Arasaleeswarar Temple, Thiru Arasili – Legends
Arasaleeswarar:
Sage Vamadeva visited many Shiva Sthalas seeking relief
from a curse he incurred. When he came to this place, he relaxed for a while
under an Arasu tree thinking how pleasant would it be if Lord Shiva was there
under the tree. Knowing the Sage’s wish, Lord appeared there as a Swayambu Murthy,
relieved Vamadeva of his curse. The sage immediately had a bath in the nearby
spring, installed the Linga and worshipped. As Lord appeared under an Arasu
tree, He is named Arasaleeswarar and the place Arisili.
Lord
Shiva blessed Chalukya King Satyavrathan with Children:
After some time, the Shivalinga installed by Sage Vamadeva
in this place had disappeared. The region was under the rule of Chalukya king Satyavrathan.
He was a staunch Shiva devotee. He had no issues. He created a garden,
installed another Shivalinga in the place and was worshipping. One day his
servant found the plants without flowers and informed the matter. The king did
not take it seriously. The servant had to repeat the news next day too.
To catch the flower thief, the king closely watched the
place in the wee hours and found that a deer was happily eating the flowers.
The king was angry that an animal ate the flowers meant for Shiva Puja and shot
an arrow. The deer escaped and hid in the hole in the Arasu tree. The king shot
an arrow at the tree. The tree bled. The king thought that the animal was wounded
and looked into the hole but found a Shivalinga only and not the deer. It was
the Linga that disappeared long back.
The king bowed before the bleeding Lord and sought his
directions. Lord appeared before the king and said that the deer was but he. He
blessed the king with children. The temple came into being with the efforts of
the king. The arrow scar on this Lingam is still visible and is covered with a
piece of cloth during poojas. It is also said that the King Satyavrathan son Indrasenan
and his granddaughter Sundari lived and worshiped this lingam here. King Satyavrathan
built the Temple for Lord Shiva.
Ozhinthu
Agapatathu:
The Siva Lingam is said to have disappeared during sage
Vamadeva period and again reappeared for Chalukya King Sathyaviradhan. Hence
the place is called as Ozundiyapattu (Ozhinthu in Tamil means “lost” and
Agapatathu means “got back”. Ozhinthu + Agapatathu = Ozundiyapattu in due
course).
Chalukya
Kings worshiped Lord Shiva in a Prathosam day:
Chalukya Kings worshiped Lord Shiva in a Prathosam day,
hence Prathosam is famous here.