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Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Sattaiyappar Temple, Nagapattinam

Sattaiyappar Temple, Nagapattinam
Sattaiyappar Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Nagapattinam Town in Nagapattinam District of Tamilnadu. This Temple is also called as Aadhi Kayarohaneshwarar Temple. Presiding Deity is called as Sattaiyappar / Aadhi Kayarohaneshwarar / Aadhi Puranar and Mother is called as Ikshurasa Bhashini / Karupanjaru Kuralal. It is believed that this is one of the Mada temple built by Kochengata Chola.





Legends
Mada Kovil:
Kochengat Chola was a Chola king and one of the 63 Nayanmars (Saivite saints) of Saivism. He is believed to have attained spiritual rebirth of a spider that fought with an elephant in its previous birth over the worship of the Hindu god Shiva. He had red eyes during birth as he remained in his mother’s womb a little longer. His mother, looking into the babies red eyes said Kochengkannano (in Tamil Ko=king, Cheng=red, Kan=eyes), which literally means king with red eyes and hence he was named Kochengat Cholan. After becoming a king, he followed Saivism and built 70 Maadakovils, temples with elevated structure where elephants cannot reach the sanctum, in the Chola empire. It is believed that this is one of the temple built by him.
Pundareega Theertham:
Pundareega Maharishi established an Ashram and consecrated a Linga and named the Shiva as Aadhi Puranar. Every day he bathed in the river and worshipped the lord. Lord Shiva was overwhelmed by his devotion and he hugged him with himself and therefore he was called as Kayarohanar meaning one who hugs the others body. The pond in which he bathed was named after him as Pundareega Theertham.
Aadhi Kayarohaneshwarar Temple:
This temple is ancient and built before Nagapattinam Kayarohaneshwarar Temple. Hence this Temple is known as Aadhi Kayarohaneshwarar Temple.
The Temple
The is a big Temple with the Temple Pond inside the Temple premises. The Temple is having three tiered Rajagopuram at the entrance. Presiding Deity is called as Sattaiyappar / Aadhi Kayarohaneshwarar / Aadhi Puranar and Mother is called as Ikshurasa Bhashini / Karupanjaru Kuralal. Theertham associated with this Temple is Pundareega Theertham. The Dhakshinamoorthy here is very special. The Sattainathar Sannidhi is a very special sannidhi as he is present with his consort here. Therefore, this temple was also known as Sattainathar Temple.




Connectivity
The Temple is located at about 600 meters from Nagapattinam Neelayadakshi Kayarohaneshwarar Temple, 1 Km from Anna Silai Bus Stop, 1 Km from Nagapattinam Railway Junction, 1.5 Kms from Nagapattinam New Bus Stand, 6 Kms from Nagore and 145 Kms from Trichy Airport. The Temple is situated in the heart of Nagapattinam Town. Nearest Railway Station is located at Nagapattinam and Nearest Airport is located at Chennai.