Odhanavaneswarar Temple, Tiruchotruturai
| Odhanavaneswarar Temple | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Odhanavaneswarar Temple vimana | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Thanjavur |
| Deity | Odhanavaneswarar (Shiva) Annapoorani (Parvati) |
| Location | |
| Location | Tiruchotruturai |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
  Location in Tamil Nadu | |
| Geographic coordinates | 10°52′32″N 79°8′16″E / 10.87556°N 79.13778°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Dravidian architecture |
Odhanavaneswarar Temple, Tiruchotruturai (also called Oppillaselvar Temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in the village of Tiruchotruthurai, Tamil Nadu, India.[1] The Five Rivers are Vadavaru, Vennaaru, Vettaaru, Kudamuruttiyaaru and Kaaviriyaaru. Shiva is worshiped as Odhanavaneswarar, and is represented by the lingam and his consort Parvati is depicted as Annapoorani. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil poet saints known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.
This temple is known as Dakshina Kailasham(Kailash of the South). This is the place where Nandi(the divine bull of lord Shiva) was born and became the mount for Shiva. The divine wedding of Nandi and Suyasayambikai was held at Thirumazhapadi Vaidyanathaswamy temple in Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu. This is celebrated as Saptha Stanam festival which includes seven Shiva temples of the region.
There are many inscriptions associated with the temple indicating contributions from Cholas, Pandyas, Thanjavur Nayaks and Thanjavur Maratha kingdom. The oldest parts of the present masonry structure were built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, while later expansions, are attributed to later periods, up to the Thanjavur Nayaks during the 16th century.
The temple complex is one of the largest in the state and it houses four gateway towers known as gopurams. The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Odhavaneswarar and Annapoorani being the most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls and three precincts. The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and five yearly festivals on its calendar. The temple is now maintained and administered by Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Legend
The temple is revered by the hymns of 7th century Tamil saint poet, Appar. The temple is built in the early Chola style of 9th century made of granite.[2] The temple is counted as one of the temples built on the banks of River Kaveri.[3]
Saptha Stanam
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 | |
|---|---|
| The seven important temples in and around Thiruvaiyaru | |
| Temple | Location |
| Aiyarappar temple | Thiruvaiyaru |
| Apathsahayar Temple | Thirupazhanam |
| Odhanavaneswarar Temple | Tiruchotruturai |
| Vedapuriswarar Temple | Thiruvedhikudi |
| Kandeeswarar Temple | Thirukkandiyur |
| Puvananathar Temple | Thirupanturuthi |
| Neyyadiappar Temple | Tillaistanam |
The divine bull Nandi was born in this temple and became the mount of lord Shiva.The divine wedding of Nandi and Suyasayambikai was held at Thirumazhapadi Vaidyanathaswamy temple in Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu. This is celebrated as Saptha Stanam festival which includes seven Shiva temples of the region. The sapthasthanam festival is conducted at Tiruvaiyaru during April every year. As per Hindu legend, it is the wedding festival of Nandikeswara, the sacred bull of Shiva on the Punarpoosa star during the Tamil month of Panguni.[4] The festival deity of Aiyarappar temple of Thiruvaiyaru is carried in a decorated glass palanquin along with the images of Nandikeswara and Suyasayambikai to the temples in Thirupazhanam, Thiruchottruthurai, Thiruvedhikudi, Thirukandiyur and Thirupoonthurthi. Each of the festival deities of the respective temples mounted in glass palanquins accompany Aiyarppar on the way to the final destiny, Thillaistanam. There is a grand display of fireworks in Cauvery riverbed outside Thillaistanam temple. The seven palanquins are carried to Aiyarappar temple in Thiruvaiyyaru. Hundreds of people witness the convergence of seven glass palanquins carrying principal deities of respective temples from seven places at Tiruvaiyaru. The devotees perform Poochorithal(flower festival) in which a doll offers flowers to the principal deities in the palanquins. After the Poochorithal, the palanquins leave for their respective temples.[5][6]
Worship practices
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The temple priests perform the puja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Shaiva community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed four times a day; Ushathkalam at 6:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., and Ardha Jamam at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: abhisheka (sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), naivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Odhavaneswarar and Annapoorani. The worship is held amidst music with nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred texts) read by priests and prostration by worshipers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like somavaram (Monday) and sukravaram (Friday), fortnightly rituals like pradosham and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi. Mahashivaratri during February - March is the major festivals celebrated in the temple.[7]
Religious importance
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Tirugnana Sambandar, a 7th-century Tamil Saivite poet, venerated Odhavaneswarar in the 28th padigam in Tevaram, compiled in the First Tirumurai. Appar, a contemporary of Sambandar, also venerated Odhanvaneswarar in four padigams in Tevaram, compiled in the fourth, fifth and Sixth Tirumurai. Sundarar, the 8th century Nayanmar revered Odhavaneswarar in a padigam, which is compiled in Seventh Tirumuari.[8] As the temple is revered in Tevaram, it is classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam, one of the 275 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon. The temple is counted as the 13th in the list of temples in the Southern banks of Cauvery.[9] As per accounts in Periya Puranam by Sekkizhar, Sundarar visited multiple Shiva temples in the region and visited this temple. He sung Azhal neer ozhugi anaya in praise of Odhanavaneswarar.[10] Arunagirinathar, the 15th century Saivite saints, has sung praise about the Muruga in the temple.[11]
References
- ^ Census of India, 1961, Volume 7; Volume 9
- ^ Concise classified dictionary of Hinduism .P.53.Kodayanallur Vanamamalai Soundara Rajan.
- ^ Ka. Vi., Kannan (2019). River cauvery the most battl(r)ed. Notion Press. p. 30. ISBN 9781684666041.
- ^ B. S., Baliga, ed. (1999). Madras District Gazetteers: Tiruchirappalli (pt. 1-2). Vol. 10. Government Press. p. 1601.
- ^ "'Sapthasthanam' festival begins". The Hindu. 21 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^ Venkatraman 2019, p. 205
- ^ "Sri Odhavaneswarar temple". Dinamalar. 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ "Chotruthurai". Dharumapuram Adheenam. 25 April 2020.
- ^ Swamigal, Tirunavukkarasu. "Tevaram Of Tirunavukkaracu Cuvamikal Tirumurai 5 part - 2 Poems(510-516)" (PDF). projectmadurai.org. pp. 33–34. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
- ^ P., Ponnuswamy (2015). Sekkizhar’s Periya Puranam. Giri Trading Agency Private Limited. ISBN 9788179506851.
- ^ Venkatraman, Sekar (2019). Temples of Forgotten Glory A Wide Angle Exposition. Notion Press. p. 275. ISBN 9781645876250.
External links
