Mahalingeswarar
Temple, Thiruvidaimarudur – Religious Significance
Moola Linga Sthalam:
According to legend, Mahalingaswamy
is the centre of all Shiva temples in the region and the Saptha Vigraha Moorthis (seven
prime consorts in all Siva Temples) are located at seven cardinal
points around the temple, located in various parts of the state.
The seven deities are;
The other deities of a Shiva
temple associated with Mahalingeswarar are;
Equivalent to Kasi
Vishwanathar Temple:
This temple is considered as one
of the six temples along the banks of the Kaveri which
are considered equivalent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
These temples are:
Significance for Prakaram:
For brief details, please refer below link;
Paadal Petra Sthalam:
The presiding deity is revered
in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Thevaram
written by Tamil poet saints known as the Nayanmars and
classified as Paadal
Petra Sthalam. The
temple is revered by all the three Nayanmars (saint poets)
namely, Appar, Sambanthar and Sundarar. Appar has glorified the
temple in five, Sundarar in one and Sambanthar in six verses. Appar
refers the temple as Idaimaruthur. Sambandar has sung the glory of Samba
Dakshinamurthy who is also enshrined here along with his consort. This
Temple is the 147th Devaram
Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam and 30th
Sthalam on south side of river Kaveri in Chozha Nadu.
Madhyarjunam:
There are 3 temples having
Marudha tree (Arjunam) as their Sthala Vriksham.
They are:
This place is named as
Idaimaruthur as it is in between Srisailam and Ambasamudram.
According to Hindu mythology, at
the end of every Yuga, there is a huge flood called Maha Pralayam occurs and the
whole world immerses in a deluge on account of the wrath of Hindu god Shiva for
the sins committed by humans in earth. Lord Brahma prepared himself for
the next cycle of creation. He put all the seeds from which creation would
sprout in amrita (the elixir of immortality) along with four Vedas and Puranas
and kept them together in a clay pot. On top of the pot, he placed a coconut
with mango leaves and wrapping around the pot’s neck a sacred thread. He then
placed the pot on the peak of Mount Meru in the Himalayas.
When the Maha Pralayam started,
it destroyed all living creatures on the earth. The Amutha Kalasa also got
displaced and started floating on the seas for years. Eventually when the
Pralayam stopped, the Kalasa settled in Kumbakonam. The drops of nectar are
believed to have fallen onto five shrines around Kumbakonam, namely Mahalingeswarar
Temple at Thiruvidaimarudur, Airavateshwarar
Temple at Darasuram, Naganathar
Temple at Tirunageswaram, Swaminathaswamy
Temple at Swamimalai and Sundareswarar
Temple at Koranattu Karuppur.
Saptha Sthana Temples of Thiruneelakudi:
It was believed that after
achieving Chiranjeevi Status from Lord Shiva. He achieved this status at
Thiruneelakkudi Temple. As a mark of respect to Lord Shiva, Sage Markandeya
worshipped Lord Shiva in Seven Temples around Thiruneelakkudi. In remembrance
to this event, during annual Chithirai festival, Sage Markandeya accompany Lord
Shiva and Mother of Thiruneelakkudi and visit the remaining six Shiva Temples.
This is called Saptha Sthana Festival of Thiruneelakkudi.
The Saptha Sthana Temples of
Thiruneelakkudi are;
Sakthi Peethas:
The Shakti Peetha are
significant shrines and
pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-focused Hindu tradition.
There are 51 or 108 Shakti Peethas by various accounts, of which between 4
and 18 are named as Maha (major) in medieval Hindu texts. Most of these
historic places of goddess worship are in India, but
there are seven in Bangladesh, three in Pakistan,
three in Nepal,
and one each in Tibet and Sri
Lanka.
Various legends explain how the
Shakti Peetha came into existence. The most popular is based on the story of
the death of the goddess Sati.
Out of grief and sorrow, Shiva carried Sati's body, reminiscing
about their moments as a couple, and roamed around the universe with it. Vishnu
had cut her body into 51 body parts, using his Sudarsana Chakra, which fell on
Earth to become sacred sites where all the people can pay homage to the
Goddess. The Mother Shrine in this Temple is considered as one of the Sakthi
Peethas.
Thiruvasaga Sthalam:
The 9th century Saiva saint
poet Manikkavasakar has sung praise about the temple in his Thiruvasagam.
Hence, the temple is considered as Thiruvasaga Sthalam.
Arunagirinathar have celebrated
this place in his Thirupugazh Hymns. Hence, the temple is considered as Thirupugazh
Sthalam.
Pancha Linga Sthalams:
For brief details, please refer below link;
First Pooja to Mahalingeswarar:
The pooja is first performed to
Mahalingaswamy in this
temple and then only to Vinayakar. Here Vinayagar himself is worshipping
Shiva.
