Sivagurunathaswamy Temple

Coordinates: 10°56′N 79°25′E / 10.933°N 79.417°E / 10.933; 79.417
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Sivagurunatha Swamy Temple
Tanjore
DeitySivagurunathar(Shiva)
Location
LocationSivapuram, Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India
StateTamil Nadu
CountryIndia
Sivagurunathaswamy Temple is located in Tamil Nadu
Sivagurunathaswamy Temple
Location in Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates10°56′N 79°25′E / 10.933°N 79.417°E / 10.933; 79.417
Architecture
TypeDravidian architecture

Sivagurunathaswamy templeis a

Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in the village of Aduthurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is worshipped as Sivagurunathaswamy, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Prabhavalli. The presiding deity 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.[1]

It houses two gateway towers known as

gopurams. The tallest is the eastern tower, with five stories and a height of 72 feet (22 m). The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Sivagurunathaswamy and Aryambal being the most prominent. The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 9 p.m., and eight yearly festivals on its calendar. The Aippassi Annabhishekam festival is celebrated during the day of the Aippasi (October - November) is the most prominent festival. The image of Nataraja
, a prominent and ancient Chola art, was stolen and brought back from overseas after an elongated legal battle.

The temple was originally built by the

Nayak during the 16th century. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu
.

Legend

Sculpture indicating the legend

As per

Hindu legend, the Sun god Surya and moon god Chandra worshipped the presiding deity in the place. Brahma worshipped Shiva in the place and attained his power of creation. Vishnu is believed to have appeared in the form of a boar to worship Shiva. Sambandar, a saivite saint, is believed to have performed Angapradakshanam (cicumabulating using ones body} as he believed that the image of Shiva resided beneath the floor and he should not touch the image with his foot. Following the legend, the temple is one of the few Shiva temples where Angapradakshanam is performed, which is otherwise performed only in Vishnu temples.[2]

As per another legend,

Nandi and was cursed to born in earth as a normal human. Kubera was born in this place as a knight and he started worshipping Shiva. Pleased by his devotion, his position was restored.[3] As Kubera is believed to have worshipped here, the village is also known as Kuberapuri.[4]

Architecture

Shrines within the temple

Sivapuram is located 5 kilometres south-east of the town and

Chola kingdom.[4] According to different legends, Vishnu, Brahma and Kubera had worshipped Shiva here at different times.[4]

The present temple in the village dates back to the

Subrahmanya, Gajalakshmi and Bhairava.[4]

It is also believed that a

Tirugnanasambandar and the spot where he worshipped is called Swamigal Thurai.[4][6]

Idol theft

In 1951, idols of

Tirugnanasambandar, Somaskandar, Pillaiyar and two other goddesses from the Later Chola period were recovered by a farmer Annamuthu Padaiyachi in Kuppuswamy Iyer's field.[7] The farmer alerted government authorities about his find and handed the idols to the authorities. On 10 October 1953, the District Collector of Thanjavur donated the idols to the Sivagurunathasamy temple to be installed along with other deities.[7] On receipt of the idols, the temple authorities commissioned sculptor Ramasamy Sthapathi to repair the idols.[7]
The idols were subsequently returned to the temple after the repairs had been carried out.

Some time later, Dr. Douglas Barrett of the

United States of America.[7] This claim prompted the Government of Tamil Nadu to send S. Krishnaraj, Deputy Inspector General, CID, to the US to investigate the claim.[7] As the outcome of Krishnaraj's investigations, a case was registered at the Nachiyar Koil police station.[7]

Temple tank located in front of the temple

The case was entrusted to the Crime Branch CID and investigations were carried out with the assistance of the

Bombay who kept the idols in his possession for a decade before selling them to Bomman Beharan.[7] The idols eventually made their way to the United States where in 1973 they were purchased by Norton Simon Foundation for $900,000.[7][9]

The Indian police arrested Lance Dane, Thilakar, Doss and Ramasamy Sthapathy.[7] Meanwhile, the Scotland Yard found out that the actual Nataraja idol was in the possession of Anna Plowden of England.[7] The Government of India filed a civil suit against the Norton Simon Foundation.[7] The Tamil Nadu government approached the Government of the United States of America through India's Ministry of External Affairs.[7] The Nataraja idol was handed over to Dr. M. S. Nagaraja Rao, the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India in 1987[7][9] and is currently present in a safe-vault in the Kapaleeswara temple, Mylapore, Chennai.[7]

Ganesha (Norton Simon)
S.No. Deity Stolen Idol traced to Country Current status More Details
1 Nataraja Norton Simon Museum United States Recovered In safe-vault of Kapaleeswarar Temple, Chennai
2 Somaskanda Norton Simon Museum United States Unknown [10][11][12]
3 Standing Sambandar Norton Simon Museum United States Unknown [13]
4 Ganesha Norton Simon Museum United States Unknown [14]
5 Parvati (Sivagami Amman/Thani Amman[15]) Denver Art Museum United States Unknown [16][11][17]
6 Parvati (Gowri Amman[15]) Unknown

Worship and religious practices

The temple finds mention in

pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi. Masi Maham during the Tamil month of Maasi (February - March), Shivaratri in February- March and Panguni Uthiram during Panguni are the major festivals celebrated in the temple. Sun's rays fall directly on the sanctum on three days in April when the temple receives lot of devotees. Saint Arunagirinathar, a 16th century Saivite, has praised the presiding deity of the temple.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ Census of India, 1961, Volume 7. Director of Census publication. 1961.
  2. ^ R., Dr. Vijayalakshmy (2001). An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam (1st ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies. pp. 262–4.
  3. ^ a b "Sri Sivagurunathaswamy temple temple". Dinamalar. 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Abodes of SHiva - Shivasthalams glorified by Tevaram hymns". Templenet.
  5. ^ "Temples". Kumbakonam.net.
  6. ISBN 9788183682244
    .
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Idol wing, Important Judgements and Convictions, Economic Offenses". Government of Tamil Nadu.
  8. ISBN 978-81-7017-285-7
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-81-7024-992-4
    .
  10. ^ "Sivapuram Somaskanda – the untold story – Part 2". Poetry In Stone. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Idol wing traces smuggled idols from TN temple to US museum". DT Next. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Shiva with Uma and Skanda (Somaskanda)". Norton Simon Museum. 950–975. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Shaiva Saint Sambandar". Norton Simon Museum. c. 1100. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Ganesha". Norton Simon Museum. 950–1000. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  15. ^ a b J., Ramakrishnan (16 March 2019). "The Lord returns to His abode". Madras Musings. Chennai. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Sivapuram Saga – the untold story – Part 3". Poetry In Stone. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Devi". Denver Art Museum. c. 1000. Retrieved 15 August 2023.

External links

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