Vaidyanatha Swamy Temple,
Thirumazhapadi – The Temple
This
Temple is facing towards east with seven tiered Rajagopuram. The
Rajagopuram is about 108 feet tall. The
Temple is situated on the northern banks of Kollidam River. The
Temple covers an area of about 10 hectares. Balipeedam,
Dhwaja Sthambam and Nandhi can be found immediately after the Rajagopuram in
the outer prakaram. There is another four-tiered gopuram can be seen at the
entrance to the inner prakaram. It is about 80 ft. tall.
Both the towers are decorated with stucco images of
Lord Shiva’s Thiruvilayadal and deities from Hindu pantheon. The sanctum
sanctorum consists of Sanctum, Antarala and Artha Mandapam. There is an idol of
Mazhuvadeeswarar in the Ardhamandapam. He is seen with an axe in his right hand
along with a spear and a rope to prevent Yama from taking away the life of Sage
Markandeya. There are two Nandis one behind the other in
front of the Sanctum sanctorum.
Huge stucco Dvarapalas can be
seen guarding the sanctum. Presiding Deity is called as Vaidyanatha Swamy / Vajrathambeswarar
/ Vajrathampanathar / Vairathoonnadhar / Mazhuvadeeswarar and is facing east.
He is housed in the sanctum in the form of Lingam. Lord is a Swayambhu Murthy.
There are no Navagraha idols in the temple. Instead, there are three pits
between Lord Shiva and Nandi which devotees consider Navagrahas, light Deepas and
pray. There are two Ambika shrines in this
Temple.
Mother is called as Sundarambigai
/ Azhagammai. She is housed in a separate east facing shrine. Her Shrine looks
like a separate temple. There is another shrine for Mother Balambigai in the
temple premises. Her shrine is facing towards south. Four Nandis can be
seen in front of the Brahma idol in the Koshta. These four Nandis represent
four Vedas. There are two Lord Dakshinamurthy shrines in the Koshta one of whom
appears on a Rishaba Vahana.
There is a separate shrine for
Somaskanda made of a single stone in the
temple premises. There are two idols of Vinayagars at the entrance of Somaskanda
Shrine. One Vinayaga is in standing posture and other Vinayaga in in sitting
posture. Nandi can be found facing the shrine. There is a shrine for Lord Jurahareswarar
in the temple premises. People suffering from high fever offer freshly cooked
rice along with rasam in this shrine for cure.
The 100 pillared mandapam inside
this
temple is of special interest. There is shrine for Mother Katyayini in the
temple premises. There are shrines for Vinayakar, Murugan, Viswanathar,
Visalakshi, Aiyarappar, Sokkanathar, Purush Mriga Rishi, Ruru Bhairavar,
Nalvar, Lingams, Sage Markandeya, Sundara Vinayaka, 63 Nayanmars, Meenakshi,
Brahma & Saraswathi, Sundarar & Paravai Nachiyar, Nataraja, Mahavishnu
& Mahalakshmi, Gajasamharamoorthy and Saptha Matrikas in the
temple premises.
There is a two tier mandapam
along the outer walls. There are two Theerthams for the
temple namely Lakshmi Theertham in front of the Amman temple and the
Sivaganga (Kollidam River). Sthala Vriksham is Palmyra tree. The entire
temple complex was once called Thala Vanam (forest of palmyra trees). The
palmyra generally does not flourish on river banks. It is believed that around
the 7th century CE, the entire area was dry and the River Kollidam changed
its course and came to this spot much later.
