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.
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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.
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.