Tirupalaithurai Sri Palaivananathar Temple, Thanjavur

Address

Tirupalaithurai Sri Palaivananathar Temple, Tirupalaithurai, Papanasam Taluk and Post – 614 205, Thanjavur district Phone: +91-94435 24410

Diety

Pallavaneeswarar, Pallavanathar Amman: Thavalavennayagal.

Introduction

Palaivananathar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in Papanasam, in Thanjavur district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shiva is worshiped as Papanasanathar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Thavalavennayagal. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the Nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. The temple complex covers around one acre and can be entered through a five-tiered gopuram, the main gateway. The temple has a number of shrines, with those of Papanasanathar and Thavalavennayagal, being the most prominent. All the shrines of the temple are enclosed in large concentric rectangular granite walls. The temple has a granary made of brick from the Vijayanagar Empire, which is maintained as a monument of the state Archeological Department. Thala Virutcham : Palm tree and Palai; Palai Theertham : Vasishta theertham, Indira theertham and Yama theertham.

Puranic Significance

The original complex is believed to have been built by Cholas, while the present masonry structure was built by Vijayanagar kings during the 16th century. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.As per Hindu legend, Shiva is believed to have killed a tiger and worn the skin of the tiger as a sign of his victory in the forest Darukavana. At a later time, during the Mahabharat times, the Pandava prince Arjuna who was in exile along with his brothers was asked by sage Dhaumya to visit the forest and seek the blessings of Shiva. Arjuna visited the place and obtained special skills and weapons in archery from Shiva. The presiding deity is believed to have absolved the sins of various other deities namely Vishnu, Brahma, Rama, Sita, sage Vashista, Lakshmana, other celestial deities and hence got the name Papanasanathar, the one who absolves sins.

Beliefs

People pray for removal of obstacles in marriage talks, for child boon, progress in education etc. Devotees perform abishek with vastras to the Lord on realizing their ambitions.

Special Features

The walls on the temple tower has inscriptions depicting Thiruvilaiyadal, the 64 divine plays of Shiva to test his devotees. Thirupalaithurai temple with two prakarams (outer courtyard) occupies an area of 3 acres (12,000 m2), and its entrance is crowned with a five tiered Rajagopuram. The first precinct houses the images of various supporting deities of Shiva namely, Vinayagar, Dakshninamurthy, Durga, Chandesa and also the images of the 63 nayamars.There is also a world-famous granary(Store House of paddy) Breadth: 86 feet (26 m), Height: 36 feet (11 m) capacity of 3,000 Kalam (measure) constructed by Raghunatha Nayak in 1600 – 1634. The granary is circular in shape and conical at the top. The State Archaeological Department maintains as a monument of state importance.

Festivals

Mahasivarathri in Masi (February-March), Margazhi Tiruvadhirai in December-January and Aipasi Annabishekam in OctoberNovember are the festivals celebrated in the temple.