Kabartheeswarar Temple

Coordinates: 10°57′N 79°19′E / 10.950°N 79.317°E / 10.950; 79.317
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Swetha Vinayagar Temple
)

Kapartheeswarar Temple
Vellai Vinayakar Koil
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictThanjavur
DeityKapardeeshwarar(Shiva), Swetha Vinayagar(Ganesha)
Location
LocationTiruvalajuli (near Swamimalai)
StateTamil Nadu
CountryIndia
Kabartheeswarar Temple is located in Tamil Nadu
Kabartheeswarar Temple
Location in Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates10°57′N 79°19′E / 10.950°N 79.317°E / 10.950; 79.317
Architecture
TypeDravidian architecture
CreatorCholas and Tanjai Nayak Kings

Kapardeeswarar temple (also called Swetha Vinayagar Temple, Vellai Vinayagar temple, Valanchuzinathar temple) is a Hindu temple situated in the village of

Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is worshiped as Kapardeeswarar and is represented by the lingam and his consort Parvati is depicted as Brihannayagi.[1] 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
.

There are many inscriptions associated with the temple indicating contributions from Cholas, Thanjai Nayaks Kings. The oldest parts of the present masonry structure were built during the Chola dynasty, while later expansions, are attributed to later periods, up to the Thanjai Nayaks during the 16th century.

The temple complex is one of the largest in the state and it houses a seven-tiered gateway towers known as

gopurams. The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Kapardeeswarar and Swetha Vinayagar being the most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls and three precincts; the most notable is the shrine of Swetha Vinayagar that has many sculptures. The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and many yearly festivals on its calendar. The temple is maintained and administered by Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu
.

Legend

Image of Swetha Vinayagar shrine

The temple is associated with a sage called Herandar, who, according to legend, is believed to have gone through an underground passage to the

Kaveri River to the earth to flow into the Bay of Bengal.[1] Since the river took a convoluted direction in its flow, the place is called Tiruvalanjuzhi. There is an image of Herandar in the temple and the trunk of the elephant-headed god, Ganesha (Vinayagar) swirls towards the right.[2] The presence of Buddhist images from the Chola period in the temple show influence of Buddhist tradition in the region.[3]

The temple is renowned for its shrine dedicated to Ganesha (Vinayagar, Vinayaka).[1] The idol of Vinayaka is white in colour and is believed to have been created out of sea foam (kadal norai). Hence, the temple is also known as Swetha Vinayagar Temple in Sanskrit or Vellai Vinayakar Temple in Tamil, meaning "the temple of the white Vinayaka".

According to popular legend,

churning of the ocean and left it in a niche in the temple hoping to get back the idol sometime later.[1] But later, when he returned to remove the idol of Ganesha, it would not budge. So, the idol was allowed to remain where it was.[1] A lattice-worked stone window pane called palahani is present in the temple.[2] The temple is originally believed to have been built by Kanaka Chola in prehistoric times.[2]

As per another legend, when

Amruta. To propitiate, the Devas created an image of Vinayaga with sea foam and worshipped him at the place. The image of the presiding deity is white in colour on account of the belief.[4]
The temple priests do not conduct abhishekham and pour any liquids over the deity for this reason.

History

Intricate sculptures on the temple walls

The central temple, according to historian Subramanyan, is an early Chola temple as seen from the inscription (ARE 620 of 1902) made during the reign of

Bhairavar shrine during the third regnal year of Rajendra I indicates gift of two gold flowers to the deity by Danti Sakti Vitanki while he was performing Tulabhara at Thiruvisanallur. An inscription from the 11th regnal year of Rajaraja III (1216–1256 CE) indicate that the shrine of Vanduvarkuzhali Amman might have possibly been installed during his reign.[5]

