Thirunallam Sri Umamaheswarar Temple, Nagapattinam

Address

Thirunallam Sri Uma Maheswarar Swamy Temple, Thirunallam (Konerirajapuram), Mayiladuthurai Taluk, Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu – 612201. Tele: +91 94865 10515, 435-2449830 and 2449800.

Diety

Umamaheswarar Amman: Degasoundari

Introduction

Tirunallam Umamaheswarar Temple is located at Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, India. The presiding deity is Shiva. He is called as Umamaheswarar. His consort is Degasoundari.It is one of the shrines of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams – Shiva Sthalams glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems After the entrance, in the right side shrine of Muruga and in the left side Ganapathi shrine is found. In the front mondapa flagpost, balipeeta and nandhi are found. On the roof of the temple in the right, left and centre beautiful paintings are found. They include the history of the temple and the festivals conducted in the temple. At the right of the rajagopura, Vinayaka is found. The shrine of the goddess is facing east. In the sanctum sanctorum the presiding deity is found. On either side gatekeepers are found. In the kosta, miniature sculptures are found. And don’t miss the huge bronze Natraja in this temple. Theertham (Holy water): Sakthi Theertham / Bhoomi Theertham Sthala Vriksham (Sacred Tree): Peepal tree (Arasa maram) / Vilvam

Puranic Significance

According to legend, King Varaguna Pandya wanted to create a huge life-size Natarajar idol and ordered to his sculptor (“Sthapathi” in Tamil) to prepare it in metal. Despite his continuous efforts, the sculptor was unable to make an idol taller than 3 feet. The king gave him some more time to work on the idol but warned him that if he did not accomplish his task before the deadline, his head would be chopped off. As the deadline approached, the worried and frantic sculptor prayed to Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi came to his house in the form of an elderly couple and asked for little water to drink. The sculptor was engrossed in his work and out of frustration, he told them to drink the molten metal (“pancha lokam” – an amalgamation of five different metals). Both Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy drank it and they instantly turned into a beautiful statue of Natarajar and Sivakami. This idol of Natarajar with Goddess Parvathi is about 7 feet high. It was then that the sculptor realized that the aged couple had been none other than Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy. On hearing about this incident, the king visited the sculptor’s place but he refused to believe the story. He hit the idol with his sword and to his astonishment, the idol started bleeding. The king surrendered to the lord and asked for forgiveness. The idol still bears the mark of the king’s sword. Another interesting thing to note about it is its life-like appearances – fingernails, a mole in the body and fingerprints in the hands.

Beliefs

This is a “Parihara Sthalam” for doshas related to marriage and child birth. Those facing delays in their marriage or those seeking child boon (“Santhana Prapthi”) can pray to the lord here. Devotees believe that by worshiping Lord Vaithiyanathaswamy here, they will be cured of various diseases. Students believe that worshiping the lord here will yield them good results.

Special Features

It is believed that this place is considered to be equivalent to Mount Kailash and the holy water here is as auspicious as the Ganges. Saint Thirunavukkarasar (Appar) mentioned that only those having the blessings from their previous births (“poorva janma punyam”) will have the good fortune of visiting this temple. There are six idols of Lord Vinayakar in a single shrine. There are also three idols of Chandikeswarar in this temple. Devotees believe that worshiping the lord here during Pradosham would bring manifold benefits. Behind the sanctum sanctorum, on either sides of Lord Lingothbavar, there are idols of Lord Mahavishnu and Lord Brahma in a worshipping posture. Devotees can enjoy the darshan of all the three lords (Trimurthys) – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. This is considered to be very auspicious. There is a beautiful relief on a wall in the corridor that depicts the Chola queen Sembian Maadevi worshiping Lord Shiva. Below this relief, there is a stone inscription. According to this inscription, the queen built this temple in memory of her husband, king Kandarathithan. This king was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva and his devotional songs are known as “Thillai Thiruppathigam”. These songs are a part of the “Thiruvisaippa”. There is a separate shrine for Lord Thiripura Samhara Murthy. It is believed that this lord burnt the three demons and their forts simply with his laughter. People pray here on Ashtami of new moon fortnight (eighth day from the full moon day) to conquer fear of death and to seek relief from the trouble caused by their enemies. There are three important sthalams where the sacred tree (sthala viruksham) is peepal tree – they are Banaras (Kasi), Thiruvavaduthurai and this place.

Festivals

Two Brahmotsavams are celebrated in this temple – “Vaikasi Visakam” in May-June and “Margazhi Thiruvadhirai” in December-January.Abhishekam to Natarajar is performed six times in a year (in the Tamil months of Chithirai, Aani, Aavani, Purattasi, Markazhi and Maasi).Some of the important festivals celebrated in this temple are -Vinayakar Chaturthi in the Tamil month of Aavani (Aug-Sept),Skanda Shashti and Annabishekam in the Tamil month of Aippasi (Oct–Nov), andShivrathri in the Tamil month of Masi (Feb-Mar).Pradosham is also observed regularly.