Tirukkallil Sivanandeeswarar Temple, Thirukkandalam – The
Temple
The temple is situated on the banks of Kuchasthalai River. The
temple is a very small one, clean and very well maintained. The Rajagopuram is
of 5 tiers and the temple is facing east with a Thirukulam in front. Dwajasthambam,
Palipeedam and Nandhi mandapam are at the front in outer prakaram. Presiding
Deity is called as Sivanandeswarar / Tirukalleeswarar and Mother is called as Ananthavalli
Ammai. Urchavar is Shiva Nandeeswarar Somaskandar.
The main sannidhi has a small austere Shivalingam with a
square Avudayar. Lord Shiva appears in the temple as ‘Shakti Dakshinamurthy’ in
separate shrine. He is holding the Nectar Pot and the palm leaves in his left
hands embracing Mother. Sage Brugu is nearby worshipping the Lord. The
Vimana-tower above the sanctum sanctorum is known as Gajabrushta Vimana. The Koshta
vigrahas surrounding the sanctum are Ganapathy, Dakshinamurthy, Lingodhbava,
Brahma and Durga.
Mother’s shrine is facing east left of Lord’s shrine. The
left hand of mother shows her feet while the right is assuring the devotees of
all prosperities. A lamp is ever burning in the shrines of Lord and Mother that
never extinguishes. Lord Balasubramanya shrine is in between those of Lord and
Mother, as he granted darshan to Sage Agasthya. This is called Somaskanda
form. Lord Balasubramanya-Muruga is holding the Japamala in the
right hand and the theertha Kalasa – water pot – in the left with the
attributes of Lord Brahmma.
Lord Vinayaka of the temple is praised as Sundara
Vinayaka. There is shrine near Vinayaga Shrine for Kalahasthishwarar. Lord
Sundara Vinayaka and Sri Anjaneya are in the prakara while serpent
deities-Nagar and Navagrahas the nine planets are under the gooseberry
tree. Those who have lost their belongings perform abishek to Bhairava
with Chilli powder hoping to get them back and perform abishek with milk after
recovery.
Shrines for Naalvar with Sekkizhar and Suryan, Nagars
under Nelli (Amla) tree, Sundara Vinayagar, Kaalathi Nathar, Chandikeswarar,
Kaala Bairavar, Sakthi Dhakshinamoorthy and Navagrahas can be found in the
outer prakaram. Most of the Shrines and mandapam are built in recent
years. There is a shrine built for the Nayanmars and Suryan near the Gopuram.
Nandhi in the temple has its own significance. Lord
is named after him as Shiva Nandi Easwarar and the sacred spring Nandi
Theertham. Sthala Vriksham is Kalli and Theertham is Nandi Theertham. Inscriptions
from the Chola, Pandya and Vijayanagar Emperors are seen here. There are many
inscriptions found at the base of the sanctum of that one belongs to Vikrama
Chozha.
