Swarna Moortheeswarar Temple (Siragilinather Temple),
Kandadevi, Devakottai, Sivaganga
Swarna
Moortheeswarar Temple (Siragilinather Temple) is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva
located at Kandadevi, a small village in Devakottai Taluk of Sivaganga District.
It is a famous Historical Temple which comes in Ramayanam. Sri Hanuman saw
Seetha Devi in Srilanka while he searched for her for Lord Rama. He returned to
Rama to convey this to Lord Rama. Hanuman told to Rama that “Kanden Deviyai”.
That’s why this village was named as Kandadevi. Kandadevi is situated 3
Km away from Devakottai Town.
Legends
Relationship with Ramayana:
There
are a lot of places in Tamil Nadu associated with the Ramayana. One such
forgotten place is the Kandadevi. Kandadevi marks an important event in
Ramayana - the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana. Ravana kidnapped Sita and went on
his way to Srilanka. Sita cried in distress for help but in vain. Jatayu saw
Sita being kidnapped by Ravana and in distress. Jatayu ventured into the skies
to save Sita and fought against Ravana, but during the fight Ravana cut its
wings.
Jatayu
fell to the ground after valiantly fighting against Ravana. Jatayu was holding
its life hoping Lord Rama would follow to get back Sita from Ravana. As Jatayu
hoped, Lord Rama found Jatayu hurt fatally. Lord Rama knew that Jatayu was his
father's longtime friend and shed tears on finding Jatayu in its
deathbed.
Lord
Rama narrated the incidents that happened and died in Lord Rama's hands. Lord
Rama considered Jatayu as his father and performed the final rites for the dead
Jatayu. Lord Rama in remembrance of Jatayu installed a Shiva lingam and named
it as Lord Siragilinathar, meaning the lord without feathers. The place where
Jatayu saw Sita being abducted is Kandadevi, actually Kanden Devi, meaning the
Seeing Sita. Kanden Devi later got transformed to Kandadevi.
There is
a place nearby called Iragusari (meaning place where wings fell - Iragu: Wings,
feather, Sari - fall) where Jatayu fought and had his wings cut. Iragusari has
now been transformed as Iravuseri. According to another legend Sri Hanuman saw
Seetha Devi in Srilanka while he searched for her for Lord Rama. He returned to
Rama to convey this to Lord Rama. Hanuman told to Rama that “Kanden Deviyai”.
Story on the name change of the deity:
The
temple is now called Lord Swarnamoortheeshwarar Temple. The Goddess is
Periyanayagi. The original name of the deity is Lord Siragilinathar; however
there are some interesting legends that explain why the name got changed to
Lord Swarnamoortheeshwarar. First one is very interesting. The King who ruled
that region wanted to renovate the temple, but his kingdom did not have enough
money or gold to renovate the temple. So, he took two businessmen, who were
brothers, with him to get enough money from acquaintances.
When
they were walking near this temple, all three of them stumbled and fell on the
ground. The King immediately found it to be strange that all three have felled
and ordered his men to dig the place where they fell. There he found lots of
gold and precious gems. He realised it as a blessing of Lord Siragilinathar.
With the treasure temple the King renovated this temple and named the deity as
Lord Swarnamoortheeshwarar as the he was bestowed with gold treasure.
The next
- Once there was a severe drought and no rains. All the people in the nearby
village suffered and went on without food for many days. They prayed to this
Lord to save their lives and it rained gold in that village. The village is
named after this incident as Semponmaari - meaning (rain of gold). As a result
the Lord who bestowed them prosperity was named Swarna Moorthy.
The last
one is, The Lord's name in Sanskrit was called as Swarnabarneshwarar (Swarna
(Gold) + Barna (Wings, Feather) meaning the Lord with the golden feather, later
got transformed as Swarnamoorthy.
The
Temple
Presiding
deity is called as Swarna Moortheeswarar alias Siragilinather. The Amman is
called as Periyanayaki Amman. This is a 350 years old Temple. The Temple is
maintained by Sivaganga Devasthanam, which is one among 84 Temples. The Temple
is owned by the legal heirs of Sivagangai Raja.
Behind
the temple, there is a big tank called the Jatayu Theertham. The tank is so
huge and covers a large area. It is said that the temple tank has never dried
up even during drought or intense summer seasons.
Festivals
The Aani
Urchavam is very famous festival for this temple, which is celebrated in every
year, during the month of June by the people of 75 Villages.
Contact
Arulmigu
Swarna Moortheeswarar Temple (Siragilinather Temple),
Kandadevi,
Devakottai,
Sivaganga
District, Tamilnadu
Mobile: +91 94439 56357
Connectivity
Kandadevi
is 2 km Devakottai. Devakottai is a town in Sivagangai district and is one of
the oldest municipalities of Tamil Nadu. Buses namely 3A, 3C and a
private bus named Ahamathiya are available from Devakottai Bus stand.
Nearest Railway Station is located at Devakottai located at a distance of 10
Kms and Karaikudi Railway Station is located at a distance of 12 Kms. Nearest
Airport is located at Madurai.
