Needur Somanathaswami Temple – Legends
Indra worshipped Shiva here:
According
to Hindu mythology, on a visit to the earth, Indra, the king of the gods desired to do pooja for Shiva. However, he could not find a Shivalinga for the purpose. He
reached the banks of the Kaveri
River where he collected
wet mud to create a Shivalinga for worship. The Somanathaswami Temple is
believed to have been constructed at the spot where Indra made the Shivalinga.
Manmasudhan worshipped Shiva here:
Due to
his sins, a demon Manmasudhan was born as a cancer (Nandu in Tamil). He
sought advice from Maharshi Narada for relief. As advised, he came to this
place, bathed in Cauvery and worshipped Lord Shiva. Pleased with his
penance, Lord granted darshan to him. To facilitate his merger with him,
Lord also made a hole in himself. Nandu entered into the Linga through the
hole and got merged with Lord. The hole is visible on the Linga.
Lord Shiva granted darshan to Munayaduvar:
A
soldier Munayaduvar by name had an army himself and was assisting Kings in
their battles. He spent the income thus earned for the maintenance and
renovation of the temple and to serve Shiva devotees. Lord Shiva granted
Darshan to Munayaduvar and placed him one among the 63 Saivite Nayanmars. Besides
having his own shrine, he is also the procession deity in the temple. Guru
Puja for him is celebrated on the Poosam star day in the month
Panguni-March-April and taken in procession.
Etymology:
Needur
in Tamil means eternal place. As this place could not be destroyed
even at the end of the world by the great floods-pralaya, it is named Needur. The
other names of the place are Vagularanyam and Magularanyam.
Indra worshipped Mother Veyuru Tholi Ammai:
Sun God
had worshipped Mother Veyuru Tholi Ammai in this temple. As Sun – Aditya
worshipped, she is praised as Aditya Varada Ambica.
People worshipped Shiva here:
Manmasudhan,
Sun God Sooriyan and Moon God Chandhiran are also said to have worshipped Lord
Shiva at this sthalam.