Adi Kailasanathar Temple,
Avudaiyar Koil – Legends
Lord Shiva saved the
brahmins of this village from a greedy Pandyan minister:
As per legend, the place where
this temple stands was called as Sivapuram during ancient times. Sivapuram was
under the rule of a Pandyan King. This king had a greedy minster named
Thundakam who wanted to usurp the land of this village. This village was populated
by 300 brahmins. Thundakam threatened the villagers to vacate the village as
the land belonged to him and he had evidence to support his claim. Realizing the evil intentions of the plan of
Thundakam, the poor brahmins prayed to Lord Shiva to safeguard their land from
him.
After a few days, an elderly
man named Paramaswamy came to their village and promised them that he would
restore their land to the villagers on the condition that if he was given 1/300
of the land. The elderly person went to Madurai, the capital of Pandyan Kingdom
and informed the Pandyan king that the land belonged to him, and he had
documents to prove his claim. The minister disputed the claims of the elderly
person and showed supporting documents to support his claim over the land.
Confused on seeing two
documents claiming the same land, the king asked his minister as well as the
elderly person to identify one defining feature of their land. The minister
knew the land was situated in arid region and confidently said to the king that
the land had no underground water. The elderly person contested the claim of
the minister and said that the land was fertile and was blessed with abundant
water. The king along with his minister and the elderly person went to the
village and ordered to dig a particular spot for water.
The water started gushing out
from the place. The king realized the wrongdoing of his minister and ruled in
favour of the elderly person. Further, he dismissed him from the minister post.
The brahmins realised that the Paramaswamy was none other than Lord Shiva
himself. The brahmins offered 1/300th of land to Lord Shiva and
built this temple for him. The place where the water sprung during the digging became
the temple tank.
Lord Shiva gave upadesam
to Manickavasagar here:
As per legend, Lord Shiva
appeared and gave upadesam to Manickavasagar at this temple.
People worshipped Lord
Shiva here:
It is believed that Sage Pulastya, Sage Agastya, Sage Parasara, and Manickavasagar had worshipped Lord Shiva of this temple.
