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Saturday, November 21, 2020

Manickavannar Temple, Thiruvalaputhur – Legends

Manickavannar Temple, Thiruvalaputhur – Legends

Thiruvaloliputrur:

As per legend, Arjuna visited this place during his pilgrimage to South India. He was thirsty and seeking water to quench his thirst. Lord Shiva in the guise of an old man came to him and gave a stick advising him to strike the ground under Vagai tree for water. Arjuna gave his sword to the old man in order to strike the ground and drink the water. While Arjuna was drinking the water, Lord Shiva hid the sword in a hole in the tree and disappeared. When Arjuna returned, he found the old man was missing.

He followed the footsteps of old man and found a glittering and bright anthill with a Shivalinga. He also found his sword in the hole in a nearby tree. Lord Shiva appeared before him and blessed him. Also, Lord Shiva disclosed that the old man was but himself. As Lord hid Arjuna’s sword here, the place came to be known as Thiruvaloliputrur (Thiru (honorific prefix), Val (sword), Oli (to hide), Putru (ant hill) & Oor (place).  Thiruvaloliputrur now got corrupted to Thiruvalaputhur.

Vasuki penance on Lord Shiva:

During the churning of the Ocean of Milk (Samudra Manthana), Mount Mandara was used as the churning rod, and Vasuki, a Nagaraja who abides on Lord Shiva's neck, became the churning rope. During the churning process, the Halahala poison escaped from the mouth of the serpent king Vasuki. This terrified the gods and demons because the poison was so powerful that it could destroy all of creation. Despite this, the Devas and the Asuras pulled back and forth on the snake's body alternately, causing the mountain to rotate, which in turn churned the ocean.

The Devas then approached Lord Shiva for protection. Lord Shiva consumed the poison. Lord Shiva was suffering intense pain. Mother Parvati immediately places a hand on his throat, stopping the poison to flow any further, and by her Maya stopped it forever. As a result, his throat turned blue and he was henceforth called Neelakantha (the blue-throated one; Neela – blue, Kantha – throat in Sanskrit). Vasuki was afflicted with sin for spitting the Halahala poison.

To get relief from the sin, Vasuki came to earth and performed penance on Lord Shiva. Vasuki performed penance under Vaagai tree in an ant hill (Putru). Lord Shiva granted darshan to Vasuki and provided relief from the sin. Also, Vasuki was granted the boon of decorating the body of Lord Shiva. Vasuki requested Lord Shiva to stay in this place. As requested, Lord Shiva agreed to stay in this place as Shiva Linga. This Linga had disappeared in course of time. 

Manicka Vannar:

During the reign of king Ruduketan, the region faced a severe famine. He surrendered at the feet of Lord Shiva. Lord poured rain of diamonds and asked him to use it for the welfare of his subjects. Hence, Lord Shiva came to be called as Manicka Vannar. As per another legend, Lord Vishnu installed a Manicka  (Ruby Lingam) here. Hence, Lord Shiva came to be called as Manicka Vannar.

Durga annihilated Mahishasura at Kidathalaimedu:

As per legend, Goddess Durga annihilated Mahishasura, a buffalo headed demon, at Kidathalaimedu, a nearby place. It is said that Goddess Durga came to this temple to calm down after killing Mahishasura. It is a practice to worship Durga first in this temple before worshipping Lord Shiva.

People worshipped Lord Shiva here:

It is believed that Arjuna, Vasuki, Lord Vishnu, Durga, Indra, King Ruduketan, Pandavas and Draupadi have worshipped Lord Shiva here.