Pazhaiyarai Someswarar Temple, or Pazhaiyarai Vadathali 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 ...

dedicated to Someswarar, a form of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. It is located 6 km from

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...

, Tamilnadu,

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 ...

, on the Kumbakonam- Aavoor Road, 2 km away from the

Thenupuriswarar Temple Thenupuriswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva located in the holy village of Patteeswaram, Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is worshiped as Thenupuriswarar, and is represented by the ''lingam''. His consort Parvati is depicted as Ny ...

Patteeswaram Patteeswaram is a village, eight kilometres from Kumbakonam in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The village was named after Patti (also called Nandini), the calf of Kamadhenu, the divine cow in Hindu mythology. It is the suburban region of Kum ...

and 3 km from Darasuram. It is served by buses from

or mini buses from Darasuram, the bus stop is Cholan Maligai. The Darasuram railway station is located close to the temple. The temple is believed to be built during 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 ...

period and has several inscriptions dating back to the 8-9th century. The presiding deity, Someswarar, has a cursory mention in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the ''Tevaram'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as '' Vaippu Sthalam''. The temple has three daily rituals at various times from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and three yearly festivals on its calendar. The annual ''

Brahmotsavam Sri Venkateswara Swami vari Brahmotsavam or Srivari Brahmotsavam is the most significant annual fête celebrated at the Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala, Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala-Tirupati, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The feast ...

'' (prime festival) is attended by thousands of devotees.

Legend and history

As per Hindu legend,

Chandra Chandra ( sa, चन्द्र, Candra, shining' or 'moon), also known as Soma ( sa, सोम), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) and ...

(moon god) is believed to have worshipped Shiva in the place and Shiva appeared for him. As per another legend,

Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

's eagle vehicle, carried nectar to cure his mother and was intercepted by demons. Three drops of nectar fell from his pot and they became the ''lingam'', goddess and a holy spring. Garuda took a holy dip in the spring and won the battle. The spring is called Jadayu Theertham. The city of

Pazhayarai Pazhayarai or Pazhaiyarai or Palayarai (Tamil: பழையாறை paḻaiyāṟai) was an ancient capital of the medieval Chola dynasty in Tamil Nadu. The place is located around from Kumbakonam, a city in Thanjavur district, in the South I ...

was one of the capital towns of the

empire. The temple is a part of the series of temples built by Aditya Chola (871-907 CE) along the banks of river

Cauvery The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri (hill), Karnataka, Brahmagiri range in th ...

to commemorate his victory in the Tirupurambiyam battle. The temple is revered by the verses of the 7-8th-century saint poets

Appar Appar, also referred to as ( ta, திருநாவுக்கரசர்) or Navukkarasar, was a seventh-century Tamil Śaiva poet-saint. Born in a peasant Śaiva family, raised as an orphan by his sister, he lived about 80 years and is ...

, Sambandar and

Sundarar Sundarar (Tamil: சுந்தரர்), also referred to as Chuntarar, Chuntaramurtti, Nampi Aruran or Tampiran Tolan, was an eighth-century poet-saint of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta tradition of Hinduism. He is among the Tevaram trio, and one o ...

in ''

Tevaram The ''Thevaram'' ( ta, தேவாரம், ), also spelled ''Tevaram'', denotes the first seven volumes of the twelve-volume collection ''Tirumurai'', a Śaiva narrative of epic and puranic heroes, as well as a hagiographic account of early ...

'' and classified as ''

Paadal Petra Sthalam The Paadal Petra Sthalam, also known as Thevara Sthalam, are 276 temples that are revered in the verses of Saiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE and are amongst the greatest Shiva temples of the continent. The Divya Desams by comparison ar ...

''. This temple is in the centre of the once famous Pazhayarai city, surrounded by Pazhayari Vadathali in the north, Araimetrali in the west and Thenthali in the south. This is the birthplace of Mangayarkarasiyar, a saint amongst the 63

nayanmars The Nayanars (or Nayanmars; ta, நாயன்மார், translit=Nāyaṉmār, translit-std=ISO, lit=hounds of Siva, and later 'teachers of Shiva ) were a group of 63 Tamil Hindu saints living during the 6th to 8th centuries CE who were de ...

