Friday, December 1, 2017

Vada Theerthanathar Temple, Andanallur, Trichy

Vada Theerthanathar Temple, Andanallur, Trichy
Vada Theerthanathar Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Andanallur in Trichy District of Tamilnadu. The temple is also called Thiru Alandurai Mahadevar temple. This small ancient Chola temple is a Thevara Vaippu Sthalam.


History
This place has been a holy place and been a temple since the days of Periyapuranam, as Sekkizhar has written about this temple. However, this was built as a granite temple by Parantaka Chola (9th C). Later on, Rajaraja I also did several donations and services for the temple. The Pandya King Vira Pandya has also done a lot for this temple. The Hoysala king Sri Krishna Veera Vallalar and also the Nayaka rulers later on have also done a lot for the temple. The historical name of the village is Andavanallur. As per the inscriptions, the main deity is named as Alanthurai Mahadevar. Hence, we can understand that this village was also called as Alanthurai.
The Temple
This is a small temple. There is no tower for this east facing temple. Presiding Deity is called as Vada Teerthanathar / Vada Teertheswarar / Alanthurai Mahadevar. The east facing sanctum enshrines Shiva Linga called Vada Teerthanathar. Dhakshinamoorthi, Maha Lingam, Brahma and Durga are found as niche idols. All of them appear to of later era. Maha Lingam is actually a blunt piece of rock without any structure.


At the entrance of the Ardha Mandapam, two big and attractive Dwarapalas are found. The entrance of Maha Mandapam has the idol of Ganesh. Nandi faces towards the sanctum in Maha Mandapam. Mother is called as Bala Soundara Nayaki /Bala Sundari. The south facing shrine enshrines the big idol of Goddess Soundara Nayaki. She also has Nandi as her Vaahana.

The sub-shrines of Maha Ganapati, Subramanya, Gaja Lakshmi, Navagraha and Chandikeswarar are located in the prakara. Chandikeswarar seems to be of original Chola period idol. Subramanya has six heads and twelve arms; he is found seated on peacock and has his consorts on his either sides.

The ancient idols of Bhairava, Surya and Chandra are also found in temple. The Vimanas of the sanctum and other shrines look attractive. The river Cauvery is flowing near this temple. Sthala Vriksham is Banyan Tree. All around, at the Adhishtanam (base / foundation) is the Chola era inscriptions.  

Connectivity
The Temple is located at about 19 Kms from Trichy, 3 Kms from Allur, 1 Km from Tiruchendurai, 10 Kms from Vayalur, 13 Kms from Woraiyur, 15 Kms from Srirangam, 17 Kms from Thiruvanaikoil and 63 Kms from Karur. The Temple is located on the Trichy-Karur route between Allur (Jeeyapuram) and Tiruchendurai. The Temple is located at about 600 meters from Jeeyapuram Bus Stop, 12 Kms from Chatiram Bus Station and 16 Kms from Trichy Central Bus Stand. Nearest Railway Station is located Jeeyapuram (1 Km) and Trichy (17 Kms). Nearest Airport is located at Trichy (24 Kms).