Swarnakadeswarar Temple, Neivanai – Legends
Swarnakadeswarar:
Once the place was very fertile with paddy fields and
people were happy and prosperous. Wealth and luxuries made people forget
God. Lord directed Varuna the God of rain to pour his power incessantly in
the region. Heavy floods began to threaten their safety. Lakes, tanks
and all water resources began to breach. People ran to Lord for
safety. Lord came as a youth, asked the people to bring all the paddy bags
from their homes and built a dam preventing further calamity. Though the
people lost their possessions, they praised the youth as their saviour.
He said that God was the giver of prosperity and they
should not be ungrateful to the Almighty. The young man gave them pots of
gold (Swarna) and advised them to recover the loss by using it and disappeared. When
the villagers were wonderstruck, Lord appeared before them as Swayambu. People
built the temple then. As the Lord gave them Swarna-gold, He is praised as
Swarnakadeswarar.
Nel
Anai:
Since Lord Shiva himself built the dam (Anai in Tamil)
with paddy (Nel in Tamil) the place was named Nel Anai which later changed as
Neivanai.
Saint
Gnana Sambandhar in dancing form:
The legend has that Saint Gnana Sambandhar arrived on
this land and found the entire area was sunk in the darkness. He was
struggling to find the exact location of the temple, instantaneously Lord
instructed Goddess to assist Sambandhar to find the location. Mother
Parvati guided Gnana Sambandhar to this temple affectionately addressing him
‘My dear child’. As soon as he heard the sweet nectar like voice of
Mother Parvati, Sambandhar was in an ecstasy danced and sung praising the
compassionate Goddess Parvati. The place from where Mother called the
child saint is called Ethalavadi nearby. In
this temple Sambandhar can be seen in his dancing form.
Disciples
of Lord Dakshinamurthy worshipped Lord Shiva here:
It is believed that sages Sanakar, Sanatana, Sanandhana
and Sanathkumara have worshipped Lord Shiva here. These four saints are
collectively called Kumaras or Sanakadi. These four sages are believed to have
roamed the universe in the form of young children. As per Hindu mythology, they
are described as the “first mind-born-sons” (Manasaputras) or spiritual sons of
Lord Brahma. They are the disciples of Lord Dakshinamurthy.
People
worshipped Lord Shiva here:
Lord Brahma’s Manasaputras and Sage Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada
had worshipped Lord Shiva here.