Veeratteswarar Temple,
Thirukkovilur – The Temple
The
temple has two parallel structures one dedicated to
Lord Shiva and other to Mother, each of which has a three-tiered Rajagopuram,
the gateway tower. Both the structures are facing west and are built as
separate temples. Both the temples has 2 corridors each. The
temple has large granite rectangular walls that houses all the
shrines. The Rajagopuram is about 70 ft in height. The Sthala Puranam is
painted on the tower wall in the outer prakaram. Dhwaja Sthambam and Nandi can
be found in the outer prakaram facing the sanctum.
Presiding Deity is called as Veeratteswarar
/ Andhaka Anthakan. The sanctum sanctorum houses the image of Veeratteswarar in
the form of Lingam,
an iconic form of Shiva. Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi
(self-manifested). There is an Ardha Mandapa and
a Mukha mandapa, pillared halls leading to the sanctum. He is facing west. Lord
Shiva himself is considered as Bairavar in this
Temple.
At the time of Kumbabhishekam,
the area around this lingam was dug up. It was found that the base of the
lingam goes down way below 25 feet and hence further digging was discontinued. Procession
idol of Lord Andhakaanthakan depicts him with his trident in his hands. Such
depiction of Lord Shiva is unique to this procession idol.
Brahma, Vishnu Durga, Lingothbhavar,
Dakshinamurthy and Vinayaka are the Koshta Idols located around the sanctum
walls. Goddess Durga’s idol here is very unique. Mother Vishnu Durga with her
eight hands in the prakara is so merciful in her look with eyes pouring all
blessings to devotees. Although the idol is sculpted in black granite stone,
her eyes appear white in colour much like the human eyes. Chandikeswarar can be
found in his usual location.
Mother is called as Sivananthavalli
/ Periyanayaki and is facing west. She is in standing posture and is about 5
feet tall. The second structure houses the image of Periyanayaki. Like the
Shiva temple, here also the sanctum is approached through an Ardha Mandapa and
Mukha mandapa. There is a precinct around the sanctum. There is a separate
shrine for saint Meiporul Nayanar near the entrance of this temple. It is
believed that this shrine is the Jeeva Samadhi of Meiporul Nayanar.
Vinayaka in the temple is
praised as Lord Periyanai Ganapathy. His Shrine is situated in the inner
courtyard with Vinayagar Agaval inscribed on the stone. Fresco of Avvaiyar
reaching the heaven can be seen in the walls. There is a shrine for Lord
Shanmuga with his consorts Valli & Deivanai in the Temple premises. Lord
Murugan here is depicted as Arumugar – with twelve hands and seated on his
peacock mount. Lord Murugan of this shrine is praised by Saint Arunagirinathar
in his revered Thirupugazh Hymns.
There are shrines and idols of
Meenakshi & Sundareswarar, Visalakshi & Vishwanathar, Chidambareswarar,
Agastheeswarar, Kalahastheeswarar, Abitha Gujambal & Arunachaleswarar,
Jambukeswarar, Ekambareswarar, Nataraja, Varadaraja Perumal, Gajalakshmi, 63 Nayanmars,
Navagrahas, Suryan, Chandran, Thirugnanasambanthar and Narasinga Munaiyaraiyar
can be seen in the corridors.
Inscriptions from the Pallava
period are found here. Also seen here are inscriptions from the period of
Vijayalaya I, and Parantaka Chola I. Theertham associated with this Temple is Thenpennai
River. Sthala Vriksham is Sarakondrai. Across the road is Shri Muthusamy Iyer’s
house where the young Ramana pledged his emerald earrings for Rs. 20/- to buy
tickets to Thiruvannamalai after he had divine vision at the Arakandanallur
temple.
