Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Kasi Viswanathar Temple, Palaiyur, Tirupattur, Trichy

Kasi Viswanathar Temple, Palaiyur, Tirupattur, Trichy
Kasi Viswanathar Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Palaiyur Village in Tirupattur near Siruganur in Trichy District of Tamilnadu. This temple is very close to Thirupattur Brahma Temple. This temple with a sacred tank was constructed by Cholas. The Jeeva samadhi of Sage Vyagrapada (Pulikkal Siddhar) is located within the temple.



Legends
Temple Pond created by Saint Vyagrapada:
Vyagrapathar, who had feet of a tiger, was said to have lived here for some time tending to the lord. Once during a drought when he could not get water to bath the Lingam he asked Indra on his white elephant, who used to pass overhead with water from Mount Kailash every day for the lord at Thiruvanaikaval to spare some. This was refused and the sage in anger dug the ground with his clawed feet to bring forth the Theertham of Ganges here – Pulipaichi Theertham. When Indra and his mount reached Thiruvanaikaval late after this episode the lord asked for the reason. When appraised he immediately directed them to provide the water to the sage which was duly rejected by him now. The elephant then performed the ablution to the deity itself. This scene is depicted in the Gopuram.
Curse of Ayyanar:
As per local legend, Ayyanar cursed all the Brahmins in this village many hundred years ago that their livelihood will be stopped. Slowly all the temples died due to want of maintenance and the priests all migrated. Since the temples have now been redone and the Kumbabishekam of the Ayyanar also arranged hoping for better days.
Jeeva Samadhi:
Vyagrapada, that is, one having the feet like a tiger, was one of the mythical rishis (sage) of ancient India. His image and iconography depicts him as a human being but with the legs of a tiger. He is also shown having a tiger-like tail. Generally, he is shown alongside Patanjali, and both are depicted as offering homage to Shiva in his aspect as Nataraja. Lord Shiva had blessed him with legs as that of Tiger for him to move around the jungle. His Jeeva samadhi is situated at Kasi Vishwanathar temple situated near Brahmapureeswarar temple. 
The Temple
This is an ancient temple supposedly as old as the nearby Brahmapureeswarar Temple. The temple has 3 tier entrance gopuram in the south. A large tank, Puli Paichi Theertham is present on the east. Presiding Deity is called as Kasi Viswanathar and is facing east. Mother is called as Visalakshi and is facing south.



There is only one praharam and the various Koshta Devathas are seen. The Amman sannidhi has separate Koshta vigrahas like Iccha Sakthi, Gnanasakthi, Kriya Sakthi, Vidya Sakthi, Siva Durga and Chandikeswari. The Jeeva Samadhi of Sage Vyagrapathar is seen opposite the goddess shrine. The Jeeva samadhi is found encased in glass.


There is no Navagraha here as the rays of the sun falls on the lord every day. The moonlight also falls on the lord here and full moon day is auspicious. Shrines of Valanchuzhi Vinayagar, Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbavar, Brahma, Durga, Shivalingam, Icha Sakthi, Kriya Sakthi, Vidya Sakthi, Gnana Sakthi, Abaya Sakthi and Kala Bhairavar can be found in the prakaram.


Temple Opening Time
The Temple remains open from 7 A.M to 12 P.M in the morning and from 4 P.M to 8 P.M in the evening.
Festivals
The temple is extremely crowded on Thursdays, Full Moon Days, and Sadhaya Nakshatram.
Contact
Kasi Viswanathar Temple,
Palaiyur, Tirupattur,
Trichy District – 621104
Phone: +91 431 2650439
Mobile: +91 9443817385
Connectivity
The Temple is located at about 1 Kms from Tirupattur Brahmapureeswarar Temple, 5 Kms from Siruganur, 17 Kms from Samayapuram, 25 Kms from Thiruvellarai, 28 Kms from Thiruppainjeeli, 28 Kms from Siruvachur, 28 Kms from Srirangam and 34 Kms from Trichy. Tirupattur is off the route to Samayapuram Mariamman temple from Trichy on the Chennai Trichy highway. A left must be taken at Siruganur and in about 5 Kms, Tirupattur can be reached. Nearest Railway Station is located at Trichy (37 Kms), Pichandar Kovil (23 Kms) and Srirangam (28 Kms). Nearest Airport is located at Trichy (38 Kms).