Tiruttalinathar temple is a

Siva Siva may refer to: Film and television * Siva (director), Indian cinematographer and director * ''Siva'' (1989 Tamil film), a film starring Rajinikanth as the title character * ''Siva'' (1989 Telugu film), an action film Music and dance * "Siv ...

temple located in Thiruputhur near

Karaikkudi Karaikudi is a Greater municipality in Sivagangai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 21st largest urban agglomeration of Tamil Nadu based on 2011 census data. It is part of the area commonly referred to as " Chettinad" and has ...

. This temple is regarded as the 6th of the Tevara Stalams in the Pandya kingdom of

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 languag ...

. The temples

Rameswaram Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 ki ...

and Tiruvadanai are the other Shivastalams nearby. 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 a ...

Mythology

The snakes

Vasuki Vasuki ( IAST: ) is the second king of the nagas in Hinduism. He is described as having a gem called ''Nagamani'' (serpent's ornament) on his head. Adishesha, the first king of the serpents and the mount of Narayana, is his elder brother, an ...

and Kaarkotakan worshipped Lord Shiva there, hence the separate shrine for Tirunageswarar in the outer 3rd ''

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 ...

'' (outer courtyard). Pranavam is said to have realized that Shiva and Pranavam were the same there and is said to have manifested as the Konrai Maram. Goddess Mahalaskhmi once wished to have a ''darshan'' of Lord Shiva's dance. Lord Shiva acceded to her request and told her that she can have a vision of his dance at this sthalam. Accordingly, Shiva revealed a vision of his Cosmic Dance known as Gowri Thandavam to Goddess Mahalakshmi there. Agasthyar, Valmiki, Jayanthan the son Devendran are said to have worshipped there. This temple had royal patronage from the early

Chola 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 B ...

, Pandiya and Chera kings, and by the later period

Pallavas The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as ...

, Sethupathy Raja and

Maruthu Pandiyar The Marudhu Pandiyars (Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu) were Diarchal Kings of Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu, India, towards the end of the 18th century. They were known for fighting against the East India Company. They were finally executed by t ...

Architectural design

Although Thiruputhur is small, the temple is massive. This temple has a main ''vimanam'' with stucco images on the east side and 3 '' prakarams'' (outer courtyard). The outer 3rd ''

'' (outer courtyard) is a wide courtyard. In the 2nd middle ''

'' (outer courtyard) shrines for Lord Subramanya and his consorts Valli and Deivaanai are found. Shiva is called Tiruttalinathar, Sreetalinathar and the Ambal, while his mother Parvathy is called Sivakami, Soundarya Nayaki. The shrine is elevated and faces east. The shrine for Sivagami is situated parallel to the north of the main sanctum and faces east. The ''mandapam'' in front of the sanctum has pillars with beautiful sculptured images of Rishabavaaganar, Narthana Ganapathy, Venugpolan and Narasimhar. Metal images of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

, Sita and Lakshmana are seen there, as are stone images of Nataraja and Sivakami. The Yoga Bhairavar shrine (facing West) has metal images of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana. The Navagrahams are in a seated posture. Entering the 3rd inner ''

'' (outer courtyard) from the east side, reveals shrines for Sun God Sooriyan, Mahalakshmi, Mahaganapathy, Dakshinamurthy, Varunalingam, Visalakshmi Amman, Agasthiyalingam, Sandeswarar and Durgai on the four pathways of the ''

'' (outer courtyard). The ''sthala vriksham'' is Konrai tree and the Theertham is called Garuda Theertham. The two circular pilasters with circular shafts on four sides of the ''vimana'' indicate the temple's antiquity. This feature is possibly termed ''Vrittasputitas'' in ''silpa'' texts like '' Shilparatna,'' and is found only in few other temples like Neyyadiappar Temple, Tillaistanam, central shrine in Moovar Koil in Kodumbalur, Vijayalaya Choleeswaram in Narthamalai, Anantheswara temple in Udayarkudi, and Kampaheswarar Temple, Thirubuvanam.

Poetry

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 ce ...

and

Appar Appar, also referred to as ( ta, திருநாவுக்கரசர்) or Navukkarasar, was a seventh-century Tamil Śaiva poet-saint. Born in a peasant Śaiva family, raised as an orphan by his sister, he lived about 80 years and is ...

composed the thevara Pathigam here.

Festivals

The Jayantan Festival is celebrated on the first Friday in the Tamil month of Chittirai. In addition to this Vinayaka Chaturthi, Navaratri, Kartikai Deepam, Arudra Darisanam and Vaikasi Visaakam are celebrated here .

Location

This temple is between

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 in ...

and Karaikudi, and can be reached by road from either place. It is about 65 km from Madurai, 20 km from Karaikudi, and about 35 km from Sivagangai.

References

* http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/koil_view.php?koil_idField=216

External links

* http://www.templenet.com/Tamilnadu/s205.html * http://www.shivatemples.com/pnaadu/pn06.html * https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/New_en.php?id=326 {{Famous Shiva temples

Photogallery

File: Tiruppattur1w.jpg, Rajagopura File: Tiruppattur2w.jpg, Entrance File: Tiruppattur3w.jpg, Vimana of presiding deity File: Tiruppattur4w.jpg, Goddess shrine File: Tiruppattur6w.jpg, Vimana of Bairava File: Tiruppattur7w.jpg, Nagesvara shrine File: Tiruppattur5w.jpg, Nataraja shrine Hindu temples in Sivaganga district Padal Petra Stalam