Annamalaiyar Temple – Fifth Prakaram – Sivagangai
Theertham
Sivagangai Theertham is the name of the river in
Kailayam, the abode of Lord Siva. The Theertham is named after the river
Sivaganga. This water is used for sacred ablutions to the deities in the
temple. Inscriptions reveal that water to this tank was provided by digging a
canal called Thirumalai Amman Devi Samudram. There is a verse which proclaims that
Sevappa Nayak, the ruler of Tanjore, dug a tank in 1572 A.D22.
To the south of the Kambatthu Ilayanar shrine, there is
the sacred tank, called Sivagangai Theertham. This is rectangular in size. It
has a flight of steps leading to the tank on the east the west, each one and
two on the northern sides just at the corners. It is being fenced by a row of
small pillars on all sides leaving the passages. In the south – east of this
prakara, there is the Adiyar vidhuti (devotee’s rest house). To the west of the
Sivagangai tank is the Theerthavari mandapa.
Adjacent to Kambatthu Ilayanar Sannathi is the
Sivagangai Teertham which was originally dug by King Krishnadevaraya in 1516
A.D., and was intended for Theppotsavam. He named it ‘Vasanta Kolam’ and to get
water to it (it is said in his epigraph) he dug the Thirumalai Devi Amman
Samudram and connected it to the former with an underground conduit.
This Teertham has stone steps and is surrounded by
enclosed long verandahs called Thirumanapathi Mandapams. This tank is closed to
devotees. However, it is still used for Theerthavari (dipping in the water of
Hasthi Devar, a bronze metallic symbol during eclipse) and at certain other
Festival times.
This tank was repaired and renamed in 1902 A.D. as
“Sivagangai Teertham” by sponsors who financed its renovation i.e. the Nattukkottai
Chettiars. On the walls surrounding this tank are seen two figures of helmeted
soldiers in uniform with dogs at their feet.
