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Saturday, January 30, 2021

Manikandeeswarar Temple, Kanchipuram – Legends

Manikandeeswarar Temple, Kanchipuram – Legends

Manikandeeswarar:

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). Devas felt bad that Lord Shiva drank the poison and pledged his life for their sake. Devas came to Kanchipuram and installed Shiva Linga here. Hence Lord Shiva came to be called as Manikandeeswarar. Devas worshipped the Linga to get relief from their sin of making Lord Shiva to drink Halahala poison.

Panamanneeswarar:

Vasuki was afflicted with sin for spitting the Halahala poison. To get relief from the sin, Vasuki came to Kanchipuram, created a tank called Vasuki Theertham and installed a Shiva Linga. Vasuki offered precious Rathna to Lord Shiva. Vasuki got relief from the sin and Vasuki was granted the boon of decorating the body of Lord Shiva. Hence, Lord Shiva came to be called as Panamanneeswarar. This Linga can be seen in the prakaram.