Thursday, December 29, 2022

Bheemeswarar Temple, Sarkar Manappalli, Namakkal

Bheemeswarar Temple, Sarkar Manappalli, Namakkal

Bheemeswarar Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Sarkar Manappalli Village in Mohanur Taluk in Namakkal District in Tamil Nadu. Presiding deity is called as Bheemeswarar and Mother is called as Brihannayaki. The temple is situated on the northern bank of Cauvery river.


Legends

Bheemeswarar:

As per legend, Bheema, one of the Pandavas created a Lingam from the sand, installed it here and worshipped sincerely during their exile. Hence, Lord Shiva came to be called as Bheemeswarar.

Manappalli:

As the place is surrounded by sand (Manal in Tamil) on all four sides, the place came to be called as Manappalli.

History

The temple is believed to be built by Cholas. Inscriptions dating back to the reigns of Rajendra Chola can be seen in this temple.

The Temple

This temple is facing towards east. The sanctum sanctorum consists of sanctum, ardha mandapam and maha mandapam. There is another entrance on the southern side which acts as an exit door. Presiding deity is called as Bheemeswarar and is facing east. He is housed in the sanctum in the form of Lingam. Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbhava, Brahma and Durga are the koshta idols located around the sanctum walls. Chandikeswarar shrine can be seen in his usual location.


Mother is called as Brihannayaki. She is housed in a separate east facing shrine. Her shrine is situated to the left side of the sanctum. Shrines of Narthana Vinayaga, Subramanya with his consorts Valli & Devasena, Navagrahas, Sapta Matrikas, Kala Bhairava, Shiva Lingam, Uma Mahesvara, Gaja Lakshmi and Soundarya Nayaki can be seen in the temple premises. Theertham associated with this temple is Cauvery river. It flows at about 300 metres to the south of the temple premises.

Connectivity

The temple is located at about 6 Kms from Mohanur Bus Stand, 6 Kms from Mohanur Railway Station, 7 Kms from Mohanur, 13 Kms from Paramathi Velur, 21 Kms from Namakkal, 21 Kms from Karur and 93 Kms from Trichy Airport. The temple is situated at about 7 Kms to the north west of Mohanur on Namakkal to Karur route.

Location