275 Thevara Shivasthalam !! Thiruvanaikka(Thiruvanaikkavil) Sri Jambukeshwarar Temple !!

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


Thiruvanaikka/Pancha Bootha Sthalangal/Jambukeshwaram is one of the 275 Thevara Shivasthalam of Lord Shiva located on the river banks of Kollidam and Cauvery in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu.  This is one of the Pancha Bootha Sthalam represents Water and one of the Shakthi Peedam of Goddess Sri Parvaty.   The Pancha Bootha Sthalangal of Lord Shiva are Thiruvanaikka (Appu Lingam) represents Water, Thiru Kalahasthi symbolizes Wind, Thiruvannamalai represents Fire, Kanchipuram stands for Earth and Chidambaram represents Sky.   This temple occupies massive acres of land was built by the King of Chola Dynasty.  In this temple Lord Shiva worshipped in the form of a self-manifested Jambu Linga.

 

 

Presiding deity – Sri Jambukeshwarar/Jalakandeswarar with his consort Goddess Sri Akilandeswari

 

 

Mangalasasanam – Appar, Sundarar, Thiru Gnana Sambandar,

Saint Arunagirinathar sung praising the glories of Lord Muruga in this temple.

 

Sthalavruksham – Jambu

 

 

Significance –

 

The work process of mighty walls of this temple was on its peak; Lord appeared himself as a saint and distributed holy ashes in place of wages to the workers.  Astonishingly, the holy ashes were turned into gold coins of their