Marundeeswarar Temple, Thiruvanmiyur – Legends
Marundeeswarar:
Lord
Shiva imparted sage Agastya on curative properties of various herbs and
plants. Since then the Marundeeswarar temple has been a place of worship
for people with diseases and various problems with their health. Hence is
also praised as Marundeeswarar – Marundhu in Tamil means medicine and Easwara
God – God of Medicines.
Thiruvalmikiyur:
It is
said that even The Sage Valmiki, who wrote The Ramayana, came here to The Marundeeswarar temple to worship
Shiva and corrected himself from the ways of his past life as a
robber. Pleased with the sage, Lord Shiva appeared before him under
the Vanni tree in the temple. The place, as requested by the sage,
was named after him. The Vanni tree is in the prakara where Lord
granted darshan to Sage Agasthya and Sage Valmiki.
This
event forms part during the Panguni Brahmmotsavam in the temple. After this
incident, this place was to be known as Thiruvalmikiyur, the name gradually
changed to Thiruvanmiyur. There is a place present in Thiruvanmiyur called
Valmiki Nagar in his honour. There is also a temple built for Sage Valmiki in
the middle of the East Coast Road, very close to the Marundeeswarar temple.
Various Lingams:
The lingam for which Hanuman performed pooja, The lingam (Meenakshi Sundareswarar) that cured the
curse of Indra, the Lingam for which Saint Bharadhwaja performed pooja are present here.
Lord facing west:
Appayya Dikshitar,
whose original works and commentaries on our sacred books had enriched the
Sanskrit literatures and the spiritual heritage of South during the twentieth
century, was unable to have the darshan of Lord due to heavy
floods. He was able to see only the back of Lord. He said
to the Lord, “I came here to worship you with your face, can’t you oblige
me.” Moved by the prayer of Dikshitar, Lord Shiva turned west and
granted darshan.
Paalvanna Nathar:
Recognizing
the penance of Sage Vasishta on Lord Shiva, Indira sent his Kamadenu the divine
cow with the sage. Once, the cow delayed to pour the milk for puja. The
angry sage cursed it to become an ordinary cow losing its divine status. He
also suggested the cow to go to this place and worship Lord Shiva under the
Vanni tree to recover its divinity. Kamadenu poured the milk on the Lord
and got back its original supremacy. Hence, the Lord has the name
Paalvanna Nathar. Paal in Tamil means milk. When Sage Valmiki came
there to worship Lord Shiva, Kamadenu ran in fear pressing its feet on the head
of the Shivalinga, the scar of which is still visible on the presiding deity.
Brahma conducted a festival for Lord Shiva here:
Brahma is believed to have conducted a festival here for
Shiva.
People worshipped Lord Shiva here:
It is
believed that Suryan worshiped lord Shiva during night, hence important
functions are held during night including kodiyetram. Ramar, on his way to
Lanka worshipped Shiva, Devas worshipped and so he is known as Vedapureeswarar,
Moon God got his curse cleared off by worshipping Shiva here and Sage Brinki
(in whose name Paranki Malai has come up) worshipped Shiva. Markandeya performed a penance and prayed to Shiva here. Lord
Shiva gave Dharshan to Markandeya under the Vanni Tree.
Lord Shiva danced before Sage Valmiki here:
Lord Shiva
danced before Sage Valmiki during Panguni full moon day.
Replica of Thiruvarur Thyagaraja:
Thyagaraja
of Tiruvarur is said to have been worshipped by Mahavishnu and
Indra the King of Gods. Seven shrines associated with Thyagarajar in
Tamilnadu are known as the Sapta Vitanka Sthalams. Three replicas of Thyagarajar
are found at Thiruvanmiyur, Thiruvotriyur and Thirukkachur.