Tamilnadu Tourism: Deva Pureeswarar Temple, Thevur, Thiruvarur. Somaskandar as Ammayappar is located in the first floor. Also sanctum of Athma Nathar worshiped by Manickavasagar can be seen. Subramanyar sanctum is located in between Lord Siva and Goddess sanctum, and is considered as Somaskanda Moorthy Sthalam. This Temple is considered as one of Ashta Vinayakar Sthalam. Sthala Vinayakar is Valampuri Vinayakar and he is known a Brahma Varadhar. Inscriptions belongs Jata Varma Sundara Pandiyan period can be found in this temple.

Festivals

In the month of February-March pilgrims come to this temple to please lord Shiva on Maha Shivaratri and in the month of May-June Vaikasi Peru Vizha are celebrated in the temple,