Vilwanatheswarar temple

Coordinates: 12°59′02″N 79°16′0″E / 12.98389°N 79.26667°E / 12.98389; 79.26667
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Vilwanatheswarar Temple
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictVellore
DeityVilwanatheswarar(Shiva)
Location
StateTamil Nadu
CountryIndia
Vilwanatheswarar temple is located in Tamil Nadu
Vilwanatheswarar temple
Location in Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates12°59′02″N 79°16′0″E / 12.98389°N 79.26667°E / 12.98389; 79.26667
Architecture
TypeDravidian architecture

Vilwanatheswarar Temple, also spelled Bilvanathesvara temple,[1] is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in Thiruvalam, a village in Vellore district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shiva is worshipped as Vilwanatheswarar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Vallambigai. 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.

The temple complex covers around one acre and entered through a five-tiered gopuram, the main gateway. The temple has a number of shrines, with those of Vilwanatheswarar and his consorts Vallambigai, being the most prominent. All the shrines of the temple are enclosed in large concentric rectangular granite walls. The temple has many historic inscriptions from the 8th-century Nandivarman II era and later.[1] The north wall of the temple is notable for one of the earliest inscriptions that mention Tevaram singers.[2]

Many parts of the temple complex is attributed to the

Nayak during the 16th century. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu
. The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and four yearly festivals on its calendar. The Brahmotsavam festival is celebrated during the month of the Magam (February - March) is the most prominent festival.

Legend

According to Hindu legend,

Nandi to guard the priest.[3] As per another legend, Shiva is believed to called nee vaa meaning come here, on account of which the river came to be known as Neva river. It is also called Ponnai river.[4]

This place is believed to have been a Vilva forest (Vilavanam). There seemed to be a termite hill where a cow used to milk water. The termite hill drained and eventually became a Lingam, around which the current temple is built. As per the inscriptions in the temple, the temple is referred to as Theekali Vallam. In the verses of Sambandar, the place is referred as Thiruvallam, while in the 15th century Arunagirinathar refers the temple as Thiruvalam and the presiding deity as Thiruvallam Udaiyar.[4][5]

Architecture

The temple has many inscriptions from the

Murugan, Navagraha, Chandikesa and Durga are located around the precinct of the main shrine. There is a hall of Nataraja near the sanctum. The image of Vinayagar is sculpted on a square base and a Padma peeta and sported holding a mango in his trunk. The Dvarapalas on both sides on the entrance of the sanctum are of architectural importance. One of them is unique and is sported in dance posture with a raised hand. There is a shrine of Pathaleswarar in the first precinct where the shrine of Lingam is located underground.[4][7] In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.[8]

Religious importance and festivals

Image of shrine of the temple

It is one of the shrines of the 275

Dakshinamoorthy in front of the image of Shiva. The temple is also the place where Sivananda Mouna Guru Swamigal was doing penance.[3] As the temple is revered in Tevaram, it is classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam, one of the 275 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon. The temple is counted as the 242nd in the list of 276 temples.[3]

The temple priests perform the

pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi. The ten day Brahmotsavam during the Tamil month of Masi is the most important festivals of the temple.[3][7]

References

  1. ^ a b E. Hultzsch (1929), South Indian Inscriptions, Volume 3, Part 1, Archaeological Survey of India, pp. 88–123
  2. ^ E. Hultzsch (1929), South Indian Inscriptions, Volume 3, Part 1, Archaeological Survey of India, p. 93
  3. ^ a b c d "Sri Vilwanatheswarar temple". Dinamalar. 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Dr. R., Selvaganapathy, ed. (2013). Saiva Encyclopaedia volume 4 - Thirumurai Thalangal (in Tamil). Chennai, India: Saint Sekkizhaar Human Resource Development Charitable Trust. pp. 398–400.
  5. ^ Madhavan, Chitra (14 November 2019). "Nandi guards this ancient temple". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  6. ISBN 9788177552997
    .
  7. ^ a b R., Dr. Vijayalakshmy (2001). An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam (1st ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies. pp. 174–5.
  8. ^ "Thirukoil - Temple list of Tamil Nadu" (PDF). Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department, Government of Tamil Nadu. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Thiruvalam". Thevaaram.org. 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2016.

External links

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