Koneswarar Temple, Kudavasal – Legends
Mouth of
the Kumbha fell at this place:
During the Great Floods-Pralaya, Lord Brahmma placed the
Vedas in a nectar pot which too was washed by the floods and came to
south. To create the world again, Lord Shiva shot on the pot in the guise
of a hunter. The pieces fell at different places where Lord appeared as
Swayambu Linga. The mouth part of the pot fell at this place where too
Lord appeared as a Swayambumurthy. This was later covered by an
ant-hill.
Garuda’s
mission on protecting his mother:
As per another legend, Garuda, the eagle of Hindu god Vishnu worshipped Shiva at this place. The mother of Garuda,
Vinatha, was a slave of a demon king named Kathru. Garuda wanted to rescue his
mother from the demon and he brought a pot of nectar from the abode of Brahma. A
demon snatched the pot from Garuda and placed it on an ant hill. Garuda
defeated the demon in a battle that followed and while trying to rescue the
pot, he found that it was covered by the anthill. He dug the anthill with his
beak and found a Linga under the anthill. He prayed to Shiva, explaining
his venture; Shiva was pleased and helped Garuda rescue his mom from the
clutches. The scar on the image of the Shiva in the form of Lingam is believed
to have been caused by Garuda. So Garuda is seen in the compound walls of the
temple as usually seen in Vishnu temples.
Maadakovil:
Kochengat Chola was a Chola king and one of the 63 Nayanmars (Saivite
saints) of Saivism. He is believed to have attained spiritual rebirth of a
spider that fought with an elephant in its previous birth over the worship of
the Hindu god Shiva. He had red eyes during birth as he remained in his
mother’s womb a little longer. His mother, looking into the babies red eyes
said Kochenganan (in Tamil Ko=king, cheng=red, Kan=eyes), which literally
means king with red eyes and hence he was named Kochengat Cholan. After
becoming a king, he followed Saivism and built seventy Maadakovils,
temples with elevated structure where elephants cannot reach the sanctum, in
the Chola Empire. The temple is counted as one of the seventy temples built by
him.
Etymology:
Shiva is said to have appeared out of a pot (Kudam) and
relieved Drinabandu Munivar of his leprosy and hence the name Kudavasal.
People
worshipped Lord Shiva here:
Garuda, Bhrigu Maharishi, Jatayu, Agni, Sutha Maharishi
and Thaalappiyar worshipped Lord Shiva here.
Vishnu
floated in Earthen Vessel:
It is believed that when the great deluge submerged the
earth, Vishnu remained afloat in an earthen vessel that stretched from Kudavasal
to Kumbakonam.
Bathing
in Temple Tank:
It is also believed that a part of the celestial nectar
Amritam dropped here; hence a bath in the temple tank here is considered sacred
during the Mahamagam festival at Kumbakonam.