Thiruppaasoor Sri Vaaseeswarar

Thiruppaasoor (திருப்பாசூர்) village is located about 50 kms from Chennai on the road going from Thiruvallur to Thiruthani and is about 7 kms from Thiruvallur Railway Station.

Thiruppaasoor has a vast and beautiful temple for Lord Shiva. The main deity here is called Sri Vaaseeswarar and Goddess Sri Thankaadhali (தன்காதலி) Ambaal.

It is believed that the Goddess worshipped Lord Shiva here and joined him to bless the devotees at this temple.

Thiruppaasoor got its name from the ancient Thamizh word ‘Paasu’ (பாசு) which means Bamboo. It is said that the entire place was a bamboo forest during ancient days. Once the local hunters saw a cow pouring its milk on its own in the bamboo forest and they dug up the place to find this beautiful Shiva Lingam.

On hearing this, Karikaal Chozha, the then ruler of this place, had visited Thiruppaasoor and built a temple for the Lord here.

While people dug up the place, an axe like tool which was used to dig the ground hit on the Shiva Lingam and created a scar on Him. The axe like tool was called ‘Vaasi’ in Thamizh and hence the Lord here is called as Sri Vaaseeswarar.

There were about 16 ancient stone inscriptions found in this temple. According to the inscriptions, this place is referred in ancient days as Thondai Mandalathu, Eekkaadu Kottathu, Kaakkalur Naattu Thiruppaasoor.

It is also said that, Karikaal Chozha, who was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva had to wage a war against Kurumbars who were troubling him. Some Jain saints, who were supporting Kurumbars, made a serpent attack the king. Karikaalan surrendered the Lord here and prayed for rescue. Pleased with his prayers, Lord Shiva tamed the serpent and saved Karikaalan.

The Lord is said to have accepted the Goddess here as ‘His love’ and hence the Goddess got her name Thankaadhali (தன்காதலி). Usually in most of the Shiva temples, we can see the Goddess shrine at the left side of the sanctum of Lord Shiva. But here, the Goddess is seen on the right side of the Lord and also facing east, which is unusual and rare.

Even today, the poojas and rituals are performed are first performed to the Goddess and then to Lord Shiva.

Upon entering the temple, one can find a group of Vinayagar (Lord Ganesha) statues. This is another rare feature of this temple. There are about 11 Ganeshas in a group at the same place and of various sizes. Here Vinayagar is called Ekadasa Vinayagar (Ekadasa means 11 in Sanskrit).

It is said that Lord Vishnu took bath here in Soma Theertham and worshipped Lord Shiva to get relieved of His Dhosham. There is another shrine for Lord Shiva called ‘Vinai Theertha Easwarar’ (வினை தீர்த்த ஈஸ்வரர்), who was worshipped by Lord Vishnu.

There is a Sri Chakram in front of the sanctum, which was installed by Sri Aadhi Sankaraachaarya, for which poojas are performed regularly. Sri Subramanyar, Sri Somaskandhar & Navagrahas are found in the praakaaram. Sri Dhakshinamurthy has a small separate mandapam facing South. Sri Lingothbavar is found behind the sanctum.

Sri Vishnu Durgai, Sri Veerabadhrar and Sorna Bhairavar are found at the northern side of the praakaaram.

Thirunaavukkarasar, Thirugnaana Sambandar & Ramalinga Vallalaar have visited this temple and have sung praises on the Lord here.

There is a beautiful 4 pillared Urchava Mandapam at the outer praakaaram used for rituals during festivals.

It is said that, apart from Sri Ambaal, many sages and saints like Maarkandeyar, Brighu, Roma Rishi, Bharadhwajar, Kaasyapar, Vashishtar, Naaradhar, Sugar, Abhimanyu, Viswamithrar and Vyaasar have worshipped Sri Vaaseeswarar here.

The Sthala Viruksham for this temple is Bamboo and there are two Theerthams for this temple; Soma Theertham and Mangala Theertham.

The wonderful scenic view of the temple from the roadside itself is sure to attract anyone to visit and have the Dharshan of the Lord.

Vyasarpadi Sri Raveeswarar

Vyasarpadi is located in the north of Chennai, which is one of old settlements of Chennai. Vyasarpadi has a several thousand years old temple for Lord Shiva called ‘Sri Raveeswarar’.

The legend has it that, once Sri Surya Bhagawan (Sun God) was caught with Brahma Dhosha. To get rid of his Dhosha, Sri Surya Bhagawan installed and worshipped Lord Shiva under a tree called ‘Vanni Maram’ here. He also created a pond in front of the temple for worship.

Lord Shiva, who was happy with the prayers, appeared before the Sun God and granted His wish. As Lord Shiva was worshipped by Surya Bhagawan, He came to be known as ‘Sri Raveeswarar’ (Ravi means Sun in Sanskrit). Also Lord Shiva named this place as ‘Baanu Puram’ (Banu means Sun).

It is also said that Rishi Sri Veda Vyasar visited this place and worshipped the God here and have sung praises on the Lord. As Sri Vedha Vyasar stayed in this place and worshipped the Lord, this place came to be known as ‘Vyasarpadi’.

The temple is situated amidst the town, facing east. The temple is beautifully done that one can worship the Lord and the Goddess from the same place. The main deity Sri Raveeswarar is facing east from the sanctum. The Aavudaiyar (base) of the Lingam is of square in shape. Goddess is Sri Maragadhaambika beautifully decorated in a separate sanctum facing the South.

