Ratnagiriswarar Temple, Mutharasanallur, Trichy
Ratnagiriswarar
Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Mutharasanallur in
Trichy District of Tamilnadu. There are three sanctums for Shiva and three
sanctums for Goddess in this Temple.
Legends
As per
the legend, a chieftain, Mutharasan by name, lived in this village. He was a
great devotee of Lord Shiva. There are three important temples of Shiva located
near this village. They are Kadamba Vaneswarar of Kulithalai, Ratnagiriswarar
of Ayyarmalai and Eengoinathar of Tiru Engoi Malai. He used to visit all these
three temples every day without fail. In the morning, he would go to
Kulithalai, in the noon to Ayyarmalai and in the evening to Engoi Malai. As he
got older, he could not travel to all the places every day. Hence, he felt very
sad and pleaded to Shiva to help him.
Shiva
appeared in his dream and asked him to dig out the idols near the Vanni tree of
the village. The other day morning, Mutharasan discovered three Shiva idols in
that location and built a temple by installing them. He built his temple with
Rathnagiriswarar as the main diety with the other two lords having separate
temples in side. Hence visiting here ensures the Punya of visiting all the
three temples. The place is named after him as Mutharasanallur.
History
Mutharasan is
a King who governed the land and surrounding lands in early centuries. Hence,
the village is called Mutharasanallur. The village has very old temples
with steles which depicts the history of the old kings. The temples are
protected by the Indian Archaeological Departments.
The
Temple
The east
facing temple does not have tower at the entrance or flagstaff inside the
temple. The east facing sanctum enshrines Shiva Linga called as Ratnagiriswarar.
The Goddess Arala Kesari is found in a separate south facing shrine. Bali
peetha and Nandi are found facing towards the direction of the sanctum.
Dhakshinamoorthi, Lingothbavar and Durga are found as the Koshta deities.
Durga's idol is not original, but new. The old beautiful idol of Chandikeswara
is also found in this temple.
In the
prakara, the other two Shiva Lingas and their consorts are also found. The
shrines of Eengoinathar and Marakathavalli are found in one corner of the
prakara. The shrines of Kadamba Vaneswarar and Bala Kujambikai are found in
another corner of the prakara. Thus, there are three Shiva Lingas and Ambikas
in this temple. Shrines of Ganesha and Lord Murugan with his consorts Valli and
Devasena can be found in the prakaram.
The
idols of Surya, Bhairava and Saneeswara are found facing towards the direction
of the sanctum. Navagrahas are also found. Sthala Vriksham is Vanni tree. The
temple does not appear to be very ancient. It must have been built during the
Nayaka or later period. Near this temple, a Grama Devta temple with interesting
idols is located.
Contact
Ratnagiriswarar
Temple,
Mutharasanallur,
Trichy District
Mobile: +91 9843424289
Connectivity
The
Temple is situated in Trichy – Karur route. The Temple is located at about 1.2
Kms from Mutharasanallur Bus Stand, 400 meters from Mutharasanallur Railway
Station, 300 meters from Mutharasanallur, 2 Kms from Pazhur Navagraha Temple, 8
Kms from Woraiyur, 14 Kms from Trichy and 19 Kms from Trichy Airport. Nearest
Railway Station is located at Mutharasanallur and Nearest Airport is located at
Trichy.
