Pasupatheeswarar Temple, Aavoor – The Temple

Pasupatheeswarar Temple, Aavoor – The Temple

This temple is facing towards east with five tiered Rajagopuram and has two prakarams. The first prakaram is around the sanctum in upper level and the second prakaram is situated in the ground level. It is believed that King Kochengat Chola built around 70 Maadakovils. This temple is considered one among them. The unique feature about these temples are that it is not easily approachable by an elephant.

He built these temples at an elevation and there are few steps need to be climbed before seeing Lord in the sanctum. Also, the entrance to the sanctum would be so narrow that elephants cannot enter it. Balipeedam, Nandhi and Dwajastambam can be found immediately after the Rajagopuram facing the sanctum. There is a sculpture of Kamadhenu pouring her milk over a Shiva Linga can be seen on the flag post.

The Sanctum Sanctorum consists of Sanctum, Antarala, Artha Mandapam and Maha Mandapam. The Maha Mandapam is designed to look like the forehead of a bat (Vovval Nethi Mandapam). Presiding Deity is called as Pasupatheeswarar / Asvathanathar / Aavoor Udaiyar / Pasupathi Nathar and is facing east. He is housed in the sanctum in the form of Lingam. Lord is a Swayambhu Moorthy (self-manifested).

Nardana Vinayaka, Koshta Vinayaka, Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbhava, Brahma and Vishnu Durga are the Koshta idols located around the sanctum walls. Chandikeswarar Shrine can be seen in his usual location. The consort of Pasupatheeswarar, Mangalanayagi / Mangalambikai and Pankajavalli are housed in their respective shrines. Both the shrines are facing towards west. It is said that the idol of Goddess Mangalambikai was found in the temple tank.

The idol of Pankajavalli is the ancient among the goddesses and finds mention in the hymns of Saint Thirugnana Sambanthar. However, Mangalambikai Shrine is the most famous shrine in the temple. There is a shrine housing five idols of Bhairavar namely Guru Bhairavar, Sanda Bhairavar, Kaala Bhairavar, Unmatha Bairavar and Ashtanga Bairavar in the corner facing the sanctum. This temple is considered as the only temple to house five Bhairavars. Hence, the temple is called as Pancha Bhairava Sthalam.

The Thiruvisanallur temple has 4 Bhairavars representing one for each yuga and the Sirkazhi Sattanathar temple has 8 Bhairavars. There is a relief depicting Emperor Dasaratha worshiping Lord Shiv in the Maha Mandapam. There is a shrine for Lord Murugan in the outer prakaram. He is called as Dhanush Subramanya. He is seen holding a Dhanush (bow) instead of his regular weapon, the vel in this shrine. There is a separate shrine for Somaskandar in the temple. The shrine is empty without an idol in it.

There are shrines for Niruthi Vinayaga, Sastha, Gaja Lakshmi, Sapta Matrikas, Navagrahas, Gaja Lakshmi, Bhadra Kali, Mukthi Kandar and Shiva Lingas in the temple premises. Theertham associated with this temple are Brahma Theertham, Kamadhenu Theertham, Chandra Theertham, Poigaiyaru and Agni Theertham. Brahma Theertham is located outside the main entrance. Sthala Vriksham is Arasu (Peepal tree).