275 Thevara Shivasthalam !! Thirupparamkundram Sri Parangirinathar Temple !!


Jai Sriman Narayana !!
 
Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara !!






Thirupparamkundram/Thenkayilai / Sathyagiri is one of the 275 Thevara Shivasthalam of Lord Shiva located 8km south of Madurai, Tamil Nadu.  This is one of the prominent Six Holy Abodes – Six Battle Camps of Lord Subramanya. 



This is one of the oldest temples built by the Pandya Kings.  The Nayaks and Vijayanagara Emperors also have made abundance of contributions to it. 



Presiding deity – Thiru Parangirinathar/Sathyagiriswarar/Then Paramgirinathar with his consort Goddess Avudai Nayaki



Mangalasasanam – Thiru Gnana Sambandhar, Appar, Sundarar & Manicka Vasagar sung praising the glories of Lord Paramgirinathar in this temple.   The renowned Tamil poets Nakkirar & Saint Arunagirinathar sung praising the glories of Lord in their famous composition Thirumurugatrupadai and Thirupukazh respectively.  Thiru Kacchiyappa Shivachariar composed Kantha Puranam in Tamil.  Thiru Paramgiri Pathikam and Alangaram were composed by Thiru Arunachalakavirayar praising the grandeur of Lord Paramgirinathar.



Theertham – Siddha Theertham, Mandala Theertham, Pandava Theertham, Brahma Theertham/Abhisheka Theertham,  Kushira Theertham, Lakshmi Theertham, Pushpamardhava Theertham, Putra Theertham, Patal Ganga/Kasi Theertham, Sathya Theertham,  Kalyana Theertham and  Saravana Poikai



Worshipped by – King Harischandra, Maharishi Veda Vyasa, Sage Parasara,



Goddess Sakthi was afflicted with the sin of Brahmahathya after killing the demon Mahishasura.  At the divine instruction of Lord, Goddess Sakthi worshipped Lord Shiva – Sathyagiriswarar on this sacred land and got rid of the curse.



Sthalavruksham – Kallathi



Festivals – Vaikasi Visagam, Skandha Shashti Vizha, Panguni Uthiram, Adi Pooram, Karthikai, Vinayaka Chathurthi, Avani Moolam, Navaratri, Arudra Darisanam, Maha Shivaratri, Vaikundha Ekadashi, Thaipoosam,



Sannidhis – Lord Ganesha, Lord Subramanya with his consorts Goddesses Sri Valli & Deivayanai, Lord Nandikeshwara with his consort Kalakandi, Lord Vishnu, Goddess Durga, Lord Shaneeswara, Panchalinga, Garudalwar, Lord Kasi Viswanatha & Vishalakshy, Lord Bhairava, Lord Dakshinamurthy, Somaskandhar, Adi Sokkanathar.





A shrine for nine warriors of Lord Subramanya can be seen in this temple, there is a fascinating myth about the birth of nine warriors of Lord.   An blaze originated from the third eye of Lord Shiva turned out six beautiful male babies; these babies were settled on lotuses flower in Saravana Poikai.  Goddess Parvati could not bear the heat of the inferno and she ran off from the spot.  At this moment, her anklet got slithered and the pearls were scattered turned out to be nine Sakthis.  These nine Sakthi’s got attracted to Lord Shiva and conceived with a baby.  Goddess Parvati cursed the nine females to live with their pregnancy.  These nine females approached Lord Shiva for their rescue.  Lord Shiva pacified Goddess Parvati with the knowledge that the nine babies would save the world from the atrocities of demons.  Consequently, the nine Sakthis gave birth to nine warriors such as Veerabhahu,  Veerakesari, Veera Mahendra, Veera Maheswara, Veera Rakshaka, Veera Marthanda, Veera Andhaga, Veera Dheera and Veera Soora.  Later, they waged war with Lord Subramanya in his fierce battle against the demon Soorapadman. 






The legend has that Lord Subramanya worshipped Lord Shiva as Parangirinathar on this sacred land.  After the fierce battle with the demon Shoorapadman, Lord Subramanya arrived on this sacred land and resided unperturbed.   Lord Indra praised the valor of Lord Subramanya and offered his daughter Deivayani’s hands to marry him.  In this temple Lord Subramanya can be seen with all the deities and sages around him witnessing the ceremonial wedding of Lord Subramanya with Goddess Deivayanai.





Another legend has that King Harischandra worshipped Lord Shiva on this sacred land known as Sathyagiri Hills and attained eternal wisdom.    He constructed a huge temple with wide circumambulatory paths to worship Lord Sathyagirishwara/Paramgirinathar.





This temple remains open from 5.30 AM to 12.30PM in the morning and 5.30PM to 9.00PM in the evenings.


Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara !!



Jai Sriman Narayana !!

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