Kuttralanathar Temple, Courtrallam – Legends
Agastya converting Vishnu Shrine to Lord Shiva Shrine:
Due to
an unmanageable crowd of Devas, Rishis to attend the Wedding of Lord Shiva with
Mother Parvathi north began to sink due the heavy weight and south began to
rise up. To balance the ground level, Lord Shiva called Sage Agasthya to
go south and said his single weight alone could solve this problem. Lord
also assured the sage that he would be able to have the wedding darshan from
Kuttralam itself, because, he changed Vishnu to Shivalinga and worshipped him
according to Makudagama rules here. Agasthya took the command of Lord and
reached Kuttralam. But the Dwarapalakas of the erstwhile Vishnu temple denied
entry to the sage.
The
sage, though upset, went to the nearby Ilanji Kumaran temple, made a Linga with
the white sand and prayed for Shiva darshan. Lord Muruga appeared before the
sage and suggested that he may enter the temple as a Vaishnava, make Perumal a
Shiva and worship his Lord. Agasthya entered the temple with Tiruman Nama
on the forehead, Tulsi mala around the neck and worshipped holding Lord Shiva
in his heart. The conch in Vishnu’s hand changed into deer, Tulsi into
crescent moon, Tilak as forehead eye and the Ratna in the chest as the serpent.
Agasthya
pressed the head of Vishnu with his hand letting it go down and down till it
got the form of a Linga. Agasthya got the Shiva Parvathi wedding darshan
immediately here itself. It is still believed that the Devas are
worshipping the Lord in the temple during the day and Sage Agasthya during the
night. The finger prints of Sage Agasthya on the Linga are still visible. Lord
Shiva worshipped by Agasthya at Ilanji is praised as Iruvaluka Nayaka.
It is
suggested that devotees should worship Iruvaluka Shiva first before proceeding
to Kuttralam for full gain. The temple was in the shape of a conch when it was
a Vaishnavite shrine. It is so now too. The devotee can observe this
form on his/her way to Shenbagadevi temple. Conch represents the power of
Mother Mahalakshmi. The sound gives energy. Hence, conch is blown
during Shiva pujas.
Dharani Peetam:
The
story further goes that while sage Agasthya converted this Perumal temple as a
Shiva temple, he changed Sridevi as Kuzhalvai Mozhi Nayaki and Bhoodevi as
Parasakthi. Mother Parasakthi is on a peeta of Sri Chakra design. As
Bhoomadevi was changed as Parasakthi, this peeta is also praised as Dharani
Peeta – Dharani means Earth or Bhoomi.
The Name:
Ku means
the cycle of births and deaths. Thalam means the remedy for this pain.
Worshipping Lord in Kuttralam offers the solution.
Pilavendhan Entrance:
The
temple has five entrances representing four Vedas and the one being the way of
Pilavendhan who came to enjoy the dance of Lord Shiva.
Unique Posture of Dwarapalakas:
The
design of the Dwarapalakas is different as if they are in a conversation. This
was a Vaishnava temple earlier. One Dwarapalaka is asking the other
whether Saga Agasthya came there and the other replying in the negative.
Thaila Oil as Prasadam:
When
Agasthya pressed his hands on the head of Lord Perumal, it caused headache to
Lord Shiva. As a remedy, a Thaila-oil is applied on the head – Shivalinga
Bana – during the 9.30 a.m. puja. This oil is prepared with cow milk,
green coconut, sandal and 42 herbals boiled together for 90 days and mixed with
pure Gingelly oil produced by grinding the Ellu in a traditional
manner. This abishek Thaila-oil is offered as Prasad to devotees.
Kadukkai Nivedhana:
Also the
Nivedhana offered to Lord during the Arthajama puja is a medicinal preparation
made of a nut called Kadukkai in Tamil along with dry ginger, pepper
etc. As Lord is always under the falls water, these are offered to protect
him from cold and fever attacks, it is explained.
Arjuna got back his lost Linga in Kasi here:
Arjuna
lost in Kasi – now Varanasi - his small box containing the Shivalinga he was
worshipping. Surprisingly, he got it back in this place. He left this
Linga here itself after his usual worship. This Linga is in the Prakara in
a separate shrine. Those who had lost anything worship in this shrine for
recovery of the object they missed. Arjuna got back this Linga on the
Panguni Uthiram day in March-April.