Friday, September 8, 2017

Deivanayaka Easwarar Temple (Arambeshwarar Temple), Ilambaiyangkottur – Legends

Deivanayaka Easwarar Temple (Arambeshwarar Temple), Ilambaiyangkottur – Legends
Deiva Nayaka Easwarar:
When Shiva started his march to destroy the three demons (Tiripura Samharam) - Tharakatchan, Kamalakshan and Vidunmali with 3 flying forts (Gold, Silver and Iron) to protect the Devas, he did not worship Vinayagar and hence the pinwheel of the Chariot broke and when he had to bend down because of that, the Kondrai (a tropical yellow flower) garland he was wearing is said to have fallen here and became a Swayambu Lingam. As this lingam is considered to have been formed from the lord’s garland the lord here is considered to be “Theendathirumeni” (untouched by human hands).
During the march, it is believed that all the devas who were under the commands of Lord Shiva stopped and worshipped this Swayambu lingam. Hence this lingam here is praised as “Deiva Nayaka Easwarar” (literally translated as “the lord who was worshiped by the rest of the gods”). As the Lord is worshiped by rest of the gods, Devotees believe that worshiping Lord Shiva here would negate the ill effects of previous births.
Arambeshwarar:
Another legend associated with this place is that Lord Shiva at this place is said to have been worshiped by the Apsaras (Arambais) – the magical beings of the celestial world. They sought the blessings of Lord Shiva in order to keep their alluring beauty perennially. Pleased with their prayers, Lord Shiva appeared before them in the form of Yoga Dakshinamurthy and blessed them with the gift of perennial youth (Ilamai in Tamil). Hence this place gets the name Ilambaiyangkottur. Since the Apsaras (Arambais) worshiped the lord here, he is also praised as Arambeshwarar. Lord Yoga Dakshinamurthy is very famous in this temple and worshiping him on full moon night is considered to be auspicious. It is believed that worshiping this lord would relieve any ill effects from planet Jupiter (Guru in Tamil).
Lord directed Sambandar to this Temple:
Another legend associated with this temple is that when Saint Sambandhar was travelling near this place, Lord Shiva wanted to direct him to go to this temple. He tried to seek Sambandar’s attention in a couple of ways – first he appeared as a child, second time as an old man but neither Sambandhar nor his followers could recognize it. Third time Lord Shiva took the form of a white cow and hit his palanquin.
Sambandhar realized that this was none other than Lord Shiva himself and followed the cow to the temple. On reaching the temple, the cow disappeared. Sambandhar mentioned about this incident in the third stanza of this temple’s hymn. The significance of Sambandar’s hymn about the lord of this temple is that in all the stanzas he mentioned the words “Enathu urai thanathu uraiyaka” meaning whatever he says are not from him but from the God himself.
Chandran worshipped Lord Shiva here:
It is said that Chandran (Moon), who was cursed by King Dakshan, had worshiped Lord Shiva here after taking a holy dip in the Malligai Theertham in order to seek absolution for his sins.