Pushpavaneswarar Temple, Thirupuvanam – The Temple

Pushpavaneswarar Temple, Thirupuvanam – The Temple

This temple is facing towards east with five tiered rajagopuram. The temple has 3 prakarams and completely enclosed within compound walls. Balipeedam, Dwaja Sthambam and Nandi can be seen in the mandapam immediately after the rajagopuram facing towards the sanctum. Nandi is not in straight line with the presiding deity. It is said that the Nandi tilted little away from its usual position so that the all the three Nayanmars (Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar) could have darshan from the opposite side of the river.

There is a mandapam called Moovar mandapam on the opposite side of the river. The sanctum sanctorum consists of sanctum, antarala, artha mandapam, maha mandapam and mukha mandapam. Sculptures of King Thirumalai Naicker, his wife and his brother Muthyala Naicken can be seen on the pillars of the mukha mandapam. Dvarapalas can be seen at the entrance of the ardha mandapam. Presiding deity is called as Pushpavaneswarar / Poovananathar / Pithru Muktheeswarar and is facing east.

He is housed in the sanctum in the form of Lingam. Lord is a Swayambu Moorthy (self-manifested). The pinch mark Ponnaiyal, Jadamudi and trident symbol can be seen on the lingam during aarti. The Thiruvasi behind the presiding deity is lit with 27 lamps signifying the 27 Nakshatras. The sanctum is square on plan while the vimana is six sided (shatanga). Vinayaga, Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbhava, Brahma and Durga are the koshta idols located around the sanctum walls. Chandikeswarar shrine can be seen in his usual location.

Mother is called as Soundaryanayaki / Minnanayal / Azhagiya Nayagi. She is housed in a separate east facing shrine. Her shrine is situated to the right side of the sanctum. This arrangement represents the marriage posture (Kalyana Kolam) of Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati. Her shrine looks like a separate temple. There is a south facing Nataraja Sabha enshrining an idol of Nataraja made of single stone in the maha mandapam. Idols of Sage Vyagrapada, Sage Patanjali, and procession deities of Nataraja & Shivagami can be seen in the Nataraja Sabha.

Kambathadi mandapam, Nala Maharajan mandapam, Thiruvachi mandapam and Aarukaal mandapam can be seen in the temple premises. Shrines and Idols of Bhaskara Vinayaga, Murugan with his consorts Valli & Devasena, Suryan, Chandran, Sayana Perumal, Maha Lakshmi, Ponnaiyal, Nalvar, 63 Nayanmars, Sapta Matrikas and Navagrahas can be seen in the temple premises. Theertham associated with this temple are Manikarnigai Theertham, Vasishta Theertham, Indra Theertham and Vaigai river. Sthala Vriksham is Jack fruit tree (Pala Maram).