Friday, November 10, 2017

Mangalapureeswarar Temple, Thiruchopuram – The Temple

Mangalapureeswarar Temple, Thiruchopuram – The Temple
This west facing temple has one corridor and it has no main tower (Rajagopuram). The temple itself is quite small but spacious. Presiding Deity is called as Mangalapureeswarar / Chopuranathar. Lord Shiva graces this temple as a Swayambumurthy (self-manifested). The Shivalingam faces west hence the square Avudayar is on the left. Here Shivalingam is on square peetam as Avudai and the Lingam portion is made of Sand. Palm print of Agasthya muni is visible on the Lingam portion. There is a small ball like bulb which is considered as Ganga.






Something unique in this temple is Turmeric and Kumkum is used for worship of Lord Siva here. Hence the Lord is known as Mangala Pureeswarar. The koshta vigrahas are reversed as the temple faces west and hence Vishnu Durgai comes first, The Dakshinamurthy, Lingodhbava are unique in having attendants, Ganesh has Tirugnanasambandar as attendant & Dakshinamurthy has Sanath kumaras. Behind the sanctum sanctorum, on either sides of Lord Lingothbavar, there are idols of Lord Mahavishnu and Lord Brahma in a worshipping posture. Devotees can enjoy the darshan of all the three lords (Trimurthy) – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. This is considered to be very auspicious.






Dakshina Murthy is seen with Nagam to left hand and Agni to right hand which is in reverse order. It is significant to note that instead of the normal practice of dressing Lord Dakshinamurthy in yellow clothes, a white cloth is used in this temple. It is said that if we gently tap on the idol of Dakshinamurthy, the sound of seven musical notes - reverently called “Saptaswara”, can be heard. Mother is called as Sathyakshi / Saththiyaya Dakshi / Velnedunganni / Thiyagavalli / Chopura Nayaki. The Mother sannidhi is on the left facing south. The Mother is about 5 feet tall and quite imposing.





Shrines and idols of Lords Vinayakar, Murugan with his consorts, Natarajar, Gajalakshmi, Visalakshi and Viswanathar, Veeratteswarar, Kannappa Nayanar, Thiyagavalli Avudaiyar, 63 Nayanmars, Dakshinamurthy, Durgai, Chandikeswarar, Agasthiar, Suryan, Bairavar and Navagraham can be seen in the corridors. Theertham associated with this temple are Chopura Theertham and Brahmatheertham (Sea). Sthala Vriksham is Kondrai Tree. Inscriptions belongs to Cholas and Pandyas can be seen in this temple.