Sivagurunathaswamy Temple, Sivapuram – Legends
Lord
Vishnu in Varaha Avatar worshipped Lord Shiva:
As per the Sthala puranam, during a deluge, Lord
Mahavishnu prayed to Lord Shiva and took the Varaha Avatar. This avatar is also
called Swetha Varaha because he took the form of a white pig. In this avatar,
Lord Mahavishnu held the submerging earth on his head. After rescuing the
earth, he came to this place and worshiped Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva blessed him
by restoring him to his original form.
A beautiful relief (Pudai sirpam) depicting this legend
can be seen in the outer wall of the sanctum, near Lord Dakshinamurthy shrine.
In their hymns, Saint Tirugnanasambandar and Saint Thirunavukkarasar have also
mentioned about this legend. This legend is similar to that at Aradaipperumpaazhi
(Haridwaramangalam) and Avalivanallur.
Kuberapuri
/ Kuberapuram:
Another story mentioned in the Sthala puranam is that of
Ravana. It is believed that Ravana once visited this temple for worship without
taking bath and observing other ritual requirements. Nandhi stopped him from
entering the temple. Without knowing the facts, Kuberan came to help Ravana and
asked Nandhi to step aside. Nandhi cursed Kuberan to be born on earth as a
greedy king. Kuberan then took birth in a royal family and was named as Thanapathy.
He worshipped Lord Shiva in this temple regularly.
One day he saw a copper plate in the corridor which bore
the following inscriptions - “On a Shivarathri day in the Tamil month of Maasi
that also happens to be a Monday and Pradosham day, if someone performs abishekam
to the lord using the blood of a male child, that person will get enormous
money. Greedy King Thanapathy managed to buy a young male child by offering
money to a poor couple. The king took the child and his parents to this temple
and started the pooja.
Just as he was about to cut the child, the young boy
clung to his parents in fear and started praying to Goddess Parvathy. Goddess
Parvathy in turn asked Lord Shiva to save the child. The lord pacified her and
informed her that this was in fact his ploy to relieve Kuberan from Nandhi’s
curse. He further told her that the couple was none other than Lord Indra and
his wife Indrani and that the child was Agni.
It is believed that Lord Shiva appeared before them and
stopped Kuberan. It was then that Kuberan realized the depth of his avarice and
the folly that he was about to commit because of his greed. Kuberan prayed for
forgiveness and Lord Shiva forgave him and also relieved him from the curse. To
signify this incident, there is a small crack and the mark of a drop of blood
on the Shivalingam. Hence this place came to be called as Kuberapuri / Kuberapuram.
Angapradakshina
Tradition:
When Saint Tirugnanasambandar visited this place, he was
able to divine that there are innumerable Shivalingams buried underneath.
Hence, he did not want to place his feet on the ground. He, along with his
followers, undertook Angapradakshina (rolling around the temple so that the
feet do not touch the ground) in the temple. He prayed to the lord and rendered
his pathigam from outside the temple. The place from where he sang his hymn is
called Swamigal Thurai. Following this tradition, devotees can be seen
performing Angapradakshina even today.
Brahmapureeswarar:
Brahmma is said to have worshipped Shiva here before he
undertook his task of creation. Hence Lord came to be called as Brahmapureeswarar.
People
worshipped Lord Shiva here:
It is believed that Lord Mahavishnu, Kuberan, Saint Tirugnanasambandar,
Saint Thirunavukkarasar (Appar), Ravana, Pattinathar, Agni, Brahma, Indra,
Indrani and Arunagirinathar had worshiped Lord Shiva here.
Other
Names:
The place is also known as Kuberapuri, Kuberapuram, Bhoo
Kailas and Shanbagaranyam.
