Vilvavana Nathar Temple,
Thiruvaikavur – Legends
Lord Shiva granted Salvation to Hunter:
A saint named Thavanithi was
performing his worship in the temple. A deer chased by a hunter held the aegis
of the saint. The sage advised him to leave the deer alone, but the hunter was
adamant and threatened to kill him if he did not release the deer. Even after
his threat, the sage did not back down and refused to let go of the dear. It is
believed that at this point, Lord Shiva came in the form of a tiger in order to
save the sage and the deer.
The hunter out of fear climbed
the Vilva tree in the temple, waiting for the tiger to relent. The tiger was
relentless and the hunter in an effort to keep him awake all night spilled
vilva leaves one by one the whole night and throwing it on the tiger.
Incidentally, it was Shivarathri that day. Pleased with the
hunter’s act, Lord Shiva blessed him with his darshan and gave him salvation.
It is believed that both Lord Mahavishnu and Lord Brahma had also come here to
witness this event.
The next day was to be the last
day of the hunter in Earth. Yama, the god
of death approached the hunter to take him to Yama Logam. Unaware of the
fact, that the hunter had been granted salvation by Lord Shiva. He entered the
temple to find the hunter and perform his duty. However, Nandhi did not notice
Yama entering into the temple. As soon as he entered, the Lord took the form of
Dakshinamurthy and drove him away with a stick.
Lord Shiva then instructed the
Dwarapalakas and Nandhi to chase and drive Yama away. Lord Shiva also scolded
Nandhi for his carelessness of allowing him to enter the temple premises. Eager
to seek forgiveness for his mistake, Nandhi used all his might and inhaled
deeply to stop the fleeing Yama in his place. Yama prayed to the Lord for
forgiveness and pleaded that he be released. Lord Shiva then instructed Nandhi
to release him.
In order to show his respect for
the Lord, Yama created a tank here and performed abhishekam to the lord. He
stayed here for a few days and performed poojas. The holy water created by Yama
is known as Yama Theertham. It is situated in front of this temple. The idol of
Nandhi in this temple is facing towards the entrance. This signifies that he is
keeping a watch to stop Yama in case he tries to enter the temple again.
Lords Mahavishnu & Brahma as Dwarapalakas:
As Lord Shiva sent out the Dwarapalakas
to chase Yama, there are no idols of Dwarapalakas here. In their place, Lords
Mahavishnu and Brahma are acting as Dwarapalakas.
Hariesar:
Lord Mahavishnu had lied to the
demon Jalandhiran’s wife before killing him. Because of this sin, she cursed
Lord Mahavishnu. In order to seek relief, he visited this place and worshiped
Lord Shiva here. Hence Lord Shiva here is also praised as Hariesar.
Agni Theertham:
Other than the Yama Theertham,
there is another Theertham called Agni Theertham. It is believed that Lord Agni
created this holy water and worshiped the lord here.
Sapthamathas worshipped Lord Shiva here:
Sapthamathas worshipped Lord
Shiva here by having a holy dip in Yama Theertham, the temple tank here to
regain the Ashtama siddhis (powers) lost on account of a curse from
the sage Uttala.
Bhooomipuram:
It is also believed that Goddess
Bhooma Devi visited this place and worshiped Lord Shiva. Hence, the place came
to be called as Bhooomipuram.
Makavaruleeswarar:
It is believed that on a
Shivrathri day, a thief killed a sleeping child while trying to steal the
child’s ornaments. The father of the child, a staunch Shiva devotee, prayed to
Lord Shiva to resurrect the child. It is believed that Lord Shiva gave rebirth
to the child. Hence Lord Shiva came to be called as Makavaruleeswarar.
Vedas in the form of Vilvam:
Legends state that the Vedas
conduct their Tapasya in the form of Vilvam. It is believed that the
Vedas realized that everything would be annihilated during deluge. So,
they approached Lord Siva and asked him the way to get protected from
extinction. The Lord advised them to do Tapasya standing as the Vilwa
tree. They did so and hence this holy place came to be known as ‘Vilva
Aaranyam’ and the Lord was called Vilvavaneswarar.
Lord Brahma worshipped Lord Shiva here:
Lord Brahma took a holy dip in
the Theertham here and worshiped Lord Shiva to retain his role as the creator
of the universe.
