Thiruvanaikaval Paadal Petra Sthalam (திருவனைகோவில்) or Thiruvanaikovil is a neighbourhood in the city of

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

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. It is situated on the northern banks of the

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 dis ...

river, on the

Srirangam Island Srirangam Island is a river island in the city of Tiruchirappalli, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The island is formed by the Kaveri and Kollidam Rivers. Geography The Kaveri River diverges at the Upper Anaicut, a dam at the island's western ...

Description

The island Srirangam is surrounded by the

river to the south and the Kollidam river to the north. The Kollidam is the northern distributary of the Kaveri River. The Shri Jambukeshwarar Temple is located here. The temple's presiding deity is Lord

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 ...

(Jambukeshwara) and the goddess is Shri Akhilandeshwari. It is revered as one of the Pancha Bhōōta Sthalam (The Five Elements). whereas

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

is the presiding element in the temple. There is a freshwater spring underneath the Shiva

Linga 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 ...

. It is believed that the

jamun ''Syzygium cumini'', commonly known as Malabar plum, Java plum, black plum, jamun, jaman, jambul, or jambolan, is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae, and favored for its fruit, timber, and ornamental value. It is ...

fruit will be ripening every day from the tree in the temple and the same will be served for the deity as the first offering (

prasadam 200px, Prasad thaal offered to Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad ">Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad">Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad Prasada (, Sanskrit: प्रसाद, ), Prasadam or Prasad is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most o ...

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

is said to have visited this shrine and has done the Tatankya (Ear Rings) Pratishtha for the goddess to ensure that she remains in a Sowmya Rūpa (Peaceful form). The king who built the temple gave wages to his sculptors for building the fifth Prakara of the shrine by way of

Vibhuti In Hinduism, ''vibhuti'' ( sa, विभूति, vibhūti), also called ''bhasma'' or ''thiruneeru'', is sacred ash made of burnt dried wood, burnt cow dung and/or cremated bodies used in Agamic rituals. Hindu devotees apply ''vibhuti'' tradi ...

instead of gold coins. The entrance of the

garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' or ''sannidhanam'' is the ''sanctum sanctorum'', the innermost sanctuary of a Hindu and Jain temples where resides the ''murti'' (idol or icon) of the primary deity of the temple. In Jainism, the main deity is known as the ''M ...

(sanctum-sanctorum) is so small that an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

cannot enter inside. The Sthala Vriksha (presiding tree) is the Jamun tree. Like the

Meenakshi Temple Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundaraswarar Temple is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi, a form of Parvati, and her consort, ...

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

and the Kamakshi Amman Temple in

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its temple ...

, Akhilandeshwari is famous in this temple.

In Popular Culture

Muthuswamy Dikshitar, the 18th century composer of

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

, is said to have composed three songs on the presiding deity of Akhilandeshwari in the Jambukeshwarar Temple here.

References

{{Tiruchirappalli Neighbourhoods and suburbs of Tiruchirappalli