Odhanavaneswarar Temple, Tiruchotruturai

Coordinates: 10°52′32″N 79°8′16″E / 10.87556°N 79.13778°E / 10.87556; 79.13778
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Odhanavaneswarar Temple
Thanjavur
DeityOdhanavaneswarar
(Shiva) Annapoorani (Parvati)
Location
LocationTiruchotruturai
StateTamil Nadu
CountryIndia
Odhanavaneswarar Temple, Tiruchotruturai is located in Tamil Nadu
Odhanavaneswarar Temple, Tiruchotruturai
Location in Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates10°52′32″N 79°8′16″E / 10.87556°N 79.13778°E / 10.87556; 79.13778
Architecture
TypeDravidian 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

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

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

As per Hindu legend, Shiva was pleased by the devotion by one of his devotees named Arulalan and bestowed him with a vessel with never ending food giving capabilities. As per another legend, during one time, there was a never ending famine. Sage

Gautama performed penance in the place, pleased by which Shiva gave a boon that the place would have never ending food supplied capabilities. The place where paddy grew is referred as arisi vilaintha vayal and the canal is referred as cottrudayan vaaykal. The place was thus referred as Thiruchotruthurai, meaning the banks of the canal where rice grew. Another variant of the legend indicates that Parvathi appeared as Annapoorani and fed his devotees in the place. The place where Ambal fed the devotees was called Annam Paintha Vayal (the field where food was produced). Following the legend, the devotees who participate in the Sapthastanam festival are fed in the temple.[2]

Architecture

The temple is located in Tiruchotruturai, a village in

state of Tamil Nadu. It is situated on the banks of the river Kaveri, 10 km from Thanjavur
, and 3 km from Thiruvaiyaru on the Thirukandiyur - Thanjavur road. The temple has three
Saptamatrika.[2]

Shrines within the temple

Saptha Stanam

Main article: Saptha Stana Temples
The decorated palanquin used during the festival
Om symbol
Om symbol
Sapthastanam
Om symbol
Om symbol
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

Nandikeswara, the sacred bull of Shiva on the Punarpoosa star during the Tamil month of Panguni.[3] 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.[4][5]

Worship practices

The temple priests perform the

pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi. Mahashivaratri during February - March is the major festivals celebrated in the temple.[6]

Religious importance

Entrance from the second precicnt

River Kaveri.[11]


References

  1. ^ Census of India, 1961, Volume 7; Volume 9
  2. ^ a b R., Dr. Vijayalakshmy (2001). An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam (1st ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies. pp. 273–4.
  3. ^ B. S., Baliga, ed. (1999). Madras District Gazetteers: Tiruchirappalli (pt. 1-2). Vol. 10. Government Press. p. 1601.
  4. ^ "'Sapthasthanam' festival begins". The Hindu. 21 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  5. ^ Venkatraman 2019, p. 205
  6. ^ "Sri Odhavaneswarar temple". Dinamalar. 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Chotruthurai". Dharumapuram Adheenam. 25 April 2020.
  8. ^ Swamigal, Tirunavukkarasu. "Tevaram Of Tirunavukkaracu Cuvamikal Tirumurai 5 part - 2 Poems(510-516)" (PDF). projectmadurai.org. pp. 33–34. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  9. ISBN 9788179506851
    .
  10. ISBN 9781645876250
    .
  11. ISBN 9781684666041
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Odhavaneswarar temple, Thiruchotruthurai.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Odhanavaneswarar_Temple,_Tiruchotruturai&oldid=1169959210"