Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal Temple, Thirukkandiyur, Thanjavur

Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal Temple, Thirukkandiyur, Thanjavur

Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal Temple in Thirukkandiyur, a village in the outskirts of Thiruvayaru in the South Indian state of Tamilnadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Naalaayira Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Hara Saabha Vimochana and his consort Lakshmi as Kamalavalli.

The temple is believed to have been built by the Medieval Cholas of the late 8th century AD, with later contributions from Vijayanagar kings and Madurai Nayaks. A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines and its bodies of water. The temple has a 5-tiered Rajagopuram, the temple's gateway tower.

Hara Saabha Vimochana is believed to have appeared to Hindu gods Brahma and Shiva, and King Mahabali. Six daily rituals and four yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Panguni Brahmotsavam, celebrated during the Tamil month of Panguni (April–May), is the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The temple ranks among the 108 Divya Desas. The noteworthy feature is that all three Lords Brahmma, Vishnu and Shiva grace the devotees together in the temple

Legends

Lord Vishnu relieving sin of Lord Shiva:

As per Hindu legend, Brahma, the Hindu god of creation and Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, had originally five heads. Parvathi, the wife of Shiva once got confused and performed Patha pooja (ablution of feet, considered an act of respect) to Brahma instead of Shiva. Shiva got enraged and cut off one of the heads of Brahma. The cut head got stuck in his hand of Shiva on account of a curse of Brahma. To get rid off the sin, Shiva worshipped Vishnu at Thirukarambanur as Bhikshadana, where a part of his sin was relieved.

He got his curse fully relieved after visiting Vishnu at Thirukkandiyur and taking a holy dip in the temple tank, Kamala Pushkarani. Since Vishnu relieved (Vimochana) the sin (saabha) of Shiva (also called Hara), the temple is called Hara Saabha Vimochana Temple. After the incident, the tank came to be known as Kapala Theertham (kapala indicates skull). Shiva was pleased and he built the Hara Sabha Vimochana temple and also built a temple for himself near it.

Lakshmi request to Lord Shiva:

As per another legend, Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu requested Shiva to cut off one of the heads of Brahma as she felt that Vishnu would ignore her and show all his affection towards Brahma.

Relief of Sage Bhrigu’s Sin:

Sage Bhrigu, King Mahabali and Chandra (Moon) all got their sins relieved worshipping Vishnu here in the temple. Sage Bhrigu once wanted to test the superior of Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva. He kicked Vishnu in his chest in anger and got relieved of the sin here.

Partial Relief of Chandra’s Sin:

Chandra, got curse by seducing the preceptor's wife, got partially relieved of it by worshipping Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal.

Greatness of Temple

As Perumal granted relief to Lord Shiva (Hara) of a curse, He is named Hara Shaba Vimochana Perumal – Hara-Shiva, Shaba-curse, Vimochana-relief.  This is one of the 108 Divya Desas of Perumal.  According to scriptures, the temple was built by Emperor Mahabali.  Lord Shiva has His temple here and is praised as Kandeeswarar. 

The place has the reputation of being honoured as Mum Moorthy (three Lords) Sthala.  Since there is no temple for Brahmma, he has his place in Kandeeswarar temple gracing with Mother Maha Saraswathi.   The author of the celebrated book ‘Sri Krishna Leela Tharangini’ belongs to Tirupoonturuthi near Kandiyur, a staunch devotee of this temple.

Saint Thirumangai Azhwar compares the glory of the Lord of this temple in his hymns with Perumals of Kanchi and Koviladi – Kanchi Perumal, Koviladi Perumal.

Architecture

Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal Temple is located in Thirukkandiyur, a village located between Thiruvayaru and Thanjavur, in between the rivers Cauvery and Kudamurutti. The temple is believed to have been built by the Medieval Cholas of the late 8th century AD, with later contributions from Vijayanagar kings and Madurai Nayaks.

In modern times, the recorded temple renovation was carried out in 1984 under the aegis of seer Sri Thirukkudanthai Vedanta Ramanuja Mahadesikan. The renovation is 2003 was carried out by his successor Sri Rangaramanuja Mahadesikan. The works involved renovation of the gateway tower and the shrines of Hara Saabha Vimochana and Kamalavalli.

