Nagoor Naganathar Temple, Nagapattinam
Naganathar
Temple is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva located at Nagoor in Nagapattinam
District of Tamilnadu. It is also one of the Rahu - Kethu Stalam (Rahu Kethu
Kala sarpa Dosha Nivarthi Sthalam). Presiding Deity is called as Naganatha
Swami and Mother is called as Nagavalli Ambal.
Legends
Dosha Nivarthi Sthalam:
Nagaraja
worshipped Lord Shiva for 10 days from Masi new moon day. That day
happened to be Maha Shivrathri day. King of the snakes was enjoying
with his wives that night. It so happened that Sambuthathan the five year
old son of a Brahmin was bitten by the snake and he died. The Brahmin who
understood the incident through his wisdom eye cursed the Snake King that he
would lose all his strength, wisdom and be left alone to stray in the jungles
of earth. Trembled by the curse, the snake king fell at the feet of the
Brahmin and begged for his pardon. He sought a solution for relief from his
curse.
The
Brahmin said that he would be relieved of the curse when he met his father
Kashyapa after 1000 years. The serpent met his father. With due respect to
the directions of the Brahmin the serpent king worshipped Lord Naganatha on the
Masi Maha Shivrathri day at Kumbakonam Vilwa Vana in the morning,
Tirunageswaram Naganatha at the second schedule, Thirupampuram Naganatha on the
third schedule, Naganathaswami in Punnagavanam on the fourth
schedule the same day and got relieved from the Brahmin’s curse. As a
Naga-serpent worshipped Lord Shiva here, He is named Naganathaswami and Mother
Goddess Nagavalli.
People worshipped Shiva here:
Lord
Brahamma, Indira, Moon, Sage Durvasa, Saptha Rishis, Rudrasanma, Andhana and
other noted souls had worshipped Lord Shiva during all the Yugas in this holy
land.
Equivalent to Gaya:
Any one
performing Shrardha for the ancestors, do charities etc. here shall reap the
benefits of doing such rituals in the Holy Gaya.
Equivalent to Chidambaram:
A holy
place is judged by its holy theertham, deity and the spiritual importance of
the place. This temple is as famous as the Shiva Temple in Thillai Chidambaram
combining these characteristics.
Shiva granted darshan to Vishnu:
The
Swayambu presiding deity Lord Naganathaswami appeared on a Vaikasi (May – June)
Poornima – full moon day) and granted Dharshan to Lord Vishnu.
Chandran worshipped Shiva here:
According
to scriptures, planet Moon worshipped Lord Shiva here for 10 days from Aani
Poornima day in June – July by hoisting the holy flag, performed Theerthavari,
conducted Brahmotsavam and reached the feet of Lord. The holy spring
Chandra Theertham was created by planet Moon.
Indhiran worshipped Shiva here:
Indira
did so for 10 days from Masi Poornima day in February – March.
The
Temple
Presiding
Deity is called as Naganatha Swami and Mother is called as Nagavalli Ambal. Theertham
is Chandra Theertham. Sthala Vriksham is Punnai Tree. The Temple with
its five – tier Rajagopuram is facing east and a majestic Nandi is seen in the
front Mandapam. Festival deities Chandrashekarar, Kalyana Sundarar and Thyagaraja
are on right of the sanctum sanctorum. Mother Nagavalli Ambal,
Nayanar, Lord Nataraja, and Lord Ayyappan are on the left.
Juradevar,
Lord Dakshinamoorthy, Naga Kannikas, Valampuri Vinayaka are on the right side
of the inner prakara. Kanni Ragu Bhagwan, Javeli Nathar, Lord Muruga, Thatha
Purushalingam, Mother Mahalakshmi, Naalvar are on the western
side. Lord Brahmma, Mother Durga, Lord Kasi Viswanathar, Lord
Nardana Vinayakar, Saneeswara Bhagwan are in their separate shrines.
On the
right side of the outer prakara, are the Chandra Theertha tank and a garden on
the left. In the inner prakara is a shrine for Raghu Bhagwan with a
vimana. It is said that nobody in this land of Lord Shiva had met with a
snake bite. Beautiful images of Gaja Samharamurthi, Bhikshadana, Ekapadha
Murthi, Ganga Visarjana Murthi and Sarabeswara are seen in the front side of
the Gopuram.
Temple
Opening Time
The
temple is open from 6.30 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. and from 4.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.
Festivals
Maha
Shivrathri, Pradosham days, Karthikai Deepam in February – March, 13th
day of full moon or new moon fortnights and in October – November respectively
are the festivals and pujas celebrated in the temple.
Prayers
This is
a temple, it is believed, is a place to protect people from so many ill-fates
as snake dosha, Kalasarpa dosha, Mangalya dosha, Puthra dosha and such other
attacks. Devotees visit the temple for relief from such doshas.
Realizing their wishes, devotees offer corns to Lord equal to their weight.
Contact
Sri
Naganathaswami – Nagavalli Ambal Temple,
Shivan
Sannidhi, Nagoor – 611 002,
Nagapattinam
District
Mobile: +91 98652-69553
Connectivity
The
temple is on the Nagapattinam – Karaikal Road. It is located approximately 12
km south of Karaikal and 6 km north of Nagapattinam. The devotee has to get
down at the Theradi bus stop and walk a km to reach the temple (Very close to
famous Nagore Dharga). Nearest Railway Station is located at Nagoor and
Nearest Airport is located at Trichy.
References
