VEDAPUREESWARATEMPLE, CHEYYAR, TIRUVANNAMALAI DISTRICT- TAMILNADU Introduction
The most famous Shiva temple in Cheyyar (Tiruvettipuram) isthe ancient Vedapureeswarar Temple (also known as Thiruvothur VedapureeswararTemple). Situated on the banks of the Cheyyar River, this 8th-century PaadalPetra Sthalam is renowned for its 6-tier rajagopuram, where the Nandi faces outward, and its association withSaint Thirugnanasambandar. This sacred place is now known as Cheyyar but was previouslycalled Thiruvothur. This is one of the important towns in Thiruvanamalaidistrict. It includes a sub-collector office, Taluk office, two courts and aspecial prison. The place is close toVandavasi, native place of Late CP Ramaswamy Iyer, Diwan of Travancore. Key Details ofVedapureeswarar Temple, Cheyyar: Significance: It is one of the 276 Paadal Petra Sthalams(temples mentioned in the Thevaram hymns). Legend: Itis believed that Saint Thirugnanasambandar sang hymns here, causing a male palmtree to flower, which is still the temple's sthala vriksham. Unique Feature: The Nandi (bull)faces outward, away from the main deity, as it is believed to have been sent to leada battle. Location: The temple is located in Thiruvathipuram (Cheyyar),which is in the Tiruvannamalai District. Legend According to popularlegend, when the Saivite saint Sambandhar visited Therazhundur, he could notdistinguish the temple from the neighbouring Sri Devaadi Raja Perumal Templededicated to Vishnu. At that instant, Ganesha is believed to have manifested before Sambandharand pointed out the Shiva temple to him. Rishabam is facing in the same direction as moolavar. Thestory behind this is Lord Shiva sent Nandhi along with King Thondaiman toconquer a king called Visvavasu. Torepresent this Nandhi is facing in the same direction of moolavar. From anotherLegend, Rishaba was instructed not to allow others while Lord Shiva wasexplaining the meanings of Vedas to the Rishis and munis. History It is one of the shrines of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams.The temple is devoted to Lord Vedapuresswarar who came here and imparted his spiritual knowledgeregarding the Vedas. The inscriptions belong to, Kulothunga,Rajendran, Pothappi Chozha, VikramaChozha etc. indicate the temple was built in the chozha kings period. Unique Features This temple has a few unique distinctions. The Nandi, whichusually faces the Shiva Lingam, is facing the opposite direction. One can also worship all the PanchaBootha (lingams) in this temple. Architecture The temple faces east with a 7-tier Rajagopuram. A mandapamwith Balipeedam, dwajasthambam, and Rishabam are at the front. Rishabam is facing opposite to moolavar.After this, there is a 5-tier Vimanam. In the front mandapam iympon procession deities are kept.Some of them are Pichadanar, Ambal with Chandrasekar, Arumugar with 12 hands and 6 heads with Valli Devasenalook cute. A Perumal / Vishnu statue is installed in front of Durgai. The Chakra is in a vertical positionagainst a horizontal. In the outer prakaram Sthala Vruksham, sannidhi for ThillaiShivaperuman, Chandikeswarar, Thirukalathinathar, Thiru Aanaikka, ThiruAnnamalai, Thirukkachi Ekambam, Ambal sannadhi, Palliyarai, Navagrahas andSanthana kuravas. On the left of the entrance, an image of Thirugnanasambandarwith Shiva and Sthala vruksham Deities Moolavar : Sri Vedapureeswarar, Sri VedhaNathar. Consort : SriBalakujambigai, Sri IlamlaiNayagi. Moolavar is on a square Avudayar. Ambal sannidhi is like aseparate temple with Koshta images. Ambal is in a sitting posture.Standing at one place in thefront mandapam, we can have the view of Moolavar, Ambal, Vinayagar, Murugan,Navagrahas, and Sthala Vruksham (partially visible – obstruction due tosannidhis ). In koshtam Vinayagar,Dakshinamurthy, Mahavishnu, Brahma and Durgai. In the inner prakaram, sannadhi for Vinayagar,Balamurugan, Veerabhadra, Nagalingam, 108 Lingam, Naalvar, 63var, ValampuriVinayagar, , Valli Devasena Subramaniar, , Bhairavar, Suryan, Thirumal and Chandran. Poojas Apart from regular poojas, special poojas on prodosham, sivarathri etc. Festivals The devotees of the temple and the natives of the towncelebrate a festival every year with street processions which spans 10 days,called Brahmmotsavam. The 6th, 7th and 10th days of the festival are celebratedin a grand manner. 7th day function iscelebrated in grand manner called Thiruther vaibhavam. It is the main day of festival. The10th day function is celebrated at night. Thirugnanasambandar has sung hymns in praise of Lord Shiva ofthis temple. Devotees throng to thetemple for:- This is the pariharasthalam for Naga dosha.This is one of the temples where Muruga worshiped Lord Shiva of this temple.During Thirugnanasambandar’s visit, had a victory over a debate withsamanars/Tamil Jains, and sang a hymn to change the male Palm tree to a femalepalm tree. Temple timings The temple is kept open between 08.00 Hrs. to 12.00 Hrs.and 16.00 Hrs. to 20.30 Hrs. And the poojas are 08.00 Hrs. 12.00 Hrs. 16.00 Hrs. and 20.30 Hrs. Contact priest Sivachariyar Dakshinamurthy 9688612660 may be contacted for pooja and other functions. How to reach : Govt. buses are available from Kanchipuram, Chennai,Thiruvannamalai, Salem, etc., and the temple place Thiruvothur is about 1.5 KMfrom the bus stand. The temple is 33 KM from Kanchipuram, The nearest Railwaystation is Kanchipuram Administration HR &CE Government of Tamilnadu. Temple Address Arulmigu Veda pureeswara temple, Cheyyar, TiruvannamalaiDistrict, Pin Code is 604407 Phone- 9842416402. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1252973793.4084868.1770017101288%40mail.yahoo.com.
