Agastheeshwarar Temple, Kallidaikurichi, Thirunelveli
Agastheeshwarar Temple is dedicated to Sage Agastya
located at Kallidaikurichi in Thirunelveli District of Tamilnadu. Presiding
Deity is called as Agastheeshwarar and Mother is called as Lopamudra. There are
two temples dedicated to the sage; one in Kallidaikurichi and another in Ambasamudram.
Legends
As per the legend, when Lord Shiva married Parvati
in the Himalayas, all the deities, Devas, seers and the others gathered there.
Due to this, the earth lost its balance and tilted. Lord Shiva ordered Agastya
to go towards south to balance the level of the earth. On his way to Podhigai
hills in the south, Agastya visited many sites and installed a lot of Shiva
Lingas. It is believed that all of them were installed by the sage. In
Kallidaikurichi village, the sage was taking rest under a tamarind tree.
A devotee met the saint and invited him to have
lunch in his home. However, the sage requested the devotee to bring the food
there itself. As the devotee did not return on time, the sage started moving
towards Podhigai hills. The devotee apparently realized that the sage left the
place already. He vowed that he would not return home till the seer accepts his
offer. Moved by his devotion, the sage gave darshan to him in Ambasamudram (may
be the place where the devotee was living) and had food offered by him.
The
Temple
Agastheeshwarar temple is located at the heart of
Kallidaikurichi village. Unlike the other Agastheeshwarar temple in
Ambasamudram, it is very small temple. Although the temple is supposed to be
very old as per the legend, the current structure cannot be dated more than
half a century. Perhaps it could have been renovated multiple times. There are
many temples named as 'Agastheeshwarar temples' in Tamilnadu state of
India. However, they all are dedicated to Lord Shiva Lingas installed by the
sage Agastya. However, in Ambasamudram and Kallidaikurichi, the name Agastheeshwarar
denotes to the sage Agastya himself.
This temple in Kallidaikurichi is dedicated to him.
He is the main deity who is present in the sitting posture and his sanctum
sanctorum faces the east direction. A separate north facing shrine of the
Goddess Lopamudra is located. She resembles the posture of any
typical Uma/Parvati/Amman in Shiva temples; she is in the standing posture and
holding a flower in her right arm. There is a small prakara around the main
shrine where the small idols of Ganesha, Uma & Maheshwara (Shiva Linga) and
Pazhani Andi (Kartikeya) are located.
There is an outer prakara which has the sub-shrines
of Ganesha, Subramanya-Valli-Devasena and Navagraha. The outer wall of the main
shrine has the Koshta idols of Dhakshinamoorthi and Vishnu Durga. A small
sub-shrine with the metal (Utsava) idols of Agastya with his wife is also
located within this temple. The temple does not have a tower; however flag
staff and bali peetha are found.
Connectivity
Kallidaikurichi is located on the Southern bank of
the river Thamirabarani at about 12 Kms West of Cheranmahadevi, 8 Kms from Veeravanallur,
4 Kms from Ambasamudram, 43 kms from Thirunelveli, 210 Kms from Madurai and 147
Kms from Thiruvananthapuram. Nearest Railway Station is located at
Ambasamudram. Nearest Airport is located at Thiruvananthapuram and Madurai.
References