Thyagaraja Temple, Thiruvarur – Thyagarajar Shrine
The image of Thyagaraja at Tiruvarur is
said to have been held in worship by Mahavishnu and later by Indra the King of the Gods and then later on by Muchukunda Chakravarti a valorous king. The Thyagaraja shrine at Tiruvarur is associated with the Ajapaa Natanam dance
which is enacted every time the deity is taken out in procession. Raja Raja Chola I who built
the Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur installed a shrine for Dakshina Meru Vitankar there. The
name Thyagaraja became
associated with Somaskanda only from the 16th century onward (the earliest
references to Somaskanda as Thyagaraja go back to the 12th century CE). Until
that point in time, this image was referred to as Veedhi Vitankar in Tamil and Aaruradipati in Sanskrit.
Associated with the image of Thyagaraja (The King of
Givers) are symbols such as the manittandu or
the sceptre, senkazhuneermaalai or
the garland, ratnasimhasanam or
the throne and a sword. The Panchamukha
Vadyam, the Paarinaayanam (Nadhaswaram) and the Sudha maddhalam drum are special
musical instruments associated with this shrine. These instruments are played
during worship services. The Aazhitter -
or the colossal chariot and
the Airavatam elephant are
other royal objects associated with Thyagaraja. Even the Nandi in front of the Thyagaraja
shrine is portrayed in a standing
posture.
There is a sense of mysticism associated with the image
of Thyagaraja. Abishekam rituals
are performed to this image only six times a year, and even during these occasions
the entire image is kept covered with a piece of cloth, barring the faces of
Shiva and Parvati. On a daily basis, abishekams are performed to an emerald Shivalingam placed
in the shrine. Again, the image of Thyagaraja is always kept covered with
decorative cloth, but for the faces of Shiva and Parvati.
The feet of the image are kept uncovered only on two
occasions each year - namely Margazhi Thiruvadirai and Panguni Uthiram. The former is
referred to as Dakshina Pada Dharisanam while the latter is the Uttara Pada
Dharisanam corresponding to the darker and the brighter halves of the
year.
Thyagesha, Thyagarajaswami sits in his Durbar, a king
with his queen, and between them, their son Skanda dances. This Somaskanda
icon (Shiva, Uma and Skanda) is one of the rare icons that are considered
“munnilum mummutankku pinnalakar”, thrice as beautiful at the back as the
front. Yet, one cannot imagine what could be more beautiful than the
captivating smile of Thyagaraja as one surrenders completely, involuntarily and
voluntarily to the embracing and comforting energy he emanates from the Sanctum
Sanctorum.
Drawn to this magnificent image in all its surrounding
grandeur and enraptured by his smile, all else melts into
insignificance. The icon remains hidden behind heaps of fragrant
jasmine blossoms and Bilva leaves, and with good reason. With this
icon resides the Sri Chakra, the most potent emblem of energy and concentrated
power that attracts our potential to its core. The Sri Chakra is
etched on a plate on the idol and always hidden from view lest the power fall
into inexperienced hands.
The Somaskanda Thyagesha is a regal Shiva, a royal
father, and husband, a supreme example of royal manhood. As Thyaga -
Raja, Shiva is seen as the progenitor of the human race rather than the form of
a starving, begging, yogic ascetic or the fiery cosmic dancer he often assumes.
He is also the Lord, King of Thyaga, renunciation and giving. The
Saint Kumarakuruparar in his “Tiruvarur Naanmanimalai” states that this
Lord gave the Universe to Vishnu, nine treasures to Kubera the God of Wealth,
bestows happiness and domestic bliss to his devotees and shared half of himself
with Nilothpalambal, his constant companion and consort.
The sacrosanct antiquity of this Sthala predates the
icon of the divine family. The presence of Skanda, Murugan, is
considered an inordinately significant link between Shiva’s presence as the
main Deity to local worship revolving around Murugan. Murugan or
Skanda, Shiva’s enlightened son, a warrior, and lover of the mountain bride
Valli, has held popular identity as the god of hunters and hill folk of the
Tamizh peoples.
The God of the forest, he is associated with rain and
fertility of the land. The snake and the anthill, symbols common to
Shiva and his much loved child, are independent shrines in the Thiruvarur
temple complex. They bear no date and seem to have existed as far as cultural
memory can reach. Tiruvarur has an ancient Nagabila, a
serpent-infested maze of subterranean connections to the netherworld, with its
focal Deity, Hatakeshwara.
Vitankar:
On the average day, nestled in a silver casket placed to
the right of the bronze Somaskanda is an emerald Swayambu or self-formed Linga
called a Vitankar. This natural manifestation of the Linga, which is
not only the phallic symbol of creation but also the symbol of the rise of the
Kundalini force, is particularly sanctified and revered with daily ablution and
ritual in a beautiful ceremony. Its presence in Thiruvarur makes the place
one of the Sapta Vitanka Kshetras, one of the seven sacred places where a self-
formed, un-chiseled Linga associated with a particular Chakra of
Kundalini energy is venerated.
Thiruvarur is identified as the Mooladhara Kshetra, the
base energy center where the Kundalini energy lies coiled like a
serpent. When the energy uncoils and rises through the naturally
formed lingam, it appears like the magnificent precious Vitanka. This
emerald lingam, symbolizing the union of Shiva and Shakti is a Sri-Vidya
Tantric symbol. In one text, Vitanka is interpreted as the abode of
the birds. This evokes the Hamsa, literally swan, the image of Kundalini
energy that comes with ultimate salvation.