Uma Maheswarar Temple of Konerirajapuram in the Mayiladuthurai district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is a historical temple dedicated to Shiva. Shiva is worshiped as Uma Maheswarar, and is represented by the '' lingam'' and his consort Parvati is depicted as Mattuvar Kuzhalammai. 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''. Originally built by the Mighty

Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic 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 to the 3rd century BCE d ...

, it was later renovated by the Madurai Nayaks and Vijayanagara rulers. The major complex in the temple are believed to be built during the 8th century by the Chola king

Aditya I Aditya I (Tamil: ஆதித்த சோழன்) (c. 870/71 – c. 907 CE), the son of Vijayalaya, was the Chola king who extended the Chola dominions by the conquest of the Pallavas and occupied the Western Ganga Kingdom. Relations with ...

and his great great grandson Raja Raja Chola I. The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 12 pm and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar. The Chittirai festival during the Tamil month of Chittirai (April - May) is celebrated for fifteen days, portraying the various incidents associated with the temple legend. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Temple

The presiding deity is Shiva. The goddess is Angavala Nayaki. Hymns in praise of the temple have been composed by Sambandar and Thirunavukkarasar. There are also shrines to Brahma and Vishnu within the complex. There are also shrines for Ganesha and Murugan as Vaidyanathaswami.

History

The present temple was constructed in the 10th century AD by Sembiyan Mahadevi, grandaunt of Raja Raja Chola I.

Paintings and Sculptures

This temple is famous for its beautiful paintings found in the front mandapa and the miniature sculptures found outside the sanctum sanctorum of the presiding deity.

Worship and festivals

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

Shaivaite 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 6:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 8:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 10:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: ''abhisheka'' (sacred bath), ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''neivethanam'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for both Uma Maheswarar and Mattuvar Kuzhal Amman. The worship is held amidst music with '' nagaswaram'' (pipe instrument) and '' tavil'' (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like ' and ', fortnightly rituals like '' pradosham'' and monthly festivals like '' amavasai'' (new moon day), ''kiruthigai'', '' pournami'' (full moon day) and ''sathurthi''. Abhishekam is done to Lord Nataraja 6 times in a year. Maasi, Avani, Puratasi on Valarpirai Chathurtasi thithi days, and Chithirai Thiruvonam, Aani Uthram, Marghazi Thiruvathirai star days The temple is counted as one of the temples built on the banks of River Kaveri.

References

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Gallery

Paintings

File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple14.jpg File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple15.jpg File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple16.jpg File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple17.jpg File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple18.jpg File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple19.jpg File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple20.jpg

Miniature Sculptures

File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple5.jpg File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple6.jpg File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple11.jpg File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple7.jpg File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple21.jpg File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple8.jpg File: Konerirajapuram umamaheswarar temple10.jpg Shiva temples in Mayiladuthurai district Padal Petra Stalam