There is an idol of Sri Surya Bhagawan just outside the sanctum, seen worshipping the Lord. Sri Kaala Bairavar is present adjacent to the Goddess sanctum facing South.

A beautiful Dhwajasthambham (flag staff) adds beauty to the temple at the outer praakaaram. There are separate sanctums for Lord Ganesha and Lord Subramanyar in the outer praakaaram.
There is also a small sanctum just behind the sanctum for Sri Vedha Vyasar. 

The Sthala Viruksham for this temple is Vanni Maram which is seen at the north western side of the praakaaram.
There is a nice temple pond in front of the temple created by Sri Surya Bhagawan, called ‘Surya Pushkarini’.

Lot of pilgrims visit and worship the Lord here for want of relief from various illnesses and Dhoshas. 

According to the priest, if Sri Vedha Vyasa has visited this place, no one could measure the age of this temple and the Lord.

A wonderful temple to visit, that too amidst the busy city.

Aathur Sri Muktheeswarar

Aathur village is situated 5 kms off the Chengalpattu Bridge on the west of GST Road. Aathur has a beautiful temple belonging to Chozha period.

The main deity here is Sri Muktheeswarar and Goddess Sri Dharmasamvardhani Ambaal, also called Aram Valartha Naayagi (அறம் வளர்த்த நாயகி). This wonderful temple has Lord Shiva in the form of Shiva Lingam facing east. The unique feature of this Lingam is, a thin ray of line separates the top portion (Baanam) of Lingam into two equal halves vertically. It is said that such Lingam is very rare to see and it represents the Ardhanaareeswarar (Shiva & Shakthi in equal halves) form of Lord Shiva.

Sri Vinayagar has a separate shrine in the temple’s outer praakaaram and is facing east. There are many stone inscriptions found all along the walls of the temple. According to the inscriptions this Vinayagar was installed by a local villager in this temple, during Chozha reign.

The inscriptions also reveal that the funds generated from this temple were donated to build one of the Gopurams of Chidambaram Sri Natarajar Temple. It thus shows the prosperity of this temple in those days.

This temple lies on the banks of the river Palar, also called Ksheera Nadhi which serves as the Theertham for this temple. It is also said that as the temple lies on the river banks of Palar, the place was originally known as ‘Aatru Oor’ (Aaru means, river in Thamizh) which later corrupted to become Aathur.

This temple has beautiful praakaarams. The outer praakaram has Sri Vinayagar, Sri Dhakshinamurthy, Sri Brahma and Sri Durgai around the sanctum.

Just near Sri Dhakshinamurthy shrine, a small underway is seen, which is kept closed using an asbestos sheet. There is a small room under the ground level which is said to be the hiding place during the times of war.

Sri Valli Devasena Samedha Sri Shanmugar has a separate shrine on the praakaaram. The idol of Sri Shanmugar is yet to get Ashtabandhanam done. The idol is wonderfully sculpted with Lord Shanmugar with 6 faces, 12 arms holding weapons and seated majestically on an aesthetic peacock which is holding the snake in its beak. All the details of this idol along with its base is made of single stone and is just kept in the shrine without fixing it (Ashtabandhanam) to the floor. The idol is made in such a way that it aptly balances itself firmly on the ground.

On the North West side of the praakaaram Sri Jyeshta Devi is seen facing east. Sri Jyeshta is elder to Sri Lakshmi as she evolved out prior to Sri Lakshmi during the churning of the mighty ocean, Ksheera Saagaram (Paarkadal). It is said that Sri Jyeshta Devi was one of the main deities for the then Chozha rulers.

A beautiful Nandhi is seen facing west towards the Lord.

There is a window beautifully sculpted on stone in front of Sri Nandhigeswarar, having 9 holes to it. It is called Navadhwaram in Sanskrit.

The northern side of the praakaaram has the shrine for Ambaal Sri Dharmasamvardhani. Sri Ambaal is so beautiful and charming and is facing south.

At the north eastern side of the praakaaram, about 4 Lingams are kept in a separate mandapam which were found during excavation. Out of 4 Lingams, 2 are Baana Lingams, without the Aavudaiyaar (base). It is said that, this temple as 8 Shivalingam shrines (Ashta Lingam) around it on all 8 directions, like Thiruvannaamalai temple. But the people were able to locate only a few till now.

There is a stone marking on one of the walls of the temple, mentioning that the Kumbhabhishekam (Consecration) was held last on 30.08.1917.

The Theertham for this temple is Ksheera Theertham (Palar river) and there are 2 Sthala Virukshams for this temple, Vilvam and Maa Maram (Mango tree). This mango tree has a very unique quality.

This tree branches into two from the base and the fruits formed from each half of the tree has different tastes. It is said, as Lord Shiva here is in the form of Ardhanaareeswarar the tree too naturally gives fruits with 2 different tastes, symbolising the dual form of Lord Shiva.

Pradhosham and Maha Sivarathri are celebrated in a grand manner in this temple. Like Thiruvannamalai temple, this is one of the temples which conduct 6 times Pooja during Sivarathri.

This temple has been in a dilapidated condition and the local youths have formed a trust called ‘Athur Arulmigu Muktheeshwarar Seva Sangam’ to help bring back the originality of the temple and to conduct Poojas everyday.

The trust is raising funds and contributing to the welfare of the temple. Those willing to visit or help the temple shall contact Sri Muthukumar (9443880932) Sri Sadagopan (9942263402), Aathur Village and Post, Kanchipuram District – 603 101.

The temple which will surely be admired by temple lovers.