Sivayoginathar
Temple, Thiruvisainallur – Legends
Relief from curse of women:
As per Hindu legend, a king
belonging to present day Kerala had illicit relation with lot of women. He also
tortured and cheated many of them. At one stage, the king wanted to restore to
a decent life and found a yogi who advised him to visit Thiruvisainallur.
The king reached the place, had a dip in river Cauvery and worshipped
Sivayoginathar to get rid of his curse. The legend leads to the belief that
whoever incurs curse of women, get curative visiting the
temple.
Sivayogi Nathar:
It is believed that Lord Brahma
was once born on earth to one Vishnu Sharma. He along with six other yogis
performed rigorous penance here. On a Shivrathri day, Lord Shiva appeared
before them and blessed them by turning them into seven guiding lights. He also
granted them salvation by merging them with himself. It is believed that seven
strands of hair are present at the back of the Shiva lingam to depict this
merger. Hence, Lord Shiva here is also praised as Sri Shivayogi Nathar.
Story behind Nandi turned posture:
Once a person, who had committed
numerous sins exhorted the Lord of this place in his last moments. Lord
Siva, then asked Nandhi: “who calls me?” and Nandhi turned to find out. (In
this sacred place the Nandhi image is in the turned posture). It was a
‘Pradosha Day’ when the person called the Lord. All his sins vanished
with Nandhi’s seeing him. His life had to end at that moment.
Lord Yama came there and Nandhi
stopped him. There arose a fierce quarrel between them. Nandhi won
Yama and sent him out, away from the flag-post. Usually in the temples
Nandhi will be seen inside the flag-post. But, we can see Nandhi in this
holy place outside the flag-post. This legend leads to the belief that a visit
to the
place is a curative to death related fears.
Chathur Kala Bhairavars:
There are four Bhairavars in this
temple (Chathur Kala Bhairavars). Each of them represents a phase in
the lifespan of a human. They are also referred to as the four Yugas. These
four Bhairavars are -
Gnana Kala Bhairavar:
The Brahmacharya phase of the
human life is dominated by his quest for knowledge. Gnana Bhairavar bestows
good education and good employment opportunities to his devotees.
Swarna Akarshana Bhairavar:
In the Grahastha phase, Swarna
Akarshana Bhairavar blesses his devotees with excellent growth in career and
material gains.
Unmaththa Bhairavar:
In the Vanaprastha phase, his
devotees are blessed with good health, financial stability and good luck.
Yoga Kala Bhairavar:
In the Sannyasa stage of life, a
man is supposed to be totally devoted to God. It is believed that by praying to
Yoga Kala Bhairavar and Uthara Kailasa Nathar (who is besides the Yoga Kala
Bhairavar), devotees can attain salvation.
Vilvaranyeswarar:
According to legend, in ancient
times, this region was a forest densely covered with Vilwa trees and hence the lord
here is praised as Sri Vilvaranyeswarar.
Birth Place of Sridhara Ayyaval:
This is the birth place of the
renowned scholar Saint Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval who lived in this place about
300 years ago. He was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He is known for bringing
the river Ganges to a well in his house. The legend is that while performing
the yearly ritual ceremony (Sraddha) to his ancestors, he offered food to an
outcaste hungry beggar. The brahmins attending the ceremony opposed this as the
tradition did not allow any food offering to be made before completion of the
ceremony.
They boycotted him and asked him
to go to Banaras (Kasi) to take a dip in the holy Ganges and seek absolution
for the sin that he has committed. Instead, Ayyaval prayed to Lord Shiva who
directed the Ganges to flow to a well in his house. As the water from the
well started flooding the village, the villagers fell at his feet and requested
him to stop this flood. He then prayed to the lord to restore normalcy. Even
now, thousands of people throng to his house to bathe in the water from this
well on the new moon day in the Tamil month of Karthikai (Nov-Dec).
Lord Shiva absolved sins of a Brahmin:
Once, a brahmin who had ignored
his duties and was leading his life in a wrong way. When he realized his
mistakes, he visited this temple and worshiped the lord. Although he was a
habitual sinner, he came to Lord Shiva with full devotion. For this reason, Lord
Shiva blessed him by absolving him of his sins.
Sacred place in all four Yugas:
The legend says that this
sacred place has seen all the four Yugas. The deity is
worshipped as Puraathaneswarar in the Kritha Yuga, Vilvaranyeswarar in the
Thretha Yuga, Yoganandheeswarar in the Dvapara Yuga and Sivayoginathar in
the Kali Yuga.
Agasthiyar worships Lord Shiva here on every Maha
Shivaratri:
It is believed that Saint
Agasthiyar worships Lord Shiva here on every Maha Shivaratri.
Jatayu Theertham:
It is said that during the
Ramayana days, Jatayu’s feather fell in this
place, where now is the Jatayu Theertham.
Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi got blessings of Lord Shiva
here:
Vishnu and Lakshmi are
supposed to have got the blessing of Lord Shiva here for their
marriage. There is a shrine for Lakshmi Narayana in the corridor which is
quite unique. Goddess Lakshmi is seen sitting on Narayana’s lap. Worshiping
this Lakshmi Narayana on Shravan Nakshatram, Ekadasi and on all Saturdays is
considered very auspicious.
Birth Place of Uyyavantha Deva Nayanaar:
Uyyavantha Deva Nayanaar, the
author of the Siddhanta Sastra work Thiruvunthiyaar was born in this
holy place.
