Agastheeswarar Temple

Overview

The Agastheeswarar Temple is dedicated to Shiva. It is situated in Agathiyampalli, Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu, India. Agastheeswarar is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam, the 276 temples reverred in the canon. The town of Tirumaraikkadu (Vedaranyam in sanskrit) is known primarily for its temple to Tyagarajar (one of the 7 Saptavitanka Stalams). Agastyampalli (Agathiyaanpalli) is a Shivastalam located adjacent to the salt pans of Vedaranyam. This shrine is regarded as the 126th in the series of Tevara Stalams in the Chola Region south of the river Kaveri. It has several inscriptions dating back to the Chola period. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

About The Temple

There are inscriptions here relating to Kulasekhara Pandyan (13th Cent AD) and to the period of the Imperial Cholas. The image shown above is that of Tyagaraja at Tiruvarur, which is one of the Saptavitanka Stalams, where Tyagaraja is enshrined. Agastheeswarar temple complex has three prakarams (outer courtyard) and a three-tiered rajagopuram (gateway tower). The central shrine faces east and holds the image of Agastheeswarar (Shiva) in the form of lingam made of granite. The shrine of Parvathi faced west. The granite images of the deities Ganesha (son of Shiva and god of wisdom), Murugan (son of Shiva and god of war), Nandi (the bull and vehicle of Shiva) and Navagraha (nine planetary deities) are located in the hall leading to the sanctum. As in other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the first precinct or the walls around the sanctum of Agastheeswarar has images of Dakshinamurthy (Shiva as the Teacher), Durga (warrior-goddess) and Chandikeswarar (a saint and devotee of Shiva). The second precinct is surrounded by granite walls. There is an image of Agasthiyar within the first precinct. The temple tank inside the temple is called Agni Theertham.

Kulasekara Pandian celebrated utsavam for Lord Siva, and he was cured of his ill health. Stone inscriptions of Chola, Pandya, and Thirupuvana Chakkravarthy Veera Pandya Devar period are seen.

About The deity

Main Deity is a Swayambu Lingam known as Arulmigu Agatheeswarar and his consort known as Mangi Nayaki / Bagam piriyaal. Lord Siva is facing east and Ambal is facing towards west. Agasthya Muni sanctum is seen next to Ambal sannidhi. Importance of the temple is Yama, Worshiped in this place and attained Mukthi. The Navagraha’s are in a line facing towards same direction.

Legend and Stories

The town Agasthiyanpalli is named after Agastheeswarar, the presiding deity of the Agastheeswarar Temple, a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. The 7th century Saiva canonical work Tevaram by Appar and Tirugnanasambandar mentions the place as "Tirumaraikadu". According to legend, all the Devas were assembled in Kailash to witness the sacred marriage of Shiva and Parvathi and on account of it, the earth was tilted towards North. To balance it, Shiva requested sage Agasthiyar to move to the South. It is believed that Shiva appeared in his marriage form to Agasthiyar at this location.

History

The recorded history of Agasthiyanpalli and the regions around it is found from the inscriptions in Agastheeswarar Temple and the Vedaranyeswarar Temple. The inscriptions date from the reign of Rajaraja Chola I (985–1014 CE), Rajendra Chola I (1012–1044 CE) and Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE) indicating various grants to the temple.Agasthiyanpalli continued to be a part of the Chola Empire and the Chola region emerged as a centre of Saivism during the reign of Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE). After the fall of Cholas during the reign of Rajendra Chola II in the 13th century CE, the erstwhile Chola region was caught under a power struggle between Pandyas and Hoysalas. The royal patronage continued to the temple during the rule of the Nayaks. The Negapatam region (modern day Nagapattinam district) was briefly captured by French troops lead by Lally (1702–66 CE) in 1759 CE. The Tanjore district was annexed by British after the French failed to subdue the king of Tanjore. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Festivals

The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and three yearly festivals on its calendar. The annual Brahmotsavam (prime festival) is attended by thousands of devotees from far and near. The twin festivals celebrated during the full moon days of Tamil month Adi (July – August) and Thai (January – February) attract large number of pilgrims from whole of Tamil Nadu.

Rituals and Poojas

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 six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 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 Agastheeswarar and Amman. 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 worshippers 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. Pilgrims take a holy dip in the seashore round the year and the holy dip is considered similar to the worship practices at Rameswaram.

Accessibility

The nearest airport is at Trichy. The nearest railway station is at Nagpattinam. The place Agathiyan palli is about 48 Kms from Nagpattinam and about 3 Kms from Vedaranyam.

Temple Address