Architecture

Image of Bhairavar shrine

The west facing temple has a seven-tiered

Linga. The sanctum is square in shape and measures 4.64 m (15.2 ft). The Kshetrapalar is a finely chiseled image measuring 1.65 m (5.4 ft) in height and .85 m (2.8 ft) across the chest. The ardhamandapa, the hall preceding the sanctum projects 4.24 m (13.9 ft) forward and has the same width as the sanctum. The mukhamandapa, the following halls of ardhamandapa measures 6.95 m (22.8 ft) by 6.85 m (22.5 ft). On the outer part of the structures are niches housing Vishnu in the west and Bhairava in the east. The vimana, the structure over the sanctum is semicircular. The halls around the first precinct houses various images and series of Lingams. The southeast corner houses the Valanchuzhi Vinayagar shrine was built by Tanjai Nayak Kings, after which the temple has got one of its names.[5]

Religious importance

Om symbol
Om symbol
Sapthavigraha Moorthis
Om symbol
Om symbol
Saptha Vigraha moorthis are the seven prime consorts in all Shiva temples located at seven cardinal points around the temple
Deity Temple Location
Shiva Mahalingaswamy temple
Tiruvidaimarudur
Vinayaga
Vellai Vinayagar Temple
Thiruvalanchuzhi
Murugan
Swamimalai Murugan temple
 Swamimalai
Nataraja
Natarajar temple
 Chidambaram
Durga
Thenupuriswarar Temple
Patteswaram
Guru
 Apatsahayesvarar Temple Alangudi
Navagraha Suryanar Kovil Suryanar Kovil

According to a Hindu legend,

River Kaveri. The river takes a sharp turn at this place and hence the place is called Thiruvalanchuzhi.[8]

Literary mention

It is one of the 275

Kottaiyur as:[9]

பொடியாடு மேனிப் புனிதன் கண்டாய் புட்பாகற் காழி கொடுத்தான் கண்டாய்

இடியார் கடுமுழக்கே றூர்ந்தான் கண்டாய் எண்டிசைக்கும் விக்காகி நின்றான் கண்டாய்
மடலார் திரைபுரளுங் காவிரி வாய் வலஞ்சுழியின் மேவிய மைந்தன் கண்டாய்

கொடியாடு நெடுமாடக் கொட்டை யூரிற் கோடீச் சரத்துறையுங் கோமான் தானே.

Worship practices

The temple priests perform the

Karthikai Deepam during December are the major festivals celebrated in the temple.[10]

Kumbakonam Sapta Stana Temple

This is one of the Saptha Stana Temples of Kumbakonam. During the Mahahaman of 2016 the palanquin festival was held on 7 February 2016.[11] Following the tirttavari held at Mahamaham tank on 21 April 2016, the palanquin festival of the Sapta Stana Temples were held on 23 April 2016.[12] The festival which started from Kumbesvara Temple at the 7.30 p.m. of 23 April 2016 completed on the morning of 25 April 2016 after going to the following temples.

See also

  • Thanjavur Vellai Vinayakar Temple

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e P. V. Jagadisa Ayyar (1920). South Indian shrines: illustrated. Madras Times Printing and Pub. Co. pp. 355–359.
  2. ^ a b c #A. 1987, p. 35
  3. ^ a b Pillai, Suresh B. (1976). Introduction to the Study of Temple Art. Equator and Meridian. p. 59.
  4. ^ V., Meena (1974). Temples in South India (1st ed.). Kanniyakumari: Harikumar Arts. p. 27.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-9060236079
    .
  6. ISBN 978-81-7478-177-2
    .
  7. ^ a b Narayanaswami (April 1987). "Jyothirmaya Mahalingam". Om Sakthi (in Tamil). Coimbatore: Om Sakthi Publications: 34–5.
  8. ISBN 9781684666041
    .
  9. ^ Tirunavukkarasar Tevaram, VI: 73:4
  10. ^ "Sri Valanchuzinathar temple". Dinamalar. 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  11. ^ கும்பகோணம் ஆதிகும்பேஸ்வரசுவாமி கோயிலில் சப்தஸ்தான பல்லக்கு வெள்ளோட்டம், தினமணி, 8 பிப்ரவரி 2016
  12. ^ ஆதி கும்பேஸ்வரர் கோயிலில் ஏழூர் பல்லக்கு பெருவிழா, மகாமகக்குளத்தில் தீர்த்தவாரி, தினமணி, 22 ஏப்ரல் 2016

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Swetha Vinayagar Temple.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kabartheeswarar_Temple&oldid=1131963068"