Pushpavaneswarar Temple,
Thirupuvanam – Legends
Thiruvilayadal of Lord Shiva:
This temple is the site of one of the
64 Thiruvilayadals (divine plays) of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva played
his 36th Thiruvilayadal (Rasavatha (alchemy) play) at this place. As
per Thiruvilayadal Puranam, a dancer woman named Ponnaiyal lived in
Thirupuvanam. She was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and spent all her
earnings from the dancing programmes in feeding the devotees of Lord Shiva. She
had a desire to sculpt an idol of Poovananathar in pure gold. As she spent all
the money in feeding the devotees of Lord Shiva, she was not having enough
money to fulfill her desire. Pleased by her devotion, Lord Shiva decided to
fulfill her desire.
He came to her in the form of metallurgist (Rasavathi)
and advised her to melt all the brass, lead and copper articles in the house at
night which will turn into gold. The dancer followed the advice of the Rasavathi,
and her joy knew no bounds to see adequate gold to make the idol of the Lord. With
the gold she got through the alchemy miracle, the dancer made out a beautiful
idol of the Lord Shiva. Impressed by the beauty of the idol, she pinched the
cheeks of the idol. It is believed that the pinch mark is seen even today
in the idol. This idol is the utsava idol of this
temple even today. An idol of Ponnaiyal can be seen in the front mandapam.
Thirupuvanam holier than Kasi:
As per legend, Dharma Yagnan, a vedic scholar carried
the ashes (Asthi) of his father, Veda Sharma from Veeravanam, a place on the
banks of Thamirabarani river to dissolve in the Ganga river with his disciple.
During their journey towards Kashi, they stayed at this place. During their
stay, Dharma Yagnan took bath in Manikarnigai Theertham. Suddenly rain started
and Dharma Yagnan came to the shore in a hurry.
He accidently hit the ash pot at the shore and the pot
fell into the Manikarnigai Theertham. He immediately retrieved the pot and
opened it. He was surprised to see the bones were turned into lotus flowers.
Confused at this strange incident, he enquired the sages who stayed in this temple. They informed him that his father had attained the Mukthi. Dharma
Yagnan prayed to Lord Shiva sincerely.
Pleased with his prayer, Lord Shiva appeared before
him in the form of Rishabaroodar and blessed him. As the Asthi turned into a
lotus flower in Thirupuvanam, this place is considered more holier than Kasi. The
proverb here goes “it is a Veesam more than Kasi” claiming greater reputation
than Kasi. Those unable to go to Kasi to immerse the ashes of the departed
ones in River Ganga do it here in Vaigai River and light the Moksha Deepa.
Nandi slightly away from its
usual position:
When Nayanmar Tirugnanasambandar visited this place,
he saw Shivalingas in every particle of river sand and could not walk on them
to reach the temple. He stood on the opposite bank of the river and sung his
pathigams from there. Nandhi, the bull vehicle of Lord Shiva was hiding the Lord
from Gnanasambandar. He prayed to the Lord Shiva to give him darshan. Pleased
with his prayers, Lord Shiva asked the Nandi to move aside so that he could
grant his darshan to Tirugnanasambandar. Even today, Nandi can be seen slightly
away from its usual position.
Moovar Mandapam:
As per legend, When Moovar (Thirugnana Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar) visited this place, they saw Shivalingas in every particle of river sand and could not walk on them to reach the temple. They worshipped Lord Shiva from the opposite bank of Vaigai river. The place from where they had darshan of Lord Shiva has a mandapam called Moovar Mandapam. This temple is considered as one of the 44 Paadal Petra Sthalams where the Moovar (Thirugnana Sambanthar, Appar and Sundarar) had rendered their Pathigams. This mandapam is situated close Madapuram Bhadra Kaliyamman Temple.
Pushpavaneswarar:
As per legend, Sati was incurred with a sin for
arguing with Lord Shiva to attend the Yagna of his father, Daksha. She came
here, sat under the Parijatha tree, and performed intense penance. Pleased with
her penance, Lord Shiva in the form of Shiva Linga emerged from beneath the
tree and dispelled the sin of Sati. As Lord Shiva emerged from beneath the Parijatha
tree, he came to be called as Pushpavaneswarar and the place came to be called
as Pushpavanam / Thirupuvanam.
Manikarnika Theertham:
As per legend, Sage Agasthya consumed the waters of
the oceans to expose the Asuras who had hidden there. It is said that the sage
Agastya first drank the water from the Manikarnika Theertham of this temple,
which enabled him to drink up the entire ocean water.
People worshipped Lord Shiva
here:
It is believed that Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma, Goddess
Lakshmi, Surya, Chandra, Yama, Dharma Yagnan, Thiranasanan, Sage Narada, Sage
Agastya, Sage Gautama, Gorakka Siddhar, King Nala, Thirugnana Sambanthar, Appar, Sundarar, Manickavasagar, Karuvur
Thevar, Paranadeva Nayanar, Pattinathu Pillaiyar and Sekkizhar had worshipped
Lord Shiva here.
Other Names of Thirupuvanam:
Thirupuvanam is also called as Pushpavana Kasi,
Lakshmipuram, Bhaskara Puram, Brahmapuram, Rasavadapuram and Pitru Moksha Puram.
