Seshapureeswarar Temple, Raa Patteeswaram, Thiruvarur
Seshapureeswarar Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to
Lord Shiva located at Raa Patteeswaram Village in Thiruvarur District of
Tamilnadu. This Thevara Vaipu Sthalam is little known but has many special
features and is located at Raa Patteeswaram near Manakkal Ayyampet close to the
main road. It is maintained by Nattukkottai Nagarathaar Community.
The
Temple
The west facing Temple has no Gopuram in the front. The
shrine, at a slightly elevated place has Lakshmi and Saraswathi on both sides
of the entrance. The only outer Prakaram is full of grass which must be cut to
clear the way for devotees who wish to go around the temple. Maha mandapam
unusually houses many Moorthis who normally occupy the Goshtam / separate
shrines in the outer Prakaram.
A big idol of Ganapathi, very well carved one is seen
here. A beautiful sculpture of Subramanya seated on Peacock is seen with his
consorts. The Murthi, carved in a single stone, with six hands should be a delight
the devotees. The huge idol of Bhairava is also a must watch. The crisply
carved Murthi with Jwala Kesam, Tamarukam, Pasam, Bhiksha Patram, Kapala mala
and Tirishulam is an outstanding one. Ashtami (eighth day after Full moon day) puja
is conducted for Bhairava.
Presiding Deity is called as Seshapureeswarar, as the
figure of a serpent is seen on the bana Linga. Ambikai, facing south is known
as Andhapura Nayaki. Childless couples come here and take bath in the Temple
Tank and worship the Lord and The Goddess to get blessed. Although a separate
"Padhigam" is not available for this place, it has figured in Saint Appar's
Thevaram Hymn, and called as "Vaipu Sthalam".
Nandhi, The Sacred Bull is normally seen in front of The
Sanctum in all Shiva Temples, facing The Lord. There are places like
Thiruppungur and Patteeswaram where the Bull can be seen few feet away from the
straight line where it used to be, yet, facing the Shiva Linga Murthi. There
are also some places like Tirumullaivayil, near Chennai, Somangalam, near
Kunrathur and Thiru Vaigavur near Swamimalai where The Nandhi and The Lord face
the same direction.
Here you can have a rare sight where the Nandhi, seated
right in front of the main deity, seen turning his head by 90 degrees and
looking at the big and marvelous Dakshinamurthy, nearby.
It is also unique that the Murthi, normally found in the
Deva Koshta in the south prakaram is seen here in the Maha mandapam. This masterpiece
has a smile which is unparalleled. His curling locks and the finely carved ornaments,
Yagyopavitam on his chest are simply absorbing. It makes the devotee unmoved
for a while. Pujas are conducted once in a day for this rarely visited Temple
which is unique in many aspects.
Connectivity
The Temple is located at about 10 Kms from Thiruvarur, 3
Kms from Thirukkannamangai, 6 Kms from Engan, 6 Kms from Srivanchiyam, 14 Kms
from Nannilam, 1 Km from Manakal Ayyampettai, 1.5 Kms from Thiru Karaveeram
Paadal Petra Sthalam, 32 Kms from Kumbakonam and 113 Kms from Trichy. Raa Patteeswaram
is a small village located on Kumbakonam – Thiruvarur bus route near Manakkal –
Ayyampettai where the Temple is located near the motorway. Nearest Railway
Station is located at Thiruvarur and Nearest Airport is located at Trichy.