Skandhanadha Swamy Temple,
Eragaram, Thanjavur
Skandhanadha Swamy Temple is a
Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Eragaram Village near
Kumbakonam Town in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu. Presiding Deity is called
as Skandhanadha Swamy / Sankaranathar and Mother is called as Sankari / Sankara
Nayagi. The Temple is considered as Thevara Vaippu Sthalam as Devaram hymns had
a mention about this Temple. The Temple is believed to be older than Swamimalai
Swaminatha Swamy Temple.
Legends
Lord Murugan came to earth for
annihilation of Sura Padman. He decided to stay here before the war. He
constructed this Temple for his divine parents and got their blessings before
he went to war. Arunagirinathar, Appar, Agastya with his consort Lopamudra visited
this Temple and worshipped Lord Shiva.
History
Eragaram is called as Er in
olden days as per the 12th Century inscriptions found here. Eragaram
is a combination of two words Er + Agaram. Agaram means an exclusive Brahmin
residential area, adjacent to a village. Eragaram means an Agraharam near the
village ER. The earliest reference of Er or Eragam is found in Thirumurugattupadai,
written by Nakkeerar. (3rd Century A.D). He describes the Six great temples
associated with Lord Muruga – the Arupadai Veedu.
The stone inscriptions
discovered in Eragaram temple dated to 12th century states that this
place Er was also called as Mummudi Chola Mangalam. The 12th century
stone inscriptions only indicate that extensions and modifications were done by
the Chola kings. It is reported that this temple had three /four prakarams.
Presently, there is only one. Lot of land adjacent to the temple is encroached.
The temple tank and its size will confirm that this should have been a very big
temple in the olden days.
It is also reported that in
the nearby Cauvery river, there was a special place called Sankari Padugai and Lord
used to give Theerthavari here and Lord Muruga from Swamimalai used to get his
sacred spear from Sankari Amman, during Sura Samhara festival. All these
practices and the deity’s name viz. Skandhanadha, prove the special link
between Eragaram and Swamimalai. It is reported that Lord Muruga created Eragaram,
which was also called Kumarapuram, and made this the abode of his parents.
Later he made Swamimalai, his exclusive abode.
The Temple
The Temple is enclosed by
compound walls on all sides. There is an entrance on the eastern side. The
sanctum, built of bricks has one prakaram and a Theertham.
Presiding Deity is called as Skandhanadha Swamy / Sankaranathar. He is housed
in the sanctum in the form of Linga. The sanctum is preceded by a long
Mandapam. Nardana Vinayaga, Dakshinamurthy, Durga and Lingodbhava are the
Koshta idols located around the sanctum walls.
There is a shrine for Adhi
Kandaswamy behind the sanctum. Lord Murugan is in standing posture in royal
posture. Mother is called as Sankari / Sankara Nayagi. She is facing south. Her
shrine is situated on the Mandapam on the right side immediately after the
temple entrance. There are shrines for Vinayaga, Mahalinga, Surya, Bhairava,
Nagas and Navagrahas in the Temple premises. Sthala Vriksham is Nelli Maram and Theertham is Saravana Poigai.
Temple Opening Time
The temple remains open from 08.00 AM to 12.00 Noon and 06.00 PM to 07.00 PM.
FestivalsThe temple remains open from 08.00 AM to 12.00 Noon and 06.00 PM to 07.00 PM.
The main festivals celebrated
are Aadi Pooram, Navratri,
Skanda Shashti, and the Annual Laksharchana. Fridays are special days here.
Literary Mention
The
Temple is considered as Thevara Vaippu Sthalam as Devaram hymns sung by Appar
had a mention about this Temple. Kachiyappa Sivachariyar, Nakkeerar,
Arunagirinathar had praised Lord Murugan of this Temple in their hymns. The
Temple is mentioned in 6th Thirumurai in 51st Patikam in 6th Song and 6th
Thirumurai in 70th Patikam in 3rd Song.
6-51-6:
பெரும்புலியூர் விரும்பினார் பெரும்பா ழியார்
பெரும்பற்றப் புலியூர்மூ லட்டா னத்தார்
இரும்புதலார் இரும்பூளை யுள்ளா ரேரார்
இன்னம்ப ரார்ஈங்கோய் மலையார் இன்சொற்
கரும்பனையாள் உமையோடுங் கருகா வூரார்
கருப்பறிய லூரார் கரவீ ரத்தார்
விரும்பமரர் இரவுபகல் பரவி யேத்த
வீழி மிழலையே மேவி னாரே.
6-70-3
இடைமரு தீங்கோ யிராமேச் சுரம்
இன்னம்பர் ஏரிடவை ஏமப் பேறூர்
சடைமுடி சாலைக் குடிதக் களூர்
தலையாலங் காடு தலைச்சங் காடு
கொடுமுடி குற்றாலங் கொள்ளம் பூதூர்
கோத்திட்டை கோட்டாறு கோட்டுக் காடு
கடைமுடி கானூர் கடம்பந் துறை
கயிலாய நாதனையே காண லாமே.
Connectivity
The Temple is located at about
5 Kms from Thirupurambiyam, 5 Kms from Innambur, 7 Kms from Kumbakonam, 7 Kms from Swamimalai, 8 Kms
from Kumbakonam Bus Stand, 9 Kms from Kumbakonam Railway Station, 13 Kms from Thirunageswaram,
41 Kms from Thanjavur and 90 Kms from Trichy Airport. Regular Buses are
available from Kumbakonam to reach this Temple.
Location
References