Varaheeswarar Temple, Damal, Kanchipuram
Varaheeswarar
Temple is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva located at Damal Village in Kanchipuram
District of Tamilnadu. Damal in located in Bangalore highway after Kancheepuram
entrance. There are temples around Kanchipuram where Lord Vishnu worshipped
Lord Shiva in all the ten avathaarams. This is one of those ten temples that
correspond to Varaha avathaar.
Legends
As per
Purana, God Vishnu after his varaha Avathara he did not return back to
Vaikundam. Devas requested God Siva to help them. God Siva in the form of
hunter pierced his arrow on Varaha and Lord Shiva pacified Varaha by plucking
out his protruding teeth and then Vishnu realized his reason of Varaha avatara.
This incident took place in Damal and, as proof; we can see Chanku and chakra
embossed on the Shivalinga, who is called Varaheeswarar.
Here,
Vishnu to get rid of his sin in killing Hiranyakshan. Many believe it is a
Kethu parihara sthalam. People with Kethu dosham can perform pooja in this
temple and seek the blessings of the Lord.
The
Temple
The
presiding deity is God Varaheeswarar (Varaha means boar and Ishwarar means
Shiva) and his consort is known as Sornambigai. Sarabeswarar is also present in
the temple. Many of the columns at the front of the Varaheeswarar Temple are
carved with various depictions of Bhairava, a form of Shiva who is always
accompanied by his faithful dog. On other columns one sees other gods, like
Hanuman. Along one wall is Ganesha, the elephant God, dressed in a clean cloth
and other deities too who grace the devotees from niches in the wall.
There
are many trees around the temple and an atmosphere of peace. The temple
architecture seems to resemble that of the Chola, Pallava and Vijayanagara
dynasty period. The arch of the temple is made from stone with Ganga and Yamuna
Devi sculptures. There is a separate sanctum for Gods Ganapathy and
Subramanyar. A four pillar mandapam is seen. On Maha Sivarathri day, the sun’s
rays fall on the Siva Lingam in the evening (4.30-6).
Elephant
is present before Ambal Sannadhi (Normally Lion will be there). Main deity
Lingam having snake roopam on it and also Sudarshana Chakram and Sangu on it.
Sun and Moon Eclipse can be seen over main door of Moolavar Sannadhi. Ashta
(Eight) Bhairavars are available on pillars at outer Praharam. Two faced Bhairavar
is located in a separate Sannadhi. The wonder of the temple is that on Rathasapthami
day, in the Tamil month of Masi (February-March), the sun’s ray’s fall directly
on the Shiva Linga.
The Varaheeswarar
temple is the oldest known shrine of Damal. The 7th century Pallava elements in
the adhisthana portion of the mahamandapa and other damaged
sculptures of Nandivarman III Pallava date it back to at least the Pallava
period. However, it probably goes back to even pre-Pallava times, when the
temple and the Shiva Linga would have been made out of perishable materials
(like clay or wood). The temple bore the brunt of the many wars of the
medieval and modern periods of South Indian history.
As the
temple is situated to the west of the village, at its entrance, it became an
easy target for invaders and looters. The temple also has some interesting
sculptures of various forms of Shiva, as well as carvings of incidents of great
Indian epic, the Ramayana, on the pillars in the inner and outer verandahs and
has 16 sculptures of Bhairava with the dog. Earlier, there were some
unique pieces of the Pallava, Chola and Vijayanagara periods. These are
now either dilapidated or lost to vandals and neglect..
Inside
the temple, where, over the centuries, open windows in the roof had been sealed
up and spaces going below the floor level had been blocked off too, all the
coverings were removed during the restoration so that light could stream
through again, once more creating beautiful patterns of light and darkness, as
the sunlight falls among the carved columns.
Narasingeswarar
Temple is just opposite the Varaga Eswarar Temple. This is another one of
the ten temples where Mahavishnu worshipped Shiva during the ten avatars. This
temple corresponds to Narasimha avathaar.
Contact
Varaheeswarar
Temple
Damal,
Kanchipuram District
Tamilnadu
Phone: 044 24453709
Mobile: 09444103171
Connectivity
Damal village
is on Bangalore, Chennai high way. It is about 14 kms from Kancheepuram Town
and 85 kms from Chennai. Damal is located at a distance of 3.5 kms from
Thiruputkuzhi / Baalu Chatram. There are 3 ancient temples here and are visible
from the national highway itself.