Thuyartheertha Nathar Temple, Omampuliyur – The Temple
This temple with a three tiered Rajagopuram faces the
east. This Temple is one of the 5 Puliyur shrines. Images illustrating the
stala Puranam of this temple are seen in the front mandapam. One of these
depicts Shiva blessing Vishnu with the Chakrayudam while the other depicts five
of the Puliyurs. Inscriptions in this temple speak of endowments made by
Kopperunchingan of the later Pallavas (1257 CE). Presiding
Deity is called as Thuyartheertha Nathar / Pranava Vyagrapureeswarar / Pranava
Pureeswarar.
Moolavar is little
higher on a square Peedam. Vinayagar, Natarajar, Annamalaiyar, Brahma and
Vishnu Durgai are the Koshta Idols located on the sanctum walls. Mother is
called as Pushpa Lalithambigai / Poonkodinayaki and is facing south. Sthala Vriksham
is Ilandai and Theertham associated with this
Temple are Gowri Theertham and Kollidam River. There is no
Navagraha (9 planets) shrine in the temple.
The Dakshinamurthy shrine is of significance here. Traditionally,
Guru shrine is in the prakaras facing south. In this temple, Guru-Dakshinamurthy
graces in a sitting form in a Maha Mandap between Lord and Mother
shrines. A stone image of Nataraja is seen on the niche reserved for
Dakshinamurthy in the sanctum, while Dakshinamurthy occupies the grand Sabha,
usually set for Natarajar. Abhishekam is done first to Dhakshinamoorthy here.
A big pond exists in front of the temple from where
perhaps water was drawn during earlier times for the various temple activities.
This is named Gowri Theertham. There are two more water sources, one on the
southern side of the temple and one on the northern side named Varadhanankuttai
and Kollidam Peraru respectively. There are shrines for Vinayagar, Pathra Lingeswarar,
Subramaniyar, Aiyappan, Anjaneyar, Gajalakshmi, Saraswathi and Sandikeswarar in
this Temple.
The idol of Goddess Saraswathi can be seen here (very
rarely seen in the Siva temples). A place exclusively for performing Homams
(sacred fire) can be found in the courtyard of the temple. The
Mahakumbabishekam of this temple at Omampuliyur took place on February 7,
9 of 2011. There is a small Shiva Temple on the bank of
Gowri Theertham.
