Surya Koteeswarar Temple, Keela Suriya Moolai – Legends

Surya Koteeswarar Temple, Keela Suriya Moolai – Legends

Surya Koteeswarar:

As per legend, Lord Surya was sad that he could not participate in the Pradosha Pujas dedicated to Lord Shiva because Pradosha time happens in evening when Sun has to be on duty. He consulted with his disciple Sage Yajnavalkya, who learnt all Vedas and Sastras from Sun. Sage Yajnavalkya encased all his yogic powers gained by reciting mantras from Vedas in Bhaskara Chakra he made and submitted at the feet of Lord Shiva of this Temple which grew into an Illuppai Tree.

He also created a forest of Illupai Trees in this place. He crushed the seeds of Illuppai tree to produce oil. He used to light 1 crore deepas daily from the oil crushed to worship Lord Surya Koteeswarar to bless his Guru, Surya. This worship took place during the twilight hours. This almost coincides with Pradosha time also. Thus, Surya, Sun God had the darshan of all these deepas and derived the benefits of Pradosha worship.

Lord Surya regained his brightness here:

As per legend, Lord Surya lost his brightness due to Lord Shiva’s anger by attending Daksha Yagna. On his Guru advice, he came to this place amidst Illuppai forest and found Lord Shiva in the form of divine light occupying the entire place. He worshipped Lord Shiva and regained his brightness back.

Sage Agastya taught Aditya Hridya Mantra to Lord Rama here:

It is also believed Sage Agastya taught several slokas from Hridya Manthra to Lord Rama in the Srilanka battle field. After getting the knowledge of this powerful Mantra, Lord Rama was able to win the war and got Sita back. Also, on Lord Rama request, Sage Agastya taught Aditya Hridya Mantra on peaceful Shuba Hora times. It is believed that he taught these Mantras to Lord Rama in this Temple.

Lord Surya worshipping Lord Shiva in Sushma form here:

It is believed that Lord Surya is worshipping Lord Shiva of this temple in Sushma form from dawn to dusk. Normally, in all other temples, the sanctum and the shrines will be dark due to the absence of natural sun light. But in this temple, it is vice versa. If you take a mirror inside the temple, its reflection can be seen on the walls.

Sukracharya got his eyesight back here:

Sukracharya visited several temples and performed Poojas to get back his lost eyesight. He performed Hridya Manthra Homa Pooja to Lord Shiva of this Temple in the presence of Sage Agasthya. He got back his eyesight.

Keezh Surya Moolai:

As Lord Shiva gave the Moola Dhara Sakthi to Lord Surya, this place came to be called as Surya Moolai. As this temple is situated to the north east of Suriyanar Koil, the village came to be called as Keezh Surya Moolai.

Lord Surya got relief from leprosy here:

It is believed that Lord Surya got relieved of leprosy here by worshipping Lord Shiva of this Temple.