Agniswarar Temple, Kanjanur – Legends
Shukra Parihara Sthalam:
The Bhagavata
Purana describes that Vishnu descended as the Vamana
avatar to restore the authority of Indra over
the heavens, as it had been taken by Bali,
a benevolent Asura King. Bali was
the grandson of Prahlada, the son of Virochana.
King Bali was generous and engaged in severe austerities and penance and won
the praise of the world. With the praise from his courtiers and others, he
regarded himself as the all-powerful in the world. Vamana, in the guise of a dwarf
Brahmin carrying
a wooden umbrella,
went to the king to request three steps of land.
Asura Guru Sukracharya had
doubts about the dwarf brahmin. When Mahabali ignored his advice, he took the
form of a bee and hid in the mouth of the Kamandala from which Mahabali would
pour water to donate the three steps of land. When water did not flow from the Kamandala,
Lord Vishnu in the form of Vamana Avatara pricked Sukracharya with a Darbha
grass to which he lost an eye and water came out giving Bali consent to Vamana.
Vamana then revealed his
identity and enlarged to gigantic proportions to stride over the three worlds.
He stepped from heaven to earth with the first step, from earth to the
netherworld with the second. King Bali, unable to
fulfill his promise, offered his head for the third. Vamana then placed his
foot and gave the king immortality for his humility. Sukracharya, however
was angry with Lord Vishnu, and cursed him. It is believed that Lord Vishnu prayed
to Lord
Shiva at Kanjanur, where he was relieved of the curse.
Lord Shiva not only blessed
Vishnu here, he promised to remain and bless those who came with prayers to
Shukran his favour. There is no idol or image of Shukran at Kanjanur.
It is Lord Shiva himself who takes the position of Shukran here. Kanjanur
is the temple for performing Kalathira Dosha Pariharam for Lord Sukran.
Lord Shukran is offered white Lotus, white cloth, Mochai Kottai (common bean)
and Athi (fig) to alleviate problems caused by Sukra dosham. Friday is the day
of Shukran and worship on Fridays is considered very special.
Haradatta:
Haradatta was born in a staunch Vaishnava
family in Kanjanur. He was named as Sudarsana during his birth. Although, he
was born in a Vaishnava family, he became a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva. His
father, Vasudeva and the villagers were not happy with Sudarsana devotion to
Lord Shiva. Sudarsana used to visit Kanjanur
Agneeswarar temple daily despite the fierce opposition. The villagers tried
to convince him of the superiority of Vaishnavism. Nothing moved Haradatta from
his devotion to Lord Shiva.
His father advised him to utter
Narayana Nama and ordered to worship Lord Vishnu in Varadaraja
Perumal Temple. But, Sudarsana went to Kanjanur Agneeswarar temple against
his father wish. His father banished him from his house. Sudarsana went to Agneeswarar
temple and slept there. Lord Shiva appeared as Dakshinamoorthy before Sudarsana
and initiated teachings of Shaivism. He also named him as Haradatta
Sivachariyar.
After obtaining the knowledge,
Haradatta took purificatory bath in Cauvery in the morning and went to his
house. He wore Viboothi and Rudraksha and stated Lord Shiva is everything by
Vedas and Shastras. Haradatta invited his father Vasudeva and villagers for a
debate. They didn't accept his debate and decided to kill him. So, they asked
him to prove it, by standing in a heated iron tripod in Varadaraja
Perumal Temple.
Haradatta accepted their
challenge, stood on the heated iron tripod and proclaimed that Lord Shiva is
the supreme deity and the life force behind everything on this earth. Lord
Agneeswarar along with his consort Karpagambal appeared before Haradatta and
blessed him. The villagers were so captivated by his devotion, even few of the
villagers got converted to Shaivism. He attained Mukthi on a Panchami day in
Thai month.
Manakanchara Nayanar:
Manakanchara Nayanar was a Nayanar saint,
venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism.
He is generally counted as the twelfth in the list of 63 Nayanars. Manakanchara
Nayanar is dated to the 8th century and was a contemporary of Eyarkon Kalikkama Nayanar,
a Nayanar saint and his son-in-law as well as Sundarar.
He is described to have cut his daughter's hair and given it to Lord Shiva
disguised as a Shaiva ascetic, on her wedding day. Sundarar venerates
Manakanchara Nayanar in the Tiruthonda Thogai, a hymn to Nayanar saints.
