Kailasanathar Temple, Murappanadu, Thirunelveli
Kailasanathar
Temple is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva located at Murappanadu Village in
Thirunelveli District of Tamilnadu. This is the Fifth Kailasam and the first
among the temples of the Middle Kailasam. The temple is called as Nadukailasam
and Dhakshina Gangai. This temple is associated with Guru (Jupiter or
Brihaspathi) among the Navagrahas and special temple for Dhanusu and Meenam Rasis.
At Murappanadu, Thamiraparani River flows from north to south.
Legends
For brief details, please refer below link;
History
During
the 15th century, when the Vijayanagar Empire was at the peak of its
glory, Achyuta Devaraya and Rama Rayar, a provincial king, succeeded the great
emperor Krishna Devaraya. Vittala Rayan, the brother of Rama Rayar, was the
representative of the kingdom in Tamilnadu. During that time, Vittala Rayan,
made this temple as his encampment. After worshipping Guru Bhagavan at this
temple, he waged war on the King of Travancore, who refused to pay his taxes.
He defeated the haughty king and collected the duties for the kingdom. He
attacked the Portuguese, who planned to ransack and planned to loot Bhagavathy
Amman Temple in Kanyakumari and he made them retreat.
The
Temple
Presiding
Deity is called as Kailasanathar and Mother is called as Sivagami Ammai. The
specialty of this temple is that the Nandhi in this temple is having horse head
instead of bull head. And there are 2 Bhairavars in the Bhairavar Sannidhi.
One is with his dog and the other without. The Bhairavar with dog is called as
Kala Bhairava and the other is called Veera Bhairavar.
There
are 2 Ganesha Idol in the entrance of the Sri Ganesha Shrine instead of Dwarapalakas.
This is rarest in any Vinayagar temple. The main deity of this temple faces
east to view directly and bless the devotees who take a holy dip in the waters
of River Thamirabarani. Goddess Sivagami Ammai faces south and is present in a
separate sanctum. She is the pinnacle of patience and the savior of all those
who come to her with trust.
This
temple is on the western banks of Thamirabarani. There are four stages and the
first stage, Pandhal Mandapam has ten pillars. Then when we enter the temple,
we can see the flag mast and the statue of Lord Nandi, with a horse face. If we
walk around the outer courtyard by turning left, we can see the idols of Sura
Devar and Ashta Lakshmi followed by the idols of the sixty-three Nayanmars and
Kanni Moola Ganapathy in the top corner.
Outside
the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Shiva, is the idol of Dhakshinamoorthy, the Lord
of education, facing south. As we circumambulate the Lord’s sanctum, we can see
the idol of Panjalingam. At the northern corner is the idol of Lord Muruga with
his consorts Valli and Deivanai, followed by Lord Chandikeswarar and Sani
Bhagavan in the opposite side. At the front of the temple are the idols of Bairavar,
Suryan and Adhikara Nandi.
The
sculpture of Lord Hanuman, Kannappar (one among the sixty-three Nayanmars), an
elephant, a peacock and Komatha (the sacred cow) performing Shiva pooja is mesmerizing
and makes the onlooker spell-bound. Once upon a time, this temple was in a
dilapidated condition and the compound walls were badly broken. The pavement in
front of the temple that led to the Kasi Theertha Kattam of River Thamirabarani
had been obstructed by fields. It was difficult and scary to get into this
famous temple of bygone years.
During
that period, the Kailasanathar Narpani Mandram of the village performed huge
tasks to restore this temple. The Panchayat Council built a road leading to the
river. Due to the joint efforts of the Sri Kailasanathar Thirupani Kulu and the
Thoothukudi Sri Rama Bhaktha Seva, this temple was slowly restored. As a result
of their endeavors, a road for cars and other vehicles, from the front of this
temple to the river has been constructed. Also on 27.01.2008, the Maha Kumbabishekam
was done here.
Temple
Opening Time
·
Morning: 7.00 a.m. to
10.00 a.m.
·
Evening: 5.00 p.m. to 7.30
p.m.
Festivals
·
Shivaratri
·
Thiruvadirai
·
Guru Peyarchi
·
Sani Peyarchi
·
Pradosham days
Religious
Significance
Special
Poojas are performed on Thiruvathirai, Shiva Rathri, Pradosham days, on the
first of every Tamil month, Guru Peyarchi and Sani Peyarchi. Also daily poojas
are performed twice a day. This temple is attributed to Guru and highly
beneficial for people belonging to the sun signs Sagittarius and Pisces. If
women of these sun signs worship the Lord, then they can attain whatever they
wish. It is believed that worshipping the Lord at this temple is equivalent to
worshipping Lord Shiva at Alangudi.
One must
worship the Lord here to remove obstacles in marriage and to be blessed with a
peaceful family life and good health. According to Hinduism, a person’s luck is
determined by his virtues and sins. Everyone born in this world acquires sins
during his lifetime. Hence to seek atonement for the sins, one has acquired and
to prevent oneself from doing further sins, one needs the blessings of the
Lord. Kailasanathar at Murappanadu rescues his devotees from their sins.
In
today’s world, education is necessary for one’s survival. A person who teaches
is known as ‘Guru’. It is believed that ‘Guru Bhagavan’, the teacher of the
heavenly Devas, will also help us mere mortals by his guidance and by being our
divine guru, when we offer our prayers here.
It is
said that Guru Bhagavan, is all powerful at this temple. Hence, devotees at
this temple, follow a unique ritual here. It is believed that if one worships
the idol of Dhakshinamoorthy and Sani Bhagavan, by performing nine
circumambulations, one can get the blessings of all the Navagraha.
Contact
Sri
Kailasanathar Temple
Murappanadu,
Thirunelveli District,
Tamilnadu
– 628 252
Mobile: +91 994311 93076 / 98437 96544 / 98424 04554
Mobile: +91 98425 16789 / 98424 04559
Connectivity
This
temple is located at about 10 Kms from Thirunelveli, 170 Kms from Madurai and
166 Kms from Thiruvananthapuram. Take the road that branches just before the
Thamirabarani Bridge, on the highway from Thirunelveli Junction to Tuticorin.
It is located at a distance of two kilometers along the lane from the
Murappanadu bus-stop. Hence it is advisable to go here on a car or on a motorcycle.
If you
are travelling via bus, then you can climb any of the local buses that go to
Tuticorin from Thirunelveli New Bus-stand and alight at the Murappanadu
bus-stop. The bus no.16, which starts from Thirunelveli Junction, stops at the
village of Murappanadu. Nearest Railway Station is located at Thirunelveli.
Nearest Airport is located at Madurai and Thiruvananthapuram.