Vaikal Nathar Temple, Vaikal –
Religious Significance
Mukkan Kshetram:
There are three Shiva temples in
Vaikal Village namely;
·
Vaikal
Maada Kovil (Vaikal Nathar Temple)
It is said that these three
temples represent the three eyes of Lord Shiva. Hence, these three temples are
collectively called as Mukkan Kshetram or Moondru Kan Kshetram. Moondru means
Three, Kan means eye and Kshetram means holy place in Tamil. All these three
temples are situated within a radius of one Kilometer. It is said that Kasi
Viswanathar Temple represents the right eye of Lord Shiva, Brahmapureeswarar
Temple represents the left eye of Lord Shiva and Vaikalnathar
Temple represents the eye on Lord Shiva’s forehead.
Kochengat Chola was an early Chola king and
one of the 63 Nayanmars (Saivite saints) of Saivism. He is believed
to have attained spiritual rebirth of a spider that fought with an elephant in
its previous birth over the worship of the Lord Shiva. He had red eyes
during birth as he remained in his mother’s womb a little longer. His mother,
looking into the baby red eyes said Kochengkannano (in Tamil Ko=king,
Cheng=red, Kan=eyes), which literally means king with red eyes and hence he was
named Kochengat Cholan. After becoming a king, he followed Saivism and
built 70 Maadakovils, temples with elevated
structure where elephants cannot reach the sanctum, in the Chola empire. It is
believed that this is one of the temple built by him.
Paadal Petra Sthalams:
The
temple is considered as one of the 276 Devaram
Paadal Petra Sthalams. This
Temple is considered as 150th Paadal
Petra Shiva Sthalam and 33rd Sthalam
on the south side of river Cauvery in Chozha Nadu. Thirugnana Sambandar had
sung hymns in praise of Lord Shiva of this
temple.