The life of Manakanchara Nayanar
is described in the Periya Puranam by Sekkizhar
(12th century), which is a hagiography of the 63 Nayanars. Manakanchara
Nayanar was born in Kanjanur,
a fertile place in the Chola Kingdom. He was a Vellalar,
a caste of
agricultural land owners. He was a great devotee of Shiva, the
patron god of Shaivism. He was the commander-in-chief of the
Chola army. Manakanchara became a powerful and wealthy commander. He served
devotees of Lord Shiva and generously donated gifts to them. However,
Manakanchara did not have a child. He prayed to Lord Shiva for a child and was
blessed with a daughter.
He distributed many gifts to
devotees, while celebrating the birth of his daughter with great pomp. The
daughter is called Punniya Vardhini. She was instilled with values of devotion
to Lord Shiva by her father from childhood. She grew up to become a beautiful
maiden, with long and beautiful locks of hair. The family elders arranged her
marriage to Eyarkon Kalikkama Nayanar, who was a Vellalar commander-in-chief of
the Chola kingdom. The prospective groom also shared the devotion and love for Lord
Shiva with Manakanchara Nayanar.
It was said that Manakanchara
Nayanar had gained two boons from Shiva: a pious daughter as well as a devout
and illustrious son-in-law. On day of the wedding (in some versions, a day
prior to the wedding), while the bridegroom was on the way to the marriage
venue at Manakanchara Nayanar's house, Lord Shiva disguised himself as a
Mahavrata Shaiva yogi
(an ascetic who has kept a great vow), with sacred
ash smeared over his body, matted
hair and wearing garlands of bones and skulls and a Yagnopavita (sacred
thread worn across the chest) made of human hair called a Panchavati.
Manakanchara Nayanar welcomed
and honoured the ascetic. The ascetic enquired about the festivities and in
response, Manakanchara Nayanar informed him of his daughter's wedding. When she
arrived and sought the blessings of the ascetic, he commented that her long
hair would have been ideal for making his Panchavati. Without giving it a
second thought, taking the statement as a command by the yogi, Manakanchara
Nayanar chopped off the hair of his daughter and gifted them to the ascetic, in
an act of supreme devotion to Lord Shiva's devotees.
Cutting of the hair of a young
maiden (especially of a bride) is considered inauspicious and thus a taboo. The
daughter of Manakanchara Nayanar had lost her hair, the reason of her beauty,
and faced the risk of rejection by the bridegroom. The ascetic disappeared
immediately, as soon as he accepted the hair. Lord Shiva along with his
consort Parvati gave
a divine vision to the family of Manakanchara Nayanar, pleased with their
service. The divine couple blessed the family and disappeared.
The bride's beautiful hair were
also restored. Eyarkon Kalikkama Nayanar and his wedding party arrived at the
place and got to know what had happened. Kalikkama regretted that he missed an
opportunity to see his patron god Shiva. He felt that if he had married the
bride when Shiva asked for the hair, he would have had the honour of gifting
Shiva. Manakanchara Nayanar is worshipped in the Tamil
month of Margazhi,
when the moon enters the Swati nakshatra (lunar
mansion). He is depicted with folded hands. He receives collective worship as
part of the 63 Nayanars.
Pullunda Nandhi:
Once, an elder brahmin named
Devasambu lived in this village. He carried heap of straw bundled together to
his cow. Unfortunately, the bundle fell over the calf and it died. He uttered
Shivayanama and felt very bad for killing the calf. So, he asked for relief to the
priests to get rid of Gohathi Dosha. They advised him to take purificatory bath
in Ganges River. He was very poor to undertake the Kasi Yatra. Hence, he asked for
solution to Haradatta. He stated that it was not a sin as you did it
unfortunately and when you had shouted as Shivashiva, you had got rid from it.
The calf also would have
attained salvation as it had heard Shivashiva while being dead. But, the
priests did not accept his explanation. Haradatta asked the Brahmin to take
bath in Cauvery and feed a handful of grass to the stone Nandi. He
said that if the stone Nandi could eat the grass, the Dosha goes away. Devasambu
did as he said and astonishingly, Nandikeswara ate Grass. Hence, Nandi at this
temple came to be called as Pullunda Nandhi. He also showed the world the
importance of the 5 letters (Shivayanama).
