Also known as Panchavarneshwarar koil the ancient Shiva temple where the main Shivalingam changes hues 5 times in a day and appears in different colours at different times of the day.
HOW TO REACH:
The temple is situated on the outskirts of Kumbakonam on theTanjore road and can be reached from Thirukarugavur it is about 6 kms from this temple and about 10 kms from Kumbakonam. Nallur village is across the railway line and can easily be found
The sapthasagara theertha in front of the temple
LEGENDS AND STORIES:
Agasthya worshipped here and saw the divine wedding of Shiva and Parvathi here during his sojourn south of the Vindhyas.
It has been sung about by Appar,Sundarar and also Amara needhi nayanar
The Shivalingam changes colours as the day progresses From 6:00-8:24 a.m, it takes the colour of copper, light red from 8:25-10:48, molten gold from 10:49-15:12, unknown colour from 13:13-15:36 and emerald green from 15:37-18:00.
Kunti was directed by Sri Narada to have a bath in the tank here and was relieved of her sins.
The Ashtabhuja Durga found in the lower prahara is very powerful and is the kuladeivam for many families.
The temple is under the control of the thiruvavadudurai adheenam
The temple has 3 praharams and the main praharam is on an artificial hill
View from the Raja Gopuram
The second praharam has multiple Koshta vigrahas
After seeing this Ganapathy we will climb to the main praharam in the I floor where there is a resplendent Shiva lingam with sculptures of Shiva and Parvathi in kalyana kolam behind. There is also a sundaralingar a lingam anointed by sage Agasthya behind the main lingam . The sannidhi for Ambal Giriraja Sundari (Tripurasundari) is also seen above facing west
There are also various statues of Siva in various episodes of Sivapuranam
Next praharam is the one housing the ashta bhuja Durga
Plaque above the sannidhi depicting the Durga
The Sthala vriksham is the vilwam and it is called the adhi vilvam supposedly the first vilvam tree on earth and worshipping with this leaf is very special
A peaceful temple worth visiting especially for the changing hues of Shiva. In true Vaishnava fashion the priest blesses everybody with a sadari another speciality of this temple
Another view of the Saptha sagara kulam
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