Airavateswarar Temple is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

located at

Maruthuvakudi Maruthuvakudi, also known as Aduthurai is a small panchayat town situated near Kumbakonam,in the Thanjavur District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the sub urban region of business city of Kumbakonam. Etymology Maruthuvakudi takes ...

near Aduthurai in the Thanjavur district of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. பு.மா.ஜெயசெந்தில்நாதன், தேவார வைப்புத்தலங்கள், வர்த்தமானன் பதிப்பகம், சென்னை, 2009

Legend

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

, the god-king of Heaven, and his white elephant Airavata were cursed by Sage Durvasa for throwing a garland given to them by the god Brahma. Indra lost his Kingdom and Airavata turned black. Indra worshipped the god Shiva here and was eventually released from the curse. It is also the place where Shiva slew the demon Marutthuvasura, from which the name of the village originated from.

Deities

The presiding deity is known as Airavateswarar. His consort is known as Abirami. The lingam icon of Shiva is said to be made of white clay and was not sculpted by man but formed spontaneously ( syavambhu). The stone image of

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afri ...

faces the Shiva, and is located slightly away from its original position. It is named Baana Nandi and looks pored on its surface. It is believed the Nandi was injured with Maruthuvasura's arrows and protected his master Shiva. Besides Shiva, his consort, the goddess Parvati as Abirami Amman worshipped here. In addition to the famous Thirukkadaiyur temple of the goddess, there are five temples dedicated to her. Shiva's son, Ganesha, called "Viruchika Vinayagar" (who has a trunk resembling Virchika-Scorpion) is worshipped. He is believed to be able to heal poisonous insect bites of those who worship him. Shiva's other son Murugan is worshipped with his consorts.

Vaippu Sthalam

It is one of the shrines of the Vaippu Sthalams sung by Tamil Saivite Nayanar Appar.

Architecture

The temple was constructed from bricks and stone. It is built with Dravidian architecture in the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

style. The Gopuram is six stories high. It was said to be built during the reign of the Chola queen Sembiyan Mahadevi, which is attested by some stone carvings at the temple. The temple was ruined then restored. The "Kumbabhishekam" (consecretion ceremony) of this temple recently took place on 31 August 2006. This Kumbabishekam was performed at this temple after 200 years.

Nearby landmark

The famous Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute is located beside the temple is one of the landmark.

References

Photogallery

File:Abirami Amman.JPG, Goddess Abirami Amman File:Airavateswarar.JPG, Shiva File:Vinayaka Lord Ganesha.JPG, Ganesha File:Lord Murugan Idol.JPG, Murugan File:Koil premises IMG 1253.JPG, Temple premises {{Vaippu sthalam Shiva temples in Thanjavur district Hindu temples in Thanjavur district