Alanduraiyar Temple, Keezha
Pazhuvur – Legends
Thiru Pazhuvur:
The word Pazhu or Vata or
Aalamaram in Tamil means Banyan Tree. The place would have once been a forest
of banyan trees. Hence it came to be known as Pazhuvur or Alandhurai. Hence,
Lord Shiva of this
Temple came to be called as Vadamooleswarar / Alanduraiyar /
Vadamoolanathar.
Arunthava Nayaki:
In a playful mood, Mother
Parvathi covered the eyes of Lord Shiva with her hands. As the eyes of
Lord Shiva are Sun and Moon, the world became dark suddenly. The activities of
the world came to a standstill. All the sages and Devas were confused not
knowing what to do. Lord Shiva told Parvathi that even playful acts, if
caused hardship to others, was but a sin and asked her to leave him for earth
and perform penance.
Lord also assured that he would
come and join her in the Yogavanam here. Mother Parvathi completed her
penance, made a Linga in sand and worshipped him standing by one leg. Lord
came here and took his consort. This Yogavanam is now named Kila Pazhuvur.
As Mother Parvathi performed Thavam (penance) here, she is called Arunthava
Nayaki.
Parasurama Tank:
The
place is also considered the holy place where sage
Parasurama worshipped Lord Shiva to repent for his sin of killing his own
mother at the behest of his father. The tank, he created here came to be known
as Parasurama tank.
Nritta Ganapathy:
It is believed that after
destroying Gajamuhasuran, Ganapathy came and danced here. Hence, he came to be
called as Nritta Ganapathy.
Replica of this Temple in Ariyalur:
A Shiva devotee from Ariyalur
used to visit this
Temple regularly. Once, he was not able to worship Lord Shiva of this
Temple due to the heavy floods in Marudhai River. He was worried
much standing on the banks of the River. Compassionate Lord Shiva gave darshan
to him in Ariyalur itself. In remembrance to this event, the devotee built a
temple in Ariyalur. The Idols of the Temple are named after this
Temple.
People worshipped Lord Shiva here:
Indra, Brahma, Vishnu, Pandavas,
Agasthya, Vishwanaran, Dharmapala, Chandran, Kovalan, Pururavan, Vashishta,
Kashyapa, Kanva, Sadananda, Vyasa, Arunagirinathar, Thirugnanasambanthar and
Vallalar worshipped Lord Shiva of this
Temple.
