Thyagaraja Temple, Thiruvarur – Kamalambal Shrine
So Mother Kamalambal grants darshan to her devotees with
this Crescent Moon jewel. She represents Mothers Saraswathi, Parvathi and
Mahalakshmi holding a flower in the right hand, keeping the left on the hip and
legs on a Yoga posture as an Empress with pasam ankusham, rudraksha and lotus
in her arms. Also within this temple there is another little temple called
the Kamalambal Temple. This is considered one of the 64 Sakthi
Peedam.
The Thiruvarur Devi, Kamalambal, is the yogini. She
is the tantric focus of spiritual power. Her shrine faces north, the
direction of Kailasam, symbolizing release from the cycle of birth and death.
She sits cross-legged in virginal purity contrasting the more earthy and
sensual Bhoga Amman within the inner precincts.
The Ambal sannidhi complex has a lot of mysticism built
into it with the figures and construction all as per Srividya concept and it
will not be explained by the priests to all. For example the Ganapathy in the
main temple entrance is called Vallabha Ganapathy due to Vallabha on his left
lap with the lord having 10 arms also. The Ambal sannidhi has an Uchishta
Ganapathy with an asura neela on his lap (and his hands controlling
this asura with many features who becomes a goddess as Ganapathy is with her,
these are all part of the srividya worship traditions hence a treat to the
connoisseur.
The temple history credits this temple as the earliest
in the whole complex. Muthuswamy Dikshidar has composed 9 Krithis on
this deity called nava Varna krithis which people who practice srividya
say is his Gnana drishti, flowing out as compositions.