Sathanur – Legends
Thirumoolar:
Tirumular originally known
as Sundaranathar was a Tamil Shaivite mystic
and writer, considered one of the sixty-three Nayanmars and
one of the 18 Siddhars. His main work, Thirumandiram consists
of over 3000 verses, forms a part of the key text of the Tamil Shaiva
Siddhanta, the Thirumurai. Verse 74 of the Thirumandiram makes
the claim that Tirumular lived for 7 Yugams before composing
the Thirumandiram. He probably belonged to the beginning of the
eighth-century CE.
Sundaranathar, as the saint
is known, was a Yogi originally from Then Madurai (currently Madurai) who
travelled to Mount Kailasha and was initiated directly by Lord Shiva’s chief
attendant Nandi. Lord
Shiva favored him completely. After imparting all the
knowledge, Nandi directed him to move to South. He undertook a journey to meet
his contemporary sage friend Agasthya in Podhigai Hills.
After having darshan in various
temples, finally he reached the Kaveri delta and had darshan at
Thiruvavaduthurai. After darshan, while he was walking near Sathanur
village, he saw a group of cows shedding tears near the dead body of the
cowherd, Moolan. He took pity on the cows and using his spiritual
powers, he separated his physical body from life and kept the body in a bush.
He then entered the dead body of
Moolan (In Tamil it is called Koodu Vittu Koodu Payudal or Parakaya Pravesam). Due
to this, Moolan got up as if he was awakened from his slumber. The cows
rejoiced after seeing their keeper alive. Moolan brought the cows back home. On
his arrival, Moolan’s wife tried to touch him. Sundaranathar told her the
entire story of his entering Moolan’s body.
When the villagers did not
believe him, he made a demonstration by entering into the body of a dead goat
and then re-entering Moolan’s body. The villagers realized that they were
in the presence of a great saint. The Yogi went back to the place where he had
hidden his original body. To his surprise, he could not find it there. He
then went into a trance and realized that his entering Moolan’s body is also
one of the commands of the Lord.
Lord Shiva appeared before him
and he was ordered to write the Saivite philosophy and the rules for proper
living in simple Tamil, so that everyone could understand and
follow. Hence this place became an important pilgrimage centre to
celebrate the conversion of uneducated Moolan into the revered
Thirumoolar. He was deeply immersed in meditation under a peepul tree in
Thiruvavaduthurai and received the holy hymn verse in Tamil.
3000 of holy hymns have been
documented in to the book called Thirumandiram. After completion of his work,
Shri Thirumoolar returned to Kailash. Today, there are 3,047 hymns are
available in Thirumandiram. Possibly, 47 hymns might have been added later
on. Apart from being part of the 18 Siddha group, he is also revered as
one of the 63 Nayanmars. It believed Thirumoolar worshipped Lord Shiva of
Pancha Linga Kshetram.
Sathanur:
Sathanur was a large village in ancient
times. Current Thiruvavaduthurai was a part of it in those days. Over a period
of time, Thiruvavaduthurai became an important place and Sathanur went to
obscurity.
Alangatti Vinayagar:
There is an interesting story
behind the Vinayagar of Kailasanathar Temple. He is called as Alangatti
Vinayagar. Whenever there is a drought in the regions, people will shut the
Gomugam & the front door and perform Abhishekam to this Vinayaga. When the
water level reaches to the height of the idol, the Gomugam will open and
release the water. People will plug the breach in Gomugam and again perform the
abhishekam. While doing so, the rain bearing clouds flood the region and heavy
rains will be witnessed. Hence, Vinayaga came to be called as Alangatti
Vinayagar.
Airavateshwarar:
Lord Indra, King of
Heaven and his white elephant Airavata were
cursed by Sage Durvasa for throwing a garland given to
them by Lord Brahma
through Sage Durvasa. Indra lost his Kingdom and Airavata turned black. Indra and
Airavata worshipped Lord Shiva here and got relieved from the curse. Hence,
Lord came to be called as Airavateshwarar.
Pancha Linga Kshetram:
Sathanur is called as Pancha
Linga Kshetram as it houses five Shiva Temples namely;
Navakoti Siddhapuram:
Sathanur is also known as
Navakoti Siddhapuram, where siddhas practised Yoga.