Thirumarainathar Temple, Thiruvathavur, Madurai
Thirumarainathar Temple is a
Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Thiruvathavur near Melur in Madurai District of Tamilnadu.
The Temple is situated on the Northern banks of Vaigai River. Presiding Deity
is called as Thirumarainathar / Vedhanathar / Vedapureeswarar and Mother is
called as Aranavalliammai / Vedha Nayagi. The Temple is almost 1000 years and
considered as Thevara Vaippu Sthalam. The place is also considered as Birth place of Manikavasagar, the great Saivite poet.
Legends
For
brief details, please refer below link;
https://tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com/2018/08/thirumarainathar-temple-thiruvathavur-legends.html
The
Temple
The
temple has a South facing five tiered Rajagopuram with 2 praharams. Presiding
Deity is called as Thirumarainathar / Vedhanathar and Mother is called as
Aranavalliammai / Vedha Nayagi. Both Lord and Mother are facing east. Lord is a
Swayambu Moorthy. It is said that cow's foot print is seen in Shivalingam here.
There are shrines of Chinthamani Ganapathy, Kaleeswarar, Viswanathar, Vyagrapathar,
Pathanjali, Sundarar, Manickavasagar in the temple premises.
Theertham
associated with this Temple are Kabila, Brahmma, Purushamrigam and Bairavar
Theerthams. The temple tank has a unique sphinx idol in the middle. It is
called as Purusha Mirugam. This can be seen in very few temples. When there is
a draught, special prayers are offered to this Purusha Mirugam for rains.
Sthala Vriksham is Magizha Tree.
Birth
Place of Manickavasagar
Manikkavacakar was
a 9th century Tamil poet who wrote Tiruvasagam a book of Shaiva hymns. He was one of the main authors of Saivite
Thirumurai, his work forms one volume of the Thirumurai, the key religious text of Tamil
language Shaiva
Siddhanta. A minister to the Pandya King Varagunavarman
II (862 C.E. – 885 C.E.) (also called Arimarthana
Pandiyan), he lived in Madurai. His work is a poetic expression of the joy of
God-experience, the anguish of being separated from God.
Although
he is a prominent saint in Southern India, he is not counted among the
sixty-three Nayanmars. Manikkavacakar is said to have born in Vadhavoor
(Thiruvathavur, nearby Melur in Madurai district), seven miles from Madurai on the banks
of river Vaigai. The
birth place of Manickavasagar is situated at about 400 meters from the Temple.
There is a small temple housing Manickavasagar in the sanctum. The Guru pooja
takes place on the Maha star day of the Tamil month Aani.
Temple
Opening Time
The
Temple remains open from 06:00 AM to 11:00 AM and 04:00 PM to 08:00 PM.
Festivals
Vaikasi Brahmmotsavam
and all other Shiva related festivals are celebrated here with much fanfare.
Prayers
Devotees
also pray here for getting a child and marriage pariharam. There is a belief
that visiting this temple three times in subsequent weeks and doing certain
procedures(Abishekam) to god and applying the blessed oil on affect parts like
leg and hands will give relief to the stroke.
Contact
Thirumarainathar
Temple,
Thiruvathavur,
Madurai
District – 625 122
Phone: +91 452 234 4360.
Connectivity
The Temple is located at about 9 Kms from Melur, 19
Kms from Thirupuvanam, 20 Kms from Thirupuvanam Railway Station, 25 Kms from Madurai,
22 Kms from Madurai Mattuthavani Integrated Bus Terminus, 27 Kms from Madurai Periyar
Bus Stand, 27 Kms from Madurai Railway Station and 35 Kms from Madurai Airport.
Regular Buses are available from Mattuthavani Bus Stand
(direct bus).