Sivasailanathar Temple, Sivasailam – The Temple
The
temple is very huge in size. It has a stunning tower and the front side of the
temple is covered with trees. The main gopuram has five floors and is adorned with many statues. The
main god of the temple is Sivasailanathar and Paramakalyani Amman. This temple
was built by Pandya king. The temple is surrounded by Velli malai, Mulli
malai and Podhigai hills. It is located on the bank of River Gadananathi
River (Karunai River).
The
temple is full of long Mandapams, huge idols, different designs of huge pillars
and large sculpted pillars. Everything in this temple appears to be grand.
The Vimana is spectacularly gilded. The Nandi idol that is
located near the flag staff and bali peetha facing the main shrine is
artistically beautiful. In the South direction of the temple, there is an east
facing statue of Vinayagar.
In the
North direction, a statue of the Tamil God Murugan is placed. In the South direction, 63 Nayanmars statue and Suryan
and Chandran statues are placed, and a statue of Dakshinamurthy facing south is placed. The temple has a number
of mandapam (ritual pavilions) for Nartha, Maa, Aartha and
Mani. The statue of Paramakalyani Amman with emerald green cheeks gives grace
to devotees.
A
Manimandapam (memorial) is located on the bank of the river Gadananathi. In the
south of Mani mandapam, a statue of Nataraja Perumal is placed. In the pillars
of the mandapam, a lion crest is seen. On the inner side of the pandal mandapam
many coloured flowers are depicted. The temple has two wooden chariots, one is
large and the other is small. The large chariot is for Sivasailanathar and the smaller
is for his consort, Amman.
Main Shrine:
The
sanctum sanctorum unusually faces the west direction. A large sized Shiva Linga
idol named as Sivasailappar is found there. The highlight is that he
has tresses at his back. The devotees can view his tresses through holes on the
back side of the sanctorum. Hence he is also called as Sadaiappar. It is said
that it is only west facing Swayambu Linga. It is also said that there are 27
Aavudais (the base of Linga) placed one above the other and the idol is placed
on top of 27th Aavudai. Ganesha and Adhikara Nandi idols are found
near the entrance of Arthamandapam. The Maha Mandapa has Nandi facing the
sanctorum; it also house few sub-shrines with so many Utsava (metal) idols that
include Nataraja-Sivakami, Chandrasekhar-Uma, etc.
Inner Prakaram:
The
inner prakara surrounding the Sanctum Sanctorum has many sub-shrines housing lot of deities. All of them are unusually large in size.
Following are the deities found in the Inner prakaram;
·
Sura Deva
·
Maha Lakshmi
·
Anna Poorani
·
Saneeswara
·
Vishnu Durga
·
Bhairava
·
Surya
·
Chandra
·
Dhakshinamoorthi
·
Sapta Matas
·
Ganesha
·
Vishwanathar-Vishalakshi-Navaneetha
Krishna
Goddess Shrine:
The
Goddess Parama Kalyani is found in a separate west facing shrine. She
is found in the standing posture and has four arms. The shrine has its own
front side mandapa, Nandi, flag staff and bali peetha. It is said that the idol
was found in a well. The inner prakara has Agastya, Ganesha, 63 Nayanmars and Dhakshinamoorthi.
Statue of Nandhi:
The
representation of Nandi in the temple is particularly noted. Nandikeshvarar
statue looks like an ox sitting upon its folded tail. This statue demonstrates
the special character of Tamil and the artistic work of the artist.
Other Shrines:
Some of
the other sub-shrines in the temple:
·
Saila Vinayaka
·
Nellaiyappar-Salvaateeswarar-Kanthimathi
·
Meenakshi-Sundareswarar
·
Subramanya-Valli-Devasena
Inscriptions:
Stone
Inscription no.519 of Sivasailam Temple was found in Poovankurichi lake in 1916. The
Stone Inscription tells that Jamindars of Ambur, Alwarkurichi, Kadayam, Krishnapuram, Poovankurichi collected tax from people for god. In the year
1916 another Stone Inscription was found in Kizha
Ambur. It is Stone Inscription
no.518 and tells about King Ravivarma.