Kottrallishwarar temple or Parameshwarar Temple

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Overview

The Koviloor temple is Sri Kotravaleeswara temple located in Tamil Nadu. Initially it was built about thousand years ago by a Pandiya King Veerasekara Pandiyan. Then Koviloor was known as Saliwadi ,i.e.,Land of Rice and Kalani Vasal meaning Land of Agriculture. It was a laterite construction. The temple is encircled by four wide Mada Streets. The tank Madhu Puskarani is at the front of the temple, on the eastern side having a mandapam in the centre. Astonishingly, by the grace of lord, the tank is permanently full with water even during hot summers. On the southern side, mutt stands like a fort having granite structure. Residential quarters for the temple and mutt employees are built on the northern and western side of the temple. Rajagopuram is the main temple tower erected with seven tiers as per the (Agama) tradition. Beautiful sculptures decorate the temple. Late in the 18th century, renovation work was started by his holiness Shri la Sri Mukthiramalinga Gnana Desika Swamigal. Concurrently he had established the Vedanta Mutt, while it got its name as Koviloor.

About The Temple

The Kottarleeshwarar temple is about 1000 years old, built by Pandya kings and is situated in pristine surroundings at Koviloor near Karaikudi, Now the temple had transformed into a magnificent structure. The sparkling bright colors make it easy to recognize the well carved statues on the tower and around the temple. Lord Siva, here, is known as Kottralishwarar and the Goddess is known as Tirunellai Amman. The temple recently had a Kumbabhishekam. The temple tank is right in front of the temple and is maintained well with its circular pillared mandapam in the center. There is yet another beautiful mandapam in the Southern side of the temple which has fabulous paintings on the ceiling made with natural dyes. In the center of the ceiling the Rasi chakra is depicted.

Legend and Stories

One time Pandiya King Veerasekaran went to hunt in the nearby Saliwadi village, where he lost his sword and later recovered. Thus he ordered the building of the temple and titled the deity as Kotravaleeswarar or Raja Katka Parameshwar. It means the God who saved King's sword; valour and thus citizens. One of the legends describes how merciful and understanding the Goddess has been towards the honest devotees. In olden times there was a follower, Sivagupthan, who lived at Saliwadi along with his wife Sudanmai and daughter Aradhanavalli. One fine day Sudanmai told her daughter to visit their farm to guard the rice grains from birds. Later that noon, the mother also went to the farm and served her child with curd rice. She enjoyed the food and happily ate it.

But to the astonishment of Sudanami, later Aradhavalli came running and demanded for lunch. On investigation it was clarified that she had not gone to the farm rather gone to play with her friends. Instantly Sivagupthan and Sudanmai understood that Mother Universe had come down to protect their rice grains. They hurried to the temple and saw the Mother seated with a smile and remainders of curd rice on her lips. Since that day she got the name Thirunellai Amman meaning the Goddess who protected rice grain.

Accessibility

Airport

From Chennai, one can fly either to Trichy or to Madurai to reach Karaikudi. Both the airports are equidistant (100 km) from Karaikudi and both these airports are also connected by direct flights from Mumbai and New Delhi. The Airport at Trichy also receives international flights from Singapore, Dubai, Sharjah, Kuwait, Colombo and Kuala Lampur.

Railways

Karaikudi Junction is connected via the Chennai- Rameswaram railway line as well as by Mayiladuthurai-Karaikudi railway line. There are many direct trains from Chennai (overnight journey) to Karaikudi. It is also connected to holy places such as Varanasi and Bhubaneswar by direct trains. Karaikudi Junction is about 3 kms from CSIR-CECRI which can be reached easily by a taxi or auto rickshaw.

Road

Karaikudi is also well-connected to Chennai, Bangalore through National Highway via Trichy. Road Transport is also well available from Madurai, one of the largest cities in Tamilnadu. From Mattuthavani Bus stand Madurai, one can ply to Karaikudi New Bus stand by bus at any time. CSIR-CECRI is just 3kms away from Karaikudi New Bus stand and the fare by auto or taxi would be approximately Rs.100.