This ancient temple is having a very interesting history. It is the place where Shiva killed Jalandhara the asura king son of Sagara. It is also the place where Tulsi came into being and a place where Vishnu( Kamalanayanan) worshipped Shiva to get the Discus.
The place is close to Tiruvarur about 5 kms before tiruvarur on the Nagoor Tiruvarur road.
When you come from Mayavaram or Kumbakonam after crossing Koothanur and nannilam towards Tiruvarur just 5 kms before tiruvarur take a left towards Nagoor, the temple is on the second left road here
History and Legends:
The story of Jalandhara is found in the mahabharatha as well as the Padmapurana. Once indra who was bloated after victory over asuras entered Kailasa without greeting Nandi and the Shiva ganas,Shiva took the form of a hermit and when Indra could not find anybody in Kailasa arrogantly asked the aged hermit where Shiva was.Getting no response he threw the vajrayudha on him.The asthra broke into pieces and in that fraction Indra realised it was Shiva himself in the form of a hermit and at once begged for mercy Shiva being Ashutosh the easily pleased forgave him but the heat of the moment extracted a few drops of sweat from his brow which he cast into the ocean,Tis turned into a child which was brought up by Sagara the ocean who took the child to Brahma for getting a name the child yanked Brahma’s beard so hard that Brahma cried and a few drops of tears fell on the child so brahma called this child born out of of Shiva's sweat, Samudra’s waters and Brahma’s tears as Jalandhara or one who produced tears(Jala) in a stream from brahma. As he grew up this child developed asura gunas and aligned with the asuras and soon was crowned a king for his prowess.He married Brinda a pious Vishnu bhakta daughter of the Asura Kalanemi .Jalandhara did penance to Brahma for a boon of immortality. since he did not get it he had so much faith in his wife's chastity that he asked he would live till his wife remained chaste in thought and mind too.Armed with this boon he soon went on a rampage torturing all devas. In alarm they all came to Shiva who enlisted Vishnu’s help in killing the asura.When Jalandhara came to Kailasa searching for Indira he found the same old man who told him to fight with him first.He first drew a chakra on the sand and asked Jalandhara to lift it up.At that moment Vishnu went in the guise of Jalandhara to Brinda who mistook him for her husband and in that second Shiva killed the asura with the discus he had made .The story here is the same at Tirumalpur Shiva temple near Kanchi where Vishnu got Shiva’s Chakra(Click here to see my blog on this temple) Brinda realised she was fooled by Vishnu and immolated herself in the outer courtyard of the temple here .Vishnu was very upset as he had caused so much grief to his bhakta Brinda he went into sadness. Shiva planted a seed into the ashes of Brinda which grew into a Thulasi plant Shiva himself made a garland of thulasi and adorned Vishnu and helped Vishnu feel better.Vishnu prayed to Shiva here with mahalakshmi and obtained the Sudharshana Chakra as a gift. This is the only Shiva temple where the lord is worshipped with Tulasi leaves not Bhilva.
As you enter there is a rajagopuram
It is a small temple with single praharam
with west facing Shiva in the garbagruha (Pic from Dinamalar.com)![[Gal1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tswQv3KjKc__cRGuQts5lvCmnf6q1IkgX-7afsPPWRwFjW2qK1oiH25wr7Iaho4-PBHA5lIyJMd7IYXOovIVYz8FsXE1WafXobYoVj1HLR5lr_gY4BmdzsdCiCnffANQyU=s0-d)
The Ambal Elavar Kuzhali, Parimala Nayaki has a sannidhi on the left facing North
The praharam has a Sannidhi of Jalandhara hatheeshwara on the left facing North (Pic from Dinamalar.com)
The Kosta vigrahas are Ganesha Dakshinamurthy brahma Vishnu an Durgai, there is a Mahlakshmi, Murugan and Bhairavar sannidhi
The temple history
The place is close to Tiruvarur about 5 kms before tiruvarur on the Nagoor Tiruvarur road.
When you come from Mayavaram or Kumbakonam after crossing Koothanur and nannilam towards Tiruvarur just 5 kms before tiruvarur take a left towards Nagoor, the temple is on the second left road here
History and Legends:
The story of Jalandhara is found in the mahabharatha as well as the Padmapurana. Once indra who was bloated after victory over asuras entered Kailasa without greeting Nandi and the Shiva ganas,Shiva took the form of a hermit and when Indra could not find anybody in Kailasa arrogantly asked the aged hermit where Shiva was.Getting no response he threw the vajrayudha on him.The asthra broke into pieces and in that fraction Indra realised it was Shiva himself in the form of a hermit and at once begged for mercy Shiva being Ashutosh the easily pleased forgave him but the heat of the moment extracted a few drops of sweat from his brow which he cast into the ocean,Tis turned into a child which was brought up by Sagara the ocean who took the child to Brahma for getting a name the child yanked Brahma’s beard so hard that Brahma cried and a few drops of tears fell on the child so brahma called this child born out of of Shiva's sweat, Samudra’s waters and Brahma’s tears as Jalandhara or one who produced tears(Jala) in a stream from brahma. As he grew up this child developed asura gunas and aligned with the asuras and soon was crowned a king for his prowess.He married Brinda a pious Vishnu bhakta daughter of the Asura Kalanemi .Jalandhara did penance to Brahma for a boon of immortality. since he did not get it he had so much faith in his wife's chastity that he asked he would live till his wife remained chaste in thought and mind too.Armed with this boon he soon went on a rampage torturing all devas. In alarm they all came to Shiva who enlisted Vishnu’s help in killing the asura.When Jalandhara came to Kailasa searching for Indira he found the same old man who told him to fight with him first.He first drew a chakra on the sand and asked Jalandhara to lift it up.At that moment Vishnu went in the guise of Jalandhara to Brinda who mistook him for her husband and in that second Shiva killed the asura with the discus he had made .The story here is the same at Tirumalpur Shiva temple near Kanchi where Vishnu got Shiva’s Chakra(Click here to see my blog on this temple) Brinda realised she was fooled by Vishnu and immolated herself in the outer courtyard of the temple here .Vishnu was very upset as he had caused so much grief to his bhakta Brinda he went into sadness. Shiva planted a seed into the ashes of Brinda which grew into a Thulasi plant Shiva himself made a garland of thulasi and adorned Vishnu and helped Vishnu feel better.Vishnu prayed to Shiva here with mahalakshmi and obtained the Sudharshana Chakra as a gift. This is the only Shiva temple where the lord is worshipped with Tulasi leaves not Bhilva.
As you enter there is a rajagopuram
It is a small temple with single praharam
with west facing Shiva in the garbagruha (Pic from Dinamalar.com)
The Ambal Elavar Kuzhali, Parimala Nayaki has a sannidhi on the left facing North
The praharam has a Sannidhi of Jalandhara hatheeshwara on the left facing North (Pic from Dinamalar.com)
The Kosta vigrahas are Ganesha Dakshinamurthy brahma Vishnu an Durgai, there is a Mahlakshmi, Murugan and Bhairavar sannidhi
The temple history
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