Apradeeswarar Temple, Nagar, Trichy
Apradeeswarar Temple, is a Hindu Temple dedicated to
Lord Shiva located at Nagar in Trichy District of Tamilnadu. Presiding Deity is called as Apradeeswarar and Mother is
called as Athula Sundari Amman / Oppila Maniammai. Theertham associated with
this Temple is Panguni river and Sthala Vriksham is Vilwa Tree. The temple is
known as Pancha Linga Kshetram.
History
Based on
the architectural style and the stone inscriptions, this temple can be dated to
the 11th century CE and can be attributed to the Cholas. As per
stone inscriptions Raja Raja Chola constructed the temple and the architect was
Thillai Nayakan.
The
Temple
The east
facing temple does not have a tower. Instead of a tower, an arch with few
stucco images is present in the long front side mandap. Both the sides of the
entrance have the idols of Ganesh. The bali peetha and Nandi are found outside
the temple complex and face towards the temple. The temple is known as Pancha
Linga Kshetram. Presiding Deity is called as Apradeeswarar. Lord is
Swayambu Moorthy.
The east
facing sanctum with the extraordinarily beautiful Vimana, enshrines the big
Shiv Linga called as Apradeeswarar. At the entrance of the Moolasthana,
the idol of Ganesh is found. In the Maha Mandapam, various bronze idols of
several deities such as Nataraja, Sivakami, two pairs of Uma-Chandrashekhar, Subramanya-Valli-Devasena,
Ganesh and others are found in a single sub-shrine.
Nardana
Ganapati, Dakshina Murti, Vishnu, Brahma and Durga are found as the Koshta
deities around the sanctum. Mother is called as Athula Sundari Amman / Oppila
Maniammai and is facing south. In the courtyard, the shrine of the
Goddess Athula Sundari is located. This shrine faces the north
direction. Theertham associated with this Temple is Panguni river and Sthala
Vriksham is Vilwa Tree without thorns.
Shrines
for Vada Kailasa Nadhar, Then Kailasa Nadhar, Bairavar, Suryan, Durgai, Chandikeswarar,
Subramanya-Valli-Devasena, Navagraha, Nardana Vinayakar, Nagareshwarar (Shiv
Linga), Dakshina moorthy, Gaja Lakshmi, Thirumal & Brahma can be found in
the prakaram. The idols of Surya and Bhairava are also found in the prakara.
Connectivity
The
Temple is located at about 2.5 Kms from Mandurai, 3 Kms from Mandurai Bus
Station, 3.2 Kms from Mandurai Railway Station, 7 Kms from Lalgudi, 14 Kms from
Anbil, 14 Kms from Srirangam and 21 Kms from Trichy. As you go from Trichy to
Lalgudi take a left before Manthurai and drive for a couple of kilometers to
reach this Temple. Nearest Railway Stations are located at Mandurai (3.2 Kms)
and Trichy (25 Kms). Nearest Airport is located at Trichy (26 Kms).