The temple has a three-tiered Rajagopuram (gateway tower) and an adjoining granite wall that surrounds the temple. The temple occupies an area of 1 acre (0.0040 km2) and is located in the between the rivers Kudamurutti and Vennar. The temple is located 2 km (1.2 mi) away from Thiruvayaru in Thanjavur district. The temple has two precincts and the main gateway faces the east. The central shrine houses the image of Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal in standing posture. The sanctum is approached through two halls, namely, the Garuda Mandapam and the Maha Mandapam.

Kapala Moksha Pushkarani, located on the west side of the temple is the major water body associated with the temple, while the Mahabali Theertham is located opposite to it. The shrine of the consort of Hara Saabha Vimochana, Kamalavalli or Kamala Nachiyar, is located in the first precinct.

The second precinct houses the shrines for Narasimha, Sudarsana, Andal, Azhwars and Desika. Lord Perumal appears in a standing posture facing east.  The Vimana above the sanctum is called Kamalakruthi Vimana.  Lord Shiva and sage Agasthya had the darshan of the Lord in this temple

The Raja Gopuram is partitioned into 3 thalam. Both Sri Lakshmi Narasimmar and Chakkarathalwar are given the Seva in the same place. Since, Narasimmar is behind the wall, it is not possible to worship him. Only Chakarathalwar can be worshipped.

The vimanam of this temple will be like the lotus flower. Sandhana Gopalan and Navaneetha krishnan are also the Utsavar found in this temple.

Kamalam means Lotus. Since, the Shetram is also called as Kamala Shetram, the pushkarani Kamala Pushkarani, the Utsavar is Kamalanathan, and the Thaayar is Kamala valli, this temple is said to build along with Panja Kamala way. Panja means five.

The Brahma devans sculpture is taken out and along with Saraswathi devi, it is kept inside shivas temple and Lord Shiva is kept where the Brahma's sculpture used to placed.

Since, Lord Shiva got the Brahmahatthi dosham, Lord Brahma's sculpture was kept inside Shiva’s temple. Along the south side of this temple is a Sannadhi for Sri Vedanta Desikar.

Temple Opening Time

The temple is open from 7.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. and from 5.00 p.m. to 7.30 p.m

Religious Significance

The temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Thirumangai Azhwar in ten hymns. The temple is classified as a Divyadesam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book. The temple is one of the few historical temples in India where the images of Hindu trinity, Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma are housed in the same premises. It is one of the two temples in Chola Nadu where the trinity can be seen in the same premises, the other being Utthamar Kovil near Tiruchirapalli.

The shrines of Brahma and his consort Saraswati were dilapidated during the course of time. The place is called by different names like Kandiyur, Kandana Kshetram and Pancha Kamala Kshetram, and is believed that devotees get relieved off their Brahmahatthi Dosha after visiting the temple. The temple is considered older than Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple and believed to be in existence from the Treta Yuga.

Festivals & Religious Practices

The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Vaishnavaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed six times a day: Ushathkalam at 7 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 p.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 10:00 p.m.

Each ritual has three steps: Alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Hara Saabha Vimochana and Kamalavalli. During the last step of worship, nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument) are played, religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred text) are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of the temple mast. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple.

Four major festivals are celebrated in the temple, namely, the Panguni Brahmotsavam celebrated during the Tamil month in Panguni (March–April), Aipasi Pavithra Utsavam in Aipasi (October–November), Vaikunta Ekadashi in Margazhi (December–January) and Karthikai Deepam in Karthikai (November–December).

Prayers

This is the sacred place that relieved Lord Shiva Himself of His doshas.  Hence, every dosha faced by devotees will disappear if they pray to Perumal here. Devotees perform Thirumanjanam to Perumal and offer vastras

Contact

Sri Hara Shaba Vimochana Perumal Temple,

Kandiyur-613 202, Thanjavur district

Phone: +91- 93446 08150.

Connectivity

Kandiyur is 8 km from Thanjavur on the Tiruvaiyaru route. Bus facilities are available. Temple is at the road side near bus stop. Nearest Railway Station is located at Thanjavur & Nearest Airport is located at Trichy.