275 Thevara Shivasthalm !! Thirukancchannur Thiru Agneeswarar Temple !!

 
Jai Sriman Narayana !!
 
 
 
 
Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara !!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thirukancchannur is one of the 275 Thevara Shivasthalam of Lord Shiva located in Thiruvidaimaruthur, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.  The temple inscriptions reveal the contributions made by King Vikrama Chozha, King Rajakesari Varman, Tribuvana Chakravarthi Kulothunga Chozha, King Veerarajendra Chozha and  Krishnadevarayar of Vijayanagara Kingdom. In this temple Lord Shiva worshipped in the form of a self-manifested Linga. 
 
Presiding deity – Thiru Agneeswarar/Agneeswaram Udayar with his consort Goddess Sri Karpakambal
 
Mangalasasanam – Thirunavukkarasar
 
Theertham – Agni Theertham
 
Sthalavrukasham – Purasu/Palasu
 
Worshipped by – Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, Lord Chandra, Sage Parasara, Lord Surya,
 
Significance –
This temple is famous for the worship Lord Venus/Shukra
Lord Brahma envisioned the celestial wedding of Lord Shiva & Goddess Sri Parvati
Lord Agni got rid of its impurity.
Sage Parasara witnessed the celestial dance form/Mukthi Thandavam of Lord Nataraja & Goddess Sivakami and got relieved from mental fatigue.
Lord Chandra got rid of the sin
 
There are many interesting legends associated with this temple.  There was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva in this village; he earned his livelihood by selling vegetable bottle guard.  He had one piece of bottle guard stored for replanting its seed.  Lord Shiva disguised himself in the form of a Sivanadiyar and appeared before him requesting for meal.  The devotee was upset at the thought of not being able to serve meal for Sivanadiyar.  Instantly, a mysterious voice instructed him to cook half of the bottle guard for the meal and set aside the remaining portion for sapling.
 
Sannidhis – Lord Ganesha, Lord Nandikeshwara, Lord Subramanya with his consorts Goddess Sri  Valli & Deivayanai, Lord Vishwanatha, Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi, Angneeswara Linga, idols of Thiru Mankkanchara Nayanar and Thiru Kalikkama Nayanar, Sivanadiyar with  his consort, Lord Surya, Lord Bhairava, Lord Shaneeswara, Lord Chandra, Navagraha, Nalvar, Lord Nataraja & Goddess Sivakami,
 
Festivals – Maha Shivaratri, Panguni Uthiram, Masi Makam, Arudra Darisanam, Aippasi Annabhishekam, Thirukarthikai,
 
The legend has that a Vaishnavaite couple lived in the village of Kancchanur had a son Sudarshana, though he was from the family of Vaishnavaite, he turned out an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva.  He made a regular practice of worship of Lord Shiva at the temples of Thirumanthurai, Thirumangalakkudi, Thirukkurangaduthurai, Thiruvavaduthurai, Thiruvalangadu, Thirukodikka and return to his village by night to attend the rituals before closing the temple at Thirukkancchanur.  The villagers were not in favor of his faith and devotion in Lord Shiva, they challenged him to prove the preeminence of his faith, Sudharshana was firm in his devotion and philosophies of Shaivasiddhantha, he openly declared the significance of Panchakshara Manthra seated on a blazing iron bench.  Hardhhar, an aspect of Lord Dakshinamurthi blessed Sudharshana and honored him with the title Hardhhar.
 
This temple remains open from 6.30 AM to 11.00 AM in the morning an 5.00 PM to 7.00 PM in the evenings.
 
 
Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara !!
 
Jai Sriman Narayana !!

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