Poola Nandeeswarar Temple,
Chinnamanur – Legends
Salvation
for Tiger & Cow:
The Temple had been mentioned as
one of the greatest Shivas Sthalams in Shankara Sangithai of Skanda Puranam.
Lord Veerabhadra punished all Devas who participated in Daksha Yagna.
Similarly, Lord Veerabhadra punished Kamadhenu and Kalapaka Vriksham. Lord
Veerabhadra cursed the divine cow Kamadhenu to become a country cow and
Kalapaka Vriksham to become a Poola Tree. Both begged for pardon from the
curse. Compassionate Lord Veerabhadra said that Lord Shiva will emerge as
Swaymbhu from Poola Tree and your curse will be relieved and Kamadhenu will get
relief from the curse by tiger in due course of time.
A brahmin was doing penance in
Kasi. Gandharva from celestial world came was passing through and he found that
the brahmin did not rise up to show his respect towards him. Angry Gandharva
roared like a tiger to threaten him. Hearing the roar, Brahmin trembled.
Gandharva made fun of Brahmin. Angry Brahmin cursed Gandharva to become a
tiger. Realizing his mistake, Gandharva asked for relief. Brahmin informed him
that his curse will be relieved in Theivanayagapuram by a cow and the cow curse
will be relieved by you.
Kamadhenu was living among the
cowherd owned by Brahmin in Theivanayagapuram Village. Lord Shiva appeared as
Swaymbhu in the nearby forest. A Pool tree was grown in the left side of the
Lingam and providing shade to Lingam. Kamdhenu was gracing the fields in the nearby
forest. Once, Kamadhenu went to quench her thirst. Tiger (Cursed by Kasi
Brahmin) tried to kill Kamadhenu for his food. Kamadhenu begged him to leave
her as the calves will be waiting for milk. She assured tiger that after
feeding calves she will return back to satisfy tiger hunger.
Tiger agreed to Kamdhenu demand
and waited for her return. As promised, she returned back to tiger. Tiger was
astonished and did not tried to eat the cow. Kamadhenu said if you dint eat il
will take my life by hitting it on the nearby rock. As tiger didn’t eat her,
she ended her life as said. Lord Shiva appeared at this time and gave back
their original form to both of them.
Poola
Nandeeswarar:
During the reign of Pandya King
Rajasimeswaran, he visited this place. Being a Shiva devotee, he used to
perform Milk Abhishekam to the Lord every day. The milkman who was bringing
milk to the palace was repeatedly getting tripped at a particular spot where
there was an irregular projection on the ground which was looking like a tree
root as well as a stone. When it had happened again and again, the
milkman brought an axe and started cutting it. Immediately, blood started
oozing out and a very intense light landed on the root/rock from the sky and it
looked as if there was a lightning kind of ray from the earth to the sky.
The milkman was frightened and
went to the King and narrated the incident. The King came to the spot and
realised that it was the Leela of the Lord and prayed to him to come down to
the level of human beings as his presence is too huge for everyone to see and
pray. The Lord reduced the size of the bolt of light to the height of the
King and transformed into a Lingam. (even today, the belief in this temple is
that the Lingam looks as tall as the devotee or his devotion). The King
was overwhelmed by this grace and hugged the Lingam.
As the Lingam was out of intense
energy (light), the impressions of some of the ornaments worn by the King, got
embossed on the Lingam! Even today, when the Deepam is shown during poojas, one
could see the cut on the top of the lingam (caused by the axe) and the
impressions of the ornaments. The King constructed the temple around the
Lingam and named the Lord as Poola Nandeeswarar as the
Lingam was found in the roots of Poola tree (tapioca).
Other Names:
Lord
is also called by other names like Rajasimheswarar (One installed by Rajasimha),
Paalkondanaadar (the Lord who asked for milk), Alavodu Aalanavar (the Lord who
came to the level of the devotee), Thazhuva Kudaindavar (he Lord who yielded to
the hugs of the devotee) etc.
Equivalent to Chidambaram:
During
Dwapara Yuga, Lord Vishnu gout up from his sleep suddenly in Vaikunda. Goddess
Lakshmi asked him the reason for his woke up. Lord Vishnu replied that he was
thinking of Shiva Sthalams and he found that there was one Shiva Sthalam,
Poolavanam which was never visited. Lord Vishnu visited this Shiva Sthalam
immediately and worshipped Lord Shiva here. Lord Shiva performed his cosmic
dance to Lord Vishnu.
Lord
Vishnu asked Lord Shiva about the absence of Parvathi in this holy place. Lord
Shiva informed him that this place is equivalent to Chidambaram. Paramanantha
Koobam (Well) of Thillai is present here on the left side of the Temple
premises. This Koobam represents Shivagami Amman. Lord Vishnu offered his
prayers to the Koobam.
Lord
Vishnu again came to Lord Shiva and asked if this sthalam is equivalent to
Chidambaram, then there is a need to have a Shiva Ganga Theertham similar to Chidambaram
to get rid of the sins by having a holy dip. Lord Shiva created Shiva Ganga
Theertham in front of his shrine on the request of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu
took a bath in the Theertham and worshipped Lord Shiva. Then, Lord Brahma,
Eleven Rudras and Lord Indra with Indrani worshipped Lord Shiva here.
Harikesari Nallur:
Hari
+ Ka + Eesan = Harikesari (Hari – Lord Vishnu, Ka – Lord Brahma & Eesan –
Lord Shiva). Hence, Poola Nandeeswarar is also called as Harikesari Nathar and
the town came to be called as Harikesari Nallur.
Mukthi Sthalams:
There
are five Mukthi Sthalams in India. They are
·
Kasi
·
Thiruvannamalai
·
Chidambaram
·
Thiruvarur
·
Harikesari Nallur
Out
of these Mukthi Sthalams, Hari Kesari Nallur is the holiest.
Surabhi
River:
As per the local legends, If the
bones of the dead are dissolved in Surabi river, they become stones, according
to belief.