Airavatheswarar Temple, Nemam
– Legends
Airavatheswarar:
Due to the curse of Sage Narada,
Ramba, a celestial nymph, took a human form and was performing penance in this
place. Indra sent his vehicle Airavata, a white elephant, to bring her back to
Indraloka. Airavata failed to take her back as she was worshipping Lord Shiva
of this Temple. Then, Airavata forcefully tried to abduct Ramba but failed
miserably.
On seeing the situation, Lord
Indra himself came and worshipped Lord Shiva. He also requested Lord Shiva to send
Ramba back to the heavenly abode and also to forgive Airavata. Compassionate
Lord Shiva allowed Indra to take Ramba back to Indra Loga and Airavata. Hence,
Lord Shiva forgave Airavata, he came to be called as Airavatheswarar.
Two Ambals in same shrine:
The reason behind two Ambals in
this Temple was during Muslim invasion, original Ambal Idol was buried. When
the locals searched for Ambal Idol after the invasion, they were not able to
locate. Hence, they installed a new Ambal. Later, Ambal came in the dream of
the Temple priest and told him about her location. Then, locals found the idol
and re-installed and named as Adhi Alangaravalli as it is the original idol.
Nandi in Pit:
Nandi
in this Temple can be found in an underground pit. This Pit is about 3 feet
deep. There
is a belief that if there is no rainfall in the nearby area, people used to
bring water from Cauvery River and perform abhishekam to Nandi. If they pray to
Nandi with pure heart, the pit where Nandi is located will be filled with water
and surrounding areas will get good rainfall. If the prayers are conducted for
namesake, the pit will not be filled, and the surrounding areas will be devoid
of rainfall during that season.
Parijatha Vanam:
The place was called as
Parijatha Vanam as per Sthala Puranam.
People worshipped Lord Shiva here:
Brahma, Vritasura, Ramba, Indra
and Airavata worshipped Lord Shiva of this Temple.