. It is one of the shrines of the Vaippu Sthalams sung by Tamil Saivite Nayanars Sambandar and

.மூவர் தேவார வைப்புத் தலங்கள், Muvar Thevara Vaippu Thalangal, பழையாறை (கீழப்பழையாறை) Pazhayarai (Keezha Pazhayarai)
/ref> The temple is counted as one of the temples built on the banks of

River Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

. It is located on the banks of both

Mudikondan River The Mudikondan River is a distributary of the Kaveri River. It branches out from the Kaveri near Papanasam and runs for about before joining the Tirumalarajanar River Tirumalarajanar River is a tributary of the Kodamurutti River which, itself, i ...

and

Tirumalarajanar River Tirumalarajanar River is a tributary of the Kodamurutti River which, itself, is a tributary of the river Kaveri. It branches off from the Kodamurutti near Papanasam and flows through the districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam in Tamil ...

, tributaries of river Kaveri.

The temple

The temple has a ''

gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the South I ...

'' (gateway tower) in dilapidated state. The ''gopuram'' is believed to have been constructed during the later part of 12th-13th century by Later Cholas. The second precinct has a two-tiered ''gopuram''. The sanctum and the walls around the sanctum are built in granite and the structure houses the shrine of Someswarar in the form of ''

lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...

'' (aniconic form of Shiva). There is a shrine for his consort Someswari and the

navagraha Navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu astrology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( sa, नव "nine") and ''graha'' ( sa, ग्रह "planet, seizing, laying hold of, ...

s. The scene of Ravana lifting Mount Kailash is carved in this temple. There is a sculpture of

Narasimha Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...

, an avatar of

, believed to be made during the

period. The first of the two shows the fight between the eight-handed Narasimha and

Hiranyakashipu Hiranyakashipu (; also known as Hiranyakashyap) was an Asura king of the ''daityas'' from the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism. His name literally translates to "clothed in gold" (''hiranya'' "gold" ''kashipu'' "soft cushion"), and is often inte ...

. The other panel depicts the earlier scene where

Prahlada Prahlada () is an asura king in Hindu mythology. He is known for his staunch devotion towards the preserver deity, Vishnu. He appears in the narrative of Narasimha, the man-lion avatar of Vishnu, who rescues Prahlada by slaying his wicked fa ...

prays and Narasimha emerges from a pillar. The other panel shows Narsimha tearing the insides of the demon thrown in his legs. The image of Ardhanareeswarar is considered a sculptural masterpiece.

Worship and festivals

The temple priests perform the '' puja'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the

Shaiva Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: '' abhisheka'' (sacred bath), ''alangaram'' (decoration), '' naivethanam'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for both Someswarar and Amman. The worship is held amidst religious instructions in the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

(sacred texts) read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like ' (Monday) and ' (Friday), fortnightly rituals like '' pradosham'' and monthly festivals like '' amavasai'' (new moon day), ''kiruthigai'', '' pournami'' (full moon day) and ''sathurthi''. The major festival of the temple, the ''Brahmotsavam'', is celebrated during the Tamil month of Chittirai (April–May). During the same month, in the Rohini star, special ''

poojas Pooja Gauthami Umashankar, mononymously known as Pooja, is an Indian-Sri Lankan actress, who has primarily appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Cinema of Sri Lanka, Sinhala and Malayalam language films. Early and personal life Pooja's mother, Sandhy ...

'' are performed for Mangayarkarasiyar.

References

Kumbhabhishekham 29 January 2016

File: Palayarai1.jpg, Entrance File: Palayarai2.jpg, Inner

gopura A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the South I ...

File: Palayarai3.jpg, Shrine of the presiding deity File: Palayarai4.jpg, Shrine of the goddess File: Palayarai7.jpg,

Yaga-shala Yaga-shala () is a construction built for the purpose of worship in India. It literally means a place of fire, an altar where Yajna is conducted. The various characteristics and the specifications related to the construction of the Yaga-shala are d ...

for

Kumbhabhishekham ''Kumbhabhishekam'', also known as ''Samprokshanam'' is a Hindu temple ritual that is believed to homogenize, synergize and unite the mystic powers of the deity. It is part of the consecration ceremony of Hindu temples. ''Kumbha'' means the Hea ...

{{Hindu Temples of Kumbakonam Shiva temples in Thanjavur district Maadakkoil