Abathsahayeswarar Temple,
Aduthurai – Legends
Abathsahayeswarar:
As per legend, once there was a
fight between Vali and Mayavi. The latter went and hid in a
cave. Vali wanted to kill him and entered the cave but did not come
out. Sugriva was waiting outside for a long time thought that Vali was
killed by Mayavi. Hence to avoid the possibility of Mayavi coming out, he
closed the cave with a big rock, came back to Kishkinta and gave the
news. He was anointed the King. Later, Vali managed to come out of
the cave and found that Sugriva was made the King. He thought that it was
a plot by Sugriva and became angry.
He fought with Sugriva and drove
him out of his kingdom. Lord Shiva rescued Sugriva from a fight with his
brother Vaali at this place. Sugriva prayed to Lord Shiva for help as he was
unable to defeat Vaali. Lord Shiva changed Sugriva to a Swan and his wife to
Parijatha tree. Lord Shiva hid Sugriva amidst Parijada tree in such a way that
Vali could not able to find him. As Lord Shiva helped Sugriva, he came to be
called as Abathsahayeswarar.
Kurangaduthurai:
There are two places on the
banks of Cauvery River by the name of Kurangaduthurai. Lord Shiva is said to
have been worshipped by two monkeys (Kurangu in Tamil) from Ramayana namely
Sugriva and Vaali. This place is called as Then
Kurangaduthurai as it is located on the southern side of the river
Cauvery. Sugriva worshiped Lord Shiva here. The other Kurangaduthurai is called
as Vada
Kurangaduthurai as it is located on the northern side of the river
Cauvery and Vaali is said to have worshiped Lord Shiva in Vada Kurangaduthurai.
Lord Shiva acted as guide to Haradatta:
As per legend, Saint Haradatta
was born in a Vaishnava family in a nearby Kanjanur Village. He was a devotee
of Lord Vishnu in his early ages, but later became an ardent devotee of Lord
Shiva. He used to stand on a red-hot tripod and pray to Lord Shiva. He was
having a habit of worshipping Lord Shiva in all Sapthasthana Temples namely Kanjanur,
Thirukodikaval,
Thiruvavaduthurai,
Thirumangalakudi,
Thirumandurai, Thiruvalangadu
and Aduthurai.
One day, when he was returning
from Aduthurai after worshipping Lord Shiva, heavy rain started, and the place
became too dark. Haradatta could not find his way and prayed to Lord Shiva for
help. An old man came with a walking stick at that time and instructed Haradatta
to follow him and took him safely to Kanjanur. Once, Haradatta reached his
home, the old man disappeared. Haradatta understood that it was Abathsahayeswarar
guided him safely to his home.
Lord Shiva in the disguise of a lady physician helped
a pregnant lady:
A pregnant lady from the nearby
village of Thirumangalakkudi was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva of this
Temple. She regularly visited this
Temple and prayed to Lord Shiva. Once, after completing her worship,
she could not able to return to her village because of the flash floods due to
heavy rain. Unfortunately, she developed labor pain and prayed to Lord Shiva
for help. Lord Shiva in the disguise of a lady physician, performed the
delivery in time. He also went to the worried parents of the girl and informed
them that delivery had taken place. When they asked him from where he had
come, he told Maruthuvakudi and disappeared.
Hanuman prayed to Lord Shiva to get back his music
prowess:
Once, Lord Hanuman was sitting
in Mount Kailash and was singing. Sage Narada visited Kailasha
during that time and got mesmerized by the singing of Lord Hanuman. He sat and
started listening the song. He kept his Mahati Veena by his side. He regained
his senses and understood that he was bound by the singing of Hanuman for a
long time. Narada found his Veena got struck amidst snow. Narada blamed Hanuman
for the heavenly music and cursed him that he would forget all his music, to
avoid such problems in future. Lord Hanuman prayed to Lord Shiva of this
temple and got back his musical prowess.
Natarajapuram:
As per legend, Lord Shiva
performed his Thandava (cosmic dance) here as per the request of Sage Agastya
and other renowned sages. Hence, the place came to be called as Natarajapuram.
Sugriva got back his kingdom by praying Lord Shiva
here:
It is believed that Sugriva got
back his kingdom by praying to Lord Shiva of this
Temple. Hence, it is believed that those who pray here, get back
what they have lost.
Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva here:
It is believed that Lord Rama along
with Lakshmana, Sugriva and Hanuman visited and prayed to Lord Shiva during his
search of Mother Sita.
Swarna Bhairavar:
It is believed that Sage Agastya
installed Swarna Bhairavar in this
Temple and worshipped Swarna Bhairavar & Lord Shiva here.
Brahma worshipped Lord Shiva here:
It is believed that Lord Brahma
worshipped Lord Shiva here.
