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Thursday, February 27, 2020

Valeeswarar Temple, Sevur – Legends

Valeeswarar Temple, Sevur – Legends
Valeeswarar:
Vali, the Vanara was a good and pious king to all his subjects in Kishkinta. Right from a very young age, he had proven himself through his various valorous exploits. On one occasion a demon called Mayavi had attacked Kishkinta and Vali was engaged in a bloody combat with him. The fight took them inside a cave at the entrance of which his younger brother Sugriva was asked to wait. When Vali killed Mayavi, the asura’s blood came flowing out of the cave. Sugriva mistaking the same to be his brother, Vali’s blood blocked the entrance of the cave with a huge boulder to trap the asura inside.
By the time Vali found an alternate route out of the cave. Vali got acquired of Brahma Hathi Dhosham for killing Mayavi. When he consulted Vashishta, he was advised to pray to Lord Shiva in a place where tiger and cow play together. It is believed that Vali saw a tiger play with a cow in this place and decided that this is the special place to offer Shiva Pooja. The image of Vali offering prayers to the Lord is sculpted in the Deepastambam. He is believed to have installed this Lingam and hence the Lord is called Valeeswarar. 
Kapaleeswarar:
Another name for the Lord is Kapaleeswarar as the sect of Shaivites called Kaapalikas were predominant in this area.  Many of the inscriptions refer to this place as Kapaleeswaram.  
Monday Prayers:
As per one of the legends, a carpenter who was a staunch devotee of Shiva, faced lot of problems in his profession and was observing Vratham on every Monday and coming to this temple for worship on five consecutive Mondays. On the fifth Monday, he met an old Brahmin who told him that he wanted five bullock carts as he was going to Kashi. He gave the carpenter the money to pay for the materials. When the carts were ready, the carpenter came to this place searching for the Brahmin, but in vain. The local people said that there was no such person in the village. The carpenter realized it was the Lord who came to his help.  From that time on, his profession picked up and he lived comfortably.  Hence there is a belief that when a devotee visits this temple on five consecutive Mondays, his prayers would be answered. 
Dharma Samvardhini:
As per the Sthala Puranam, there was a demon called Veeman who was harassing the local people. He instructed the male members of the society to be disloyal to the women folk. The women of the place offered Mangalya Pooja to the Ambal to help them. Ambal used her powers to kill the demon and converted him into a lotus flower and held it in her hand. Hence every year Mangalya Pooja is conducted in a big way. As the Ambal restored Dharma, she came to be called as Dharma Samvardhini. 
Names:
The Tamil word Che (or Se ) refers to cattle like cow and as the cattle were in abundance, this place was called as Rishabapuri, Sevur and Maatoor.
Nandi worshipped Lord Shiva here:
It is believed Nandhi worshipped Lord Shiva here. Hence, the village came to be called as Mattur.
Karikala Chola worshipped Lord Shiva here:
It is believed that Karikala Chola, one of the famous early Cholas got back his Chola Kingdom after he prayed to Lord Shiva of this Temple.