Thirukutralam represents one of the five Pancha Sabhas of Nataraja - Chitra Sabhai. The five dance halls of Shiva are

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be o ...

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration i ...

Thiruvalangadu Thiruvalangadu is a village on the western suburbs of Chennai, India. The railway station is located on the Chennai-Arakkonam Route, the penultimate station before Arakkonam. Sri Vadaranyeswarar Temple is situated at a distance of 5 km fr ...

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...

and

Kutralam Courtallam is a panchayat town situated at a mean elevation of in the foothills of the Western Ghats in Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu, India. The Coutrallam Falls on the Chittar River is a major tourist attraction. Demographics India ...

. Kutralam is also known as Trikootaachalam.

Location

is a popular tourist resort in Southern

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

known for its waterfalls, amidst picturesque surroundings - and is a source of inspiration of many a literary work. Thousands visit this town when the waterfalls are in season.

Legend

As per

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 ...

legend, during the divine wedding of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

and

Parvathi Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

, there was heavy crowd at Kailash, the abode of Shiva. Sage

Agasthya Agastya ( kn, ಅಗಸ್ತ್ಯ, ta, அகத்தியர், sa, अगस्त्य, te, అగస్త్యుడు, ml, അഗസ്ത്യൻ, hi, अगस्त्य) was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the ...

could not view event and prayed to

at this place to get him a view of the event. Pleased by his devotion, Shiva appeared to the sage and his wife Lopamundra along with Parvathi in his marriage attire. Shiva made the place his abode and came to be called Kutralanathar. Tamiraparani River reaches is descent in flat land at this place. As per another legend, sage Urosamar floated a set of flowers in the river and the first flower reached the shore at this place. The sage established a temple for Kutralathanathar and worshipped the deity here. As per another legend, the king of celestial deities,

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

slayed a demon Dwastha, the son of

Sukracharya Shukra (Sanskrit: शुक्र, IAST: ) is a Sanskrit word that means "clear" or "bright". It also has other meanings, such as the name of an ancient lineage of sages who counselled Asuras in Vedic history. In medieval mythology and Hindu as ...

(the Guru of

Asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

s, the demons) as he was performing a penance to seek superior powers against the Devas. Indra incurred ''Brahmatti Dosha'', a sin attained for slaying the

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

. He roamed around a lot of places for doing penance and finally on the advise of Brihaspathi, he landed at Papanasam. Since his sin (''Papam'' locally) was expiated in this place, it came to be known as Papanasam.

Temple structure

The temple has a

conch Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). In North Am ...

-shaped temple (''

prakaram A prakaram (प्राकारः in Sanskrit), also spelled pragaram or pragaaram) in Indian architecture is an outer part around the Hindu temple sanctum. They may be enclosed or open and are typically enclosed for the innermost prakaram. As ...

'' (closed precincts of a temple)) plan and is referred to as Sangakkovil. In the shrine, Shiva showed himself as

Bhrama Bhrama (Sanskrit: भ्रम), in the context of Hindu thought, means – error, mistake, illusion, confusion, perplexity. But, it literally means – that which is not steady; and refers to error etc., caused by defects in the perceptive syste ...

and

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

. The presiding deity lord Shiva is called as Kuttralanathar and the Ambal his consort mother Parvathy is called as Kuzhalvoi Mozhiammai. The Tirikootamandapam here is the site of festivities here. Parvati's shrine is also of significance here and is regarded as one of the 64 Shakti Peethams. The Chitra Sabhai or the hall of pictures is located in a picturesque locale away from the main temple. Architecturally the Chitrasabha resembles that of the other Nataraja Sabhas elsewhere in Tamil Nadu, and its interior is decked with hundreds of murals, depicting images from the Indian epics. Natarajar is brought here during festivals from the Kurumpalaveesar temple. The sthala vriksham is Kurum Palaa and the Theertham is Chitranadhi. Nataraja is sported with Nritya Thandavam posture.

Poems on this temple

Tirikootaraasappa kavirayar's well known work Kutrala Kuravanji glorifies this shrine. Kurumpalaveesar, sung in Tevaram was done by

Sambandar Sambandar (Tamil: சம்பந்தர்), also referred to as Tirugnana Sambandar (lit. ''Holy Sage Sambandar''), Tirujnanasambanda, Campantar or Jñāṉacampantar, was a Shaiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived sometime in the 7th cen ...

. It is one of the shrines of the 275

Paadal Petra Sthalams The Paadal Petra Sthalam, also known as Thevara Sthalam, are 276 temples that are revered in the verses of Saiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE and are amongst the greatest Shiva temples of the continent. The Divya Desams by comparison ar ...

Festivals

Arudra Darisanam is celebrated in the Chitrasabha, and the Taandava Deepa Aradhanai carried out then is of significance here. In the annual festival Shiva appears as Bhrama, Vishnu, Rudra, Eswara, Sadasiva and Subramanya. Other festivals celebrated here are Vasanta Utsavam in Chittirai, Pavitrotsavam in Kartikai, Navaratri, Skanda Sashti, Chittirai Vishu and Aippasi Vishu. The ivory chariot used in processions is of great beauty.

Location

This temple is located roughly 5 km from

Tenkasi Tenkasi is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu,Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the ...

. Tenkasi is connected with other parts of Tamil Nadu both by road and Train. Tenkasi can easily be reached by bus from

and

. Bus services from Tenkasi to Courtalam are available. From Kerala through Punalur we can reach Courtalam.

References

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/koil_view.php?koil_idField=109

External links

* http://www.templenet.com/Tamilnadu/s105.html * http://www.shivatemples.com/pnaadu/pn13.html {{List of Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu Hindu temples in Tirunelveli district Tourist attractions in Madurai Pancha Sabhai Padal Petra Stalam