Vallam Vajrabureeswarar Temple, Thanjavur

Address

Vallam, Thanjavur district,

Tamil Nadu 613403

Moolavar

Vajrabureeswarar

Introduction

Vallam Vajrabureeswarar Temple is located on the Thanjavur – Trichy National Highway; about 10kms from Thanjavur this is a beautiful Shiva temple in Vallam. Here the Primary deity is called as Vajrabureeswarar. It was built during 12th Century AD by Vikrama Chozhan. The temple is a 5 minute walk from the Vallam Bus Stand. Nearest Railway Station is located at Thanjavur & Nearest Airport is located at Trichy.

Puranic Significance

The legend goes to say that Lord Indira had worshipped this Vajrabureeswarar to annihilate his sins; following the curse of Kausigar Muni when Indira deceptively had an affair with Agaligai. There is a large dilapidated pond south of the temple the depth of which is still unknown. It is believed that Lord Rama came here with Seetha, in his journey back from Sri Lanka after defeating Ravana. During their journey, Seetha had become extremely thirsty.

As the path they had taken was an arid desert, Rama using his Vajrayutham (Celestial Weapon), that drilled a crate, overflowing with water, so vast and so deep that its depth is still undiscovered, even today. The last attempt at measuring its depth leads to an estimate of more than 40 feet. The Temple committee has attempted renovation on the temple and as their hammers touched the slabs of stone around the praharam, there was a resounding ‘AUM’ emanating from these slabs. When they ignored the sound and continued to hit the sound intensified, frightened the workers refused to work on and the project was abandoned. However, they completed the work on the outer praharam. Close to the temple there is a large Banyan tree and the local people refer it to as Kausigar Muni’s Ashram. Further north there lays a pond which is referred to as Kausigar theertham. 90% of this pond is currently encompassed in the Periyar engineering college campus.

The locals and people from the temple committee have appealed to the court, to preserve this pond and its history and heritage. However it’s a long battle particularly in an age where pages of history and essences of scriptures all have a price tag attached. The temple has a Sthala Virutcham this tree cannot be seen anywhere in the world. It emits a fragrance so mild and enchanting, that envelopes the entire temple. According to the priest, it is written in the Purana’s that this tree is only to be found in the astral world.

References

https://tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com