Kailasanthar Temple,Thingalur
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The Chandiranaar Temple (also called Kailasanathar temple or Thingalur temple) is a
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
temple in the village of
Thingalur Thingalur is a town situated near Papanasam. It is located at a distance of 18 kilometres from Thanjavur. It is one of the nine '' Navagraha Sthalas'' of the Cauvery Delta region and has a temple dedicated to Chandra, the Hindu Moon god. It i ...
, from
Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...
on the Kumbakonam - Thiruvaiyaru road in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is
Soma Soma may refer to: Businesses and brands * SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects * Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems * SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...
(moon). However, the main idol in the temple is that of Kailasanathar or Shiva. The temple is considered one of the nine
Navagraha temples in Tamil Nadu Nine Grahas Temples (Navagraham temples) in Tamil Nadu is a set of nine Hindu temples, each dedicated to one of the nine planetary deities, the Navagraham in various places around the South Indian own of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu, India. The pre ...
. Thingalur is the birth place of Appothi Adigal an ardent devotee of saint Thirunavukkarasar, though the temple has no assets related to the saint. The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and four yearly festivals on its calendar. Mahasivarathri, Margazhi Thiruvadirai, Panguni Uthiram and Thirukartigai are the major festivals celebrated in the temple. The village finds cursory mention in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the '' Tevaram'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the Nayanars and classified as '' Vaippu Sthalam''. The original complex is believed to have been built by
Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...
, while the present masonry structure was built during the Nayak 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. The temple is famous for first feeding of rice to infant children.


Legend

Legend has it that there lived a merchant Appoodi Adikal, a nayanar in the village of Thingalur who was a devotee of Shiva. Appoodi Adikal held Thirunavukkarasar in high regards. He had many establishments in the village named after Thirunavukkarasar. One day, Appar (Thirunavukkarasar) arrived at Thingalur and was surprised to see so many establishments in his name. Apoodi Adigal was fascinated to meet his idol in person and launched a grand feast. He sent his son to pick plaintain leaves who was killed by a venomous snake bite while the saint was being hosted. Appar, moved by Appoodi Adikal's devotion is said to have miraculously restored the lad to life. During the Tamil month of Purattasi (Sep - Oct) and Panguni (March - April), moon light falls directly on the image of the presiding deity. As per another legend, Chandra (moon), the handsome looking deity, married 28 daughters of Dakkan. He showed preference only to the last one among them, which infuriated the others. They all complained it to Dakkan, who cursed moon to lose all his powers. Chandra is believed to have worshiped Kailasanathar at this place and was restored all his powers.


Architecture

The temple is located in the village of
Thingalur Thingalur is a town situated near Papanasam. It is located at a distance of 18 kilometres from Thanjavur. It is one of the nine '' Navagraha Sthalas'' of the Cauvery Delta region and has a temple dedicated to Chandra, the Hindu Moon god. It i ...
, from
Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...
on the Kumbakonam - Thiruvayyar road and away from Thanjavur. The temple has a recently built three-tiered raja gopuram surrounded by single '' prakaram'', closed precincts of the temple. The place is revered by the verses of Appar, but since there is no mention about the deity, it is not classified as Padal petra stalam. The image of Chandra is located in the first precinct and houses the image made of black granite and usually clad with white cloth. The temple tank is named Chandrapushkarani. The gopuram and the central shrine faces East, while the main entrance faces South. There are other shrines for Ambal, Subramanya, Gajalakshmi and Bhairavar. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.


Religious importance

The temple is one of the nine Navagraha temples of Tamil Nadu and is a part of the popular Navagraha pilgrimage in the state - it houses the image of Moon (called Thingal locally). The planets are believed to influence the horoscope computed based on time of one's birth and subsequently influence the course of life. Each of the planets are believed to move from a star to another during a predefined period and thus sway over an individual's fortunes. The Navagrahas, as per Hindu customs, are believed to provide both good and bad effects for any individual and the bad effects are mitigated by prayers. As in other Navagraha temples, the common worship practices of the devotees include offering of cloth, grains, flowers and jewels specific to the planet deity. Lighting a set of lamps is also commonly followed in the temple. As per contemporary Saivite belief, the energies distributed cyclically by Navagrahas can be channeled based on remedial measures. As per local legends, Shiva, the overlord of the nine planetary deities, allowed them to freely grant wishes based on devotion of the devotees. The village finds cursory mention in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the '' Tevaram'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the Nayanars and classified as '' Vaippu Sthalam''. The temple is frequented by devotees with mental illness and familial problems.


Worship and festivals

The temple priests perform the '' pooja'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the
Shaivaite Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...
community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 8:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 10:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: ''abhisheka'' (sacred bath), ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''neivethanam'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for Surya, Usha and Chhaya. The worship is held amidst music with '' nagaswaram'' (pipe instrument) and '' tavil'' (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like ' and ', fortnightly rituals like '' pradosham'' and monthly festivals like '' amavasai'' (new moon day), ''kiruthigai'', '' pournami'' (full moon day) and ''sathurthi''. Mahasivarathri, Margazhi Thiruvadirai, Panguni Uthiram and Thirukartigai are the major festivals celebrated in the temple. The temple is famous for first feeding of rice to infant children.


References


External links

* {{Vaippu sthalam Hindu temples in Thanjavur district Navagraha temples in Tamil Nadu