Gangadhara visit to Kasi:
Gangadhara was the son of Hardatta’s
sister. His leg is abnormal from his birth and he had a wish in visiting the
Ganges River. Haradatta came to know about his wish and so he asked him to get
dipped in Cauvery. Gangadhara did as per Haradatta instruction and
surprisingly, he arose in Ganga. He felt very happy and worshipped Vishwanatha
and Visalakshi. After few days, Gangadhara decided to return to his hometown,
but he feared as he did not know the way. Gangadhara asked his way back to his
town to a sage named Suryaprakasamoorthy in Kasi.
The sage preached him about
Panchakshra and asked him to dip in Ganga and will arise in Cauvery. He did as
per his instruction and returned to his home town. After reaching Kanjanur,
he worshipped Agneeswarar as per the advice of Haradatta. He excavated a pond
on the southwestern side of the
temple and named it as Manikarnika. He also built a temple for Vishwanathar
and Visalakshi with Parivara deities Vinayagar and Subramanya. Further, he
built a shrine for Suryaprakasamoorthy,
who preached Panchakshra to him. He attained Mukthi on a day of Akshaya
Tritiya.
Lord Shiva came in the guise of a brahmin to help
Haradatta:
It is believed that Haradatta
used to visit seven Shiva temples (Kanjanur,
Thirukkodikka,
Thiruvalangadu,
Thiruvavaduthurai,
Then
Kurangaduthurai, Thirumangalakkudi
and Thirumandurai)
every day before taking his dinner. One day, when he left Kurangaduthurai
temple, there was heavy rain and in the darkness, he was unable to find his
way back to the village. It is believed that Lord Shiva came in the guise of a
brahmin and took him home.
Lord Shiva visited Haradatta house for food:
As per legend, a wealthy Shiva
devotee used to offer food to Lord Agneeswarar every day. It is believed that
every day, Lord Shiva would appear in his dream and consumed the food that was
offered. However, one day, Lord Shiva did not appear in his dream. He tried his
best to find out the reason and finally he came to know that Lord Shiva, in the
form of an aged brahmin, had gone to the house of Haradatta instead. On
learning about Haradatta and his accomplishments, the devotee visited him and
offered his respect. Sculptures depicting this incident can be seen in the temple.
Suraikkai Bhakthar:
Once, a farmer, an ardent
devotee of Lord Shiva, lived in this village. It is believed that he used to
offer vegetables to Lord Shiva and then feed devotees. One day, he was left
with only one piece of Suraikkai (a green vegetable). He thought that this vegetable
was not suitable enough to be offered to Lord Shiva and the devotees. He
decided to extract the seeds from it and plant them. It is believed that Lord
Shiva visited his house in the guise of a devotee and asked for food.
The farmer was in dilemma as he
did not have anything except Suraikkai. At this point, it is believed that the
lord’s divine voice was heard saying that “Oru pathi vidhaikku, oru pathi
karikku” (keep one half for seed and the other half for me). The farmer
immediately cooked and offered it to the guest. Lord Shiva appeared before him
and blessed him. Henceforth, the farmer came to be known as Suraikkai Bhakthar.
Haradatta offered Sheekaikai with porridge to Lord
Shiva:
In earlier days, people have the
habit of adding Sheekaikai with porridge. Haradatta took that Sheekaikai mixed
with porridge to take purificatory bath in Cauvery. Agneeswarar
appeared as an old Shiva devotee and informed Haradatta about his hunger. Haradatta
gave the porridge to Shiva devotee. Haradatta returned to his home, after
taking purificatory bath and he felt very bad for giving the porridge with
Sheekaikai without remembering.
Haradatta prayed to Lord Shiva
for the well being of the old Shiva devotee. Shivalingabupathi, a local
chieftain, used to offer Nivedhanas and Annadhanam in Shiva poojas. Lord Shiva
appeared in the dream of Shivalingabupathi and said that his Nivedhanas and
Annadhanam would not be equal to Haradatta porridge. He was astonished and became
the disciple of Haradatta.
Shukra inside Shiva Lingam:
It is believed that Lord Sukra
learnt Amrita Sanjeevini Mantra from Lord Shiva. This mantra helps in
bringing back the dead to life. Shukra used this mantra to bring back the
Asuras, who were killed in the fight with Devas. The frustrated Devas
complained to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva was not happy with his disciple
as he had misused the mantra.
