275 Thevara Shivasthalam !! Thirupoovanam Sri Pushpavaneswarar Temple !!


Jai Sriman Narayana !!

Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara !!





Thirupoovanam/Mukthi Sthalam/Pushpavanam/Mokshapuri is one of the 275 Thevara Shivasthalam of Lord Shiva located in Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu.    In this temple Lord Pushpavaneswarar worshipped in the form of a self-manifested Linga.  This is one of the significant temples of Lord Shiva worshipped by the Kings of Chera, Choza and Pandiya dynasties.

                                                 



Presiding deity – Sri Pushpavaneswarar/Bhuvananathar/Tribuvaneswarar / Pitru Muktheeswarar with his consort Goddess Sri Soundrya Nayaki/Minninaiyal / Azhagiya Nayaki





Mangalasasanam – Thiru Gnana Sambandhar, Appar, Sundarar.   There are 14 Thevara Shivastham in Thondai Nadu and this is one of the prominent Thevara Shivasthalam has the status that the ‘Moovar’ sung praising the glories of Lord.



Thiru Gnana Sambandhar arrived on the river banks of Vaigai situated here.  He had to cross the river to have Dharshan of Lord.  But, the sand particles on the river banks seemed bounteous Lingas to him.  He was in a dilemma does not want to place his feet further.  He solemnly prayed to Lord and passionately sung praising the glories Lord.  While trying to get a sight of Lord from the river bank, Lord Nandikeshwara blocked the view.  Instantaneously Lord instructed Lord Nandi to lean on left.  Therefore, Sambandhar had the dharshan of Lord without crossing the river Vaikai.  There is a moovar Mandapam positioned on this place where Sambandhar, Appar, Sundarar worshipped Lord from the river bank of Vaikai.  In this temple Lord Nandikeshwara can be seen slanting on left.





Theertham – Manikarnika Theertham, Vaikai Nadhi, Vashishta Theertham, Indra Theertham





Sannidhis – Lord Ganesha, Lord Subramanya, Lord Dakshinamurthy, Sapthamathas, Lord Vishnu, Lord Chandra, Navagrahas, Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi, Lord Surya, Nalvar, 63 Nayanmars,  Idols of Lord Nataraja & Goddess Shivakami, Saint Pathanjali and his disciple Vyagrapadha,





Sthalavruksham – Jackfruit tree





Worshipped by – Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, Lord Surya, Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi, Sage Agastya, Sage Gautama and Sages, King Nala,





Festivals – Vaikasi Visakam, Adi Festival, Aippasi Utsavam, Maha Shivaratri, Arudra Darisanam, Thirukarthikai, Panguni Utsavam, Skandha Shashti,





The legend has that Ponnaiyal was a zealous devotee of Lord Shiva lived in Thirupoovanam.  She earnestly prayed to Lord and expressed her desire to worship Lord in a Golden idol form.   Lord disguised as Siddhar (Saint) and arrived at this sacred land.  He visited Ponnaiyal and promised her that he would change all the rusted metals into gold.  Ponnaiyal agreed and put forward all the vessels she had in her home.  The Saint transformed all the metal vessels into gold at once.  He blessed Ponnaiyal and disappeared immediately.  Ponnaiyal with boundless joy took all the gold to a goldsmith and engraved a statue of Lord Shiva.  Seeing the stunning idol of Lord and its beauty, she affectionately pinched on its cheek.    In this temple Lord Pushpavaneswarer can be seen with a nip mark on his cheek. 





This temple remains open from 6.00AM to 11.00AM in the morning and 4.00PM to 8.00PM in the evenings.



Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara !!



Jai Sriman Narayana !!


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