Puthirakamateeswarar Temple, Arani, Thiruvannamalai
Puthirakamateeswarar
Temple is in Arani Town which is about 41 kms from Vellore, 58 kms from
Thiruvannamalai, and 71 kms from Kancheepuram. It is located at about 1km from
Arani bus stand; this is a special parihara sthalam for child birth. King Dasaratha
got Rama as his son only after conducting Puthra Kameshti yagna in 11 places
and this is the first and prime one of those. There is a shrine for Dasaratha
here.
Every
year, on the full moon day of the Tamil month Aani, the temple conducts Puthra Kameshti
Yagam and any couple can participate freely. If you want to do it on other
days, it is better to do it on the star birthday or any other day suggested by
a good astrologer and the expenses would be around Rs 7500.
Legends
Emperor
Dasaratha was annoyed that he had no children to take care of his subjects
after his life time. As advised by his Family Guru (Kula Guru) Vashista,
he came to this place, installed a Shivalinga and worshipped the Lord for the
reward and conducted the Puthrakameshti Yaga headed by great Maharshi
Rishyasrunga. He was then gifted with four handsome sons, Rama,
Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna. Erecting a temple for the Lord, the
emperor named the Lord after the Yaga, Puthrakameshti Easwarar.
The
Temple
Presiding
deity Lord Shiva called as Putharakameshtiswarar graces in the sanctum
sanctorum under a 9 headed serpent. Special pujas are performed on
Full Moon days. Mother Periyanayaki Amman graces from her shrine with a
flag post separately. Urchavar in this temple is Somaskandar. There is shrine
for Emperor Dasaratha. He looks as a Rishi performing a
yagna. He is holding a hand bowl (Kamandala) and Rudraksha
chain. Pujas are performed in this shrine on festival days.
The main
Raja Gopuram is of three tiers. Here in front of the temple we see a big
banyan tree under which Nagars are installed. As we enter inside the
temple we see Dwajasthambam. Nandi is seen in a small mandapam in
front of the Dwajasthambam. Sthala Vriksham is Pavazha Malli and Pushkarani is
Kamandala River. The water that fell from the hand bowl (Kamandala) of Maharshi
Jamadagni flowed as a river and was
named Kamandala River. The temple is situated on the bank
of this river. The river turns east from north only before the
temple with a whirling. The river would be flooding heavily during the
monsoon.
As we go
around the prakaram we see a separate sanctum for Lord Murugan with his consorts
Sri Valli and Deivanai. Lord Gopala Krishnan is seen in separate sanctum
with his consorts Bama and Rukmini. Vinayakar and Dakshina Moorthy is seen
here as koshta Deivam in Lord Siva sanctum. Other deities seen in the temple
are Swarna Vinayakar, Pancha Lingam with consorts, Ashtotra Lingam, Kali
and Veerabadhirar, 63 Nayanmars, Kala Bairavar, Saneeswarar and Sooriyan.
According
to Vedic scholars, any activity should begin with Vinayaka worship and end with
Anjaneya worship. Following this principle, Lord Vinayaka facing north and Sri
Anjaneya facing south are opposite to each other on the banks of the river.
Those beginning an activity follow this system with deep faith. Lord Vishnu’s
discus and conch are inscribed in Anjaneya idol. This is a rare system in the
temple that Lord Vinayaka and Sri Anjaneya are facing each other.
Temple
Opening Time
The
temple is open from 7.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. and from 4.40 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
Festivals
Lighting
of one lakh deeps on Swathi Star day in Aadi (July-August), Purattasi
Navarathri in September-October and Masi Shivrathri in February March are the
festivals celebrated in the temple. Shri Puthra Kamateeswara Thirukoil
witnesses a massive crowd during Kaanum Pongal.
Prayers
Those
not having a child even after years of marriage pray to the Lord for this
gift. Those praying to Lord Puthrakameshti Easwarar should undertake a
fasting for 6 Mondays. On the first such Monday they should feed a
child in the midday and take their food then. The number of children would
be 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in subsequent Mondays. On the seventh Monday,
they must offer garlands of red flowers and a Pavalamalli grown in the
temple. The pudding offered as Nivedhana to the Lord must have pepper
mix. On the Poornima day in the month of Aani (June-July), 11 Shiva
scholars (Shivachariyars) conduct the Puthrakameshti Yagna. Devotees
can participate in this yaga.
The
child problem occurs to those having Kethu (serpent planet) in the
5th sign in their horoscopes. To overcome the problem they
should install Naga idols under the neem-banyan trees in the temple complex on
their birth star days, paying the prescribed fee for these pujas.
Contact
Sri
Puthrakameshti Easwarar Temple,
Pudukamoor,
Arani – 632 301,
Thiruvannamalai
District
Mobile: +91 97891 56179 /
96294 73883 / 9486046908
Connectivity
The
temple is 2 km from the bus stand. It is located about 38 kilometres
(24 mi) from Vellore and 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Thiruvannamalai. The city is well connected through various well-formed
roads, the state highways SH-4 (Arcot - Arni - Gingee - Villupuram Road),
SH-132 (Vellore - Arni Road), Arni - Thiruvannamalai Road are the major roads
connecting Arni. The nearest railway station is "Arni Road" located
at Kalambur, which is 8 km from the town. Nearest Airport is located at
Chennai.