Lord Shiva swallowed
Sukra. Lord Sukra was an ardent devotee of Karpagambal. Lord Sukra
prayed to Mother from the stomach of Lord Shiva. Mother pleaded to Lord Shiva
to release Sukra and Lord Shiva obliged her. Since Sukra was inside Lord Shiva,
the Lingam in this
temple and Sukra are inseparable and hence there is no separate shrine for Shukra
in this temple.
Holiest place:
Sage Sounaga performed Sathra
Yagna at the bank of Ganges River. Sounakathi Saints, Sage Soothama and other
sages gathered and praised Sage Sounaga that he is the one who is able to make
the earth get rid of all the sins and they also declared that this place become
very sacred after the Yagna. Sage Soothama immediately said to them that there
is a better place called Kanjanur near Cauvery River which removes all the
sins. River Cauvery flows here as Uthira Vahini. The Yagna performed in this
temple is equal to the thousand Sathra Yagna.
Karpaga Vinayagar:
Once, an elder woman named
Karpaga Nachiyar lived in this village. She had the habit of doing Modaka to
Vinayagar daily. But on the day of Thai Panchami, the day when Haradatta
reached Kailasha, the Modaka took late to get finished. She prayed Vinayagar
with repentance. Lord Vinayaga took the old lady with his trunk and kept her in
Kailasha. Hence, Vinayaga came to be called as Karpaga Vinayagar.
Devas got relief from Shukra curse here:
Sukracharya, the Asura Guru,
cursed the Devas to lose their powers as they cheated Asuras deceptively by
denying the Amrita (divine nectar). Vyasa, the son of Sage Parasara, who had
undertaken penance at Kanjanur,
brought the Devas to Sukran to redeem from the curse. Shukra advised them to
worship Lord
Shiva at Kanjanur to get relief from their curse. They did as per Shukra
instruction and were liberated from the
curse on Vaikasi Visakam.
Kamsapuram:
It is believed that Kamsan, the
king of Madura Puri and the son of King Ukrasenan, was suffering from some
ailments. Sage Sukracharya advised him to visit this
temple and worship Lord Shiva. Kamsan came here, worshiped Lord Shiva and
was cured of his ailments. Hence, this place came to be called as Kamsapuram. He
also introduced the Brahmotsavam which is now celebrated in a grand way over a
16 days period in Maasi with great involvement from the villagers.
Lord Shiva performed his cosmic dance to Sage Parasarar:
Sage Parasarar was suffering
from mental illness and got relief by worshipping Lord Shiva in this
temple. It is also believed that Lord Shiva performed his cosmic
dance, Mukthi Thandava, to Sage Parasarar in this
Temple. Hence, Nataraja of this
temple came to be called as Mukthi Thandava Murthy
Different names in Yugams:
This place is called as
Punnagavanam in Kritha Yugam, Kathalivanam in Thretha Yugam, Vilvavanam in
Dvapara Yugam and Palasaavanam in Kaliyugam.
Kanjanur:
It is believed Lord Sukran, a
staunch devotee of Lord Shiva, visited this place and worshiped him. Lord Sukran
is also known as Parkkavan, Sukracharya and Kanjan. As Kanjan (Sukran)
worshipped Lord Shiva here, this place came to be called as Kanjanur.
Agneeswarar:
It is believed that Lord Agni
worshipped Lord Shiva here on the advice of Sage Vyasa and was cured of his
ailments. Hence, Lord Shiva came to be called as Agneeswarar.
Lord Brahma got a vision of divine marriage of Lord
Shiva & Parvathy:
Lord Brahma is said to have been
blessed with a vision of divine marriage of Lord Shiva with Parvathy here.
Chitra Sena and Indra got relief from their sins:
Chitra Sena and Indra had been
relieved from all their sins by worshipping Lord Shiva here.
Kalakanda attained salvation here:
It is said that the hunter
Kalakanda attained salvation by worshipping Lord Shiva here.
Palasaavanam:
As the place was full of Palasa
or Flame of the forest flower or Purasu in Tamil, the place came to be called
as Palasaavanam.
Kalikkama Nayanar wedding:
Kalikkama Nayanar, one of the 63
Nayanmars, wedding took place in this place.
Lord Chandran worshipped Lord Shiva here:
It is believed that Lord
Chandran got relieved from his curses by worshipping Lord Shiva of this
Temple.
Other Names:
This shrine is also referred to
as Palasaavanam, Brahmapuri and Agni Sthalam.
