Virudhagireeshwarar Temple, Virudhachalam – The Temple

Virudhagireeshwarar Temple, Virudhachalam – The Temple

The compound walls of the temple on all the four sides are of 26 feet height. It is 660 feet in length and 390 feet in breadth. 7 tier gopurams stand majestically on all the 4 sides. One must enter the temple via the east side entrance by passing through 16 pillared mandapam. There is another tower called Kandarathithan Gopuram (7 storied) in the inner prakaram named after Chola King Gandaraditya who is the forefather of Rajaraja Chola. The outermost prakaram is referred to as Kailasa Prakaram.

Girivalam-circumambulating the hill takes place on each Poornima-full moon days. The temple is believed to be on the hill, of very old (Pazhaya malai). The hill is below the present temple. There is a view point on the left side on entering the Rajagopuram from there, magnificent view of all the gopurams (towers) can be seen.

Presiding Deity is called as Virudhagireeshwarar / Pazhamalai Nathar / Mudhu Kundrar. Lord Shiva in the temple is Swayambumurthy. The sanctum sanctorum is situated in the 4^th Inner Prakaram. Dwarapalakas (gatekeepers) statues are on both side of the entrance to the sanctum. The niche idols here are Ardhanareeswarar, Lingodhbava, Vinayakar, Brahmma, Gangadhara and Dakshinamurthy.

Mother is called as Periya Nayagi / Viruthambigai / Balambikai / Ilaya Nayaki. Periya Nayagi Ammai temple is situated in the first outer prakaram on the north side and faces east having its own compound walls and a gopuram. The unique aspect of Mother Shrine is presence of Nandhi in front of Amman normally it will be an elephant.

Number five has a significance in this temple. Murthis are five – Lords Vinayaka, Muruga, Shiva, Shakthi and Chandikeswara. Lord is praised by five names – Virudhagireeshwarar, Pazhamalai Nathar, Vruddhachaleswarar, Mudhu Kundreeswarar and Vruddhagiri. There are five Vinayakas in the temple – Aazhathu Vinayakar, Mattru Uraitha Vinayaka, Muppillayar, Dasabhuja Ganapathy and Vallabha Ganapathi. Five Rishis had the darshan of Lord – Romesa, Vibasiddhu, Kumaradeva, Nada Sharma and Anavardhini.

There five towers in the temple at east, west, south, north and Kandarathithan (a Chola king) gopuram. There are five prakaras – called Thiruchutru in Tamil They are Kailaya, Vanniyadi, 63 Nayanmar Chuttru and Panchavarna Chuttru. There are five Kodimarams - flag post with five Nandhis – Indra Nandhi, Vedha Nandhi, Athma Nandhi, Maalvidai Nandhi and Dharma Nandhi. There are five inner Mandaps – Artha, Idaikazhi, Thapana, Maha and Isai Mandapams.

Outer Mandapams are 20 pillar mandapam, Deeparadhana, 100 pillar mandapam, Vipachithu and Chitra mandapam. Five-time puja is followed in the temple - Thiruvanandal, Kalasanthi, Uchi Kala, Sayaraksha and Arthajama at scheduled times from early morning till night. The temple has five cars-Raths for Lords Vinayaka, Muruga, Pazhamalai Nathar, Mother Periyanayagi and Sri Chandikeswara. The place has five names – Tirumudhu Kundram, Vruddha Kasi, Virudhachalam, Nerkuppai and Mudhugiri.

Lord Muruga with his consorts Valli and Deivanai graces the devotees from a shrine between Lord and Mother Viruthambigai shrine with 28 Shivalingas installed in accordance the Saiva Agama rules. This shrine is situated on the southwest inside the temple premise. Lord Muruga is in a standing posture. There are chakras above him promising the devotee that he would be blessed with all his wishes. Lord Muruga with Chakras is rarely seen in a few Shiva temples only. This is one among them.

Saiva Siddhantha comprises of 28 Agamas-branches. Lord Muruga installed 28 Shivalingas representing this philosophy and performed pujas. These Lingas are in a separate shrine northwest of the temple. Lord Vinayaka is in the south line of the Lingas and Lord Muruga with his consorts Valli and Deivanai is in the north line.

The Shiva Lingas bear the names of the 28 Agamas – Kamikeswarar, Yogeswarar, Sindhyeswarar, Karaneswarar, Ajitheswarar, Deepadheswarar, Sukshmeswarar, Sahasreswarar, Amsumaneswarar, Sapradeswarar, Vijayeswarar, Viswaseswarar, Swayambeswarar, Analeswarar, Veereswarar, Rouravareswarar, Makudeswarar, Vimaleswarar, Chandragnaneswarar, Mukambireswarar, Sarvothameswarar, Parameswarar, Kiraneswarar and Vaduleswarar. The temple is praised as Agama Temple as this prestigious feature belongs exclusively to this temple alone.

Relief of 72 Bharatha Natya dance styles are available in the 16 pillar mandapam, in front of east side Rajagopuram. All idols of Nandi in the temple here have their ears turned downwards as if listening intently. As in Kalahasthi temple, Lord Vinayaka is in an underground shrine with 18 steps to get in for worship.

Shrines for Pancha Lingams, Vallaba Ganapathy, Meenakshi Chokkalaingam, Vishwanathar Lingam, Arumugam, Sahasra Lingam, Ekambra Lingam, Jambu Lingam and Annamalaiyar can be found in the Vanniyadi prakaram. Shrines for Navagrahas and Dhandapani can be found on the way to Periyanayagi Amman Sannadhi. Sthala Vriksham Vanni tree and sculptures of Utsavamurthy and Ambalakoothar can be seen in the 2nd prakaram.

Shrines for 63var, Naalvar, Vinayagar, Rishabaroodar, Yoga Dhakshinamoorthy, Sabdha Mathakkal, Rudra, Martruraitha Vinayagar, Varuna Lingam, Mooppilayar, Dhakshinamoorthy, Valli Devasena Subramaniyar, Vallaba Ganapathy, Chinna Pazhamalai Nathar, Bindhu Madhava Perumal and Mayura Murugan can be found in the third prakaram.

Ilamai Nayagi Amman Temple can be found in the third prakaram. Shrines for Gajalakshmi, Bairavar, Surya Lingam and Suryan can be found in Ilamai Nayagi Amman Temple. Thala Virutcham is Vanni tree. The age of the holy tree Vanni is over 1700 years. A sage by name Vipachithu is believed to have built the earliest structure of this temple, and his idol is kept under the Vanni tree here.

Theerthams associated with this temple are Manimuthar River, Nityananda Koopam, Agni, Chakra Theertham and Kubera Theertham. There are water drains from roof and is exquisitely designed. There is a chariot shaped mandapa with beautiful sculptures in the pillars - reminding Chidambaram. There are hundreds of inscriptions on the walls of inner prakaram – but none on the outer, suggesting that outer ones may be later addition.

Most of them were about grants. Unfortunately, many of them are whitewashed. 72 Tamil epigraphs were traced so far and there many epigraphs available in this temple. These are from 10th century. Just outside the temple on the main road you can spot a pillar placed in memory of the coronation of King George -V. The temple is maintained well and is not very crowded.