Panamuneeswarar Temple,
Kanchipuram – Legends
Panamanneeswarar:
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 Kanchipuram, created a tank
called Anandha 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.
Mother
Kali tore her stomach to clear Vasuki doubts:
As per local folklore, Vasuki used to worship Lord Shiva
with 108 flowers. Vasuki found everyday two flowers were short for 108 flowers.
Vasuki suspected foul play by Mother Parvathy. Lord instructed Mother Parvathy to
clear the doubts of Vasuki. Mother Parvathy took the form of Kali, tore her
abdomen and showed nothing was there inside her stomach. There is a temple
dedicated Mother Kali situated on the northern side of this
temple confirming this legend.
Sivavakkiyar
Siddhar attained salvation here:
It is believed that Sivavakkiyar Siddhar, one of the famous 18 Siddhars, worshipped Lord Shiva here and attained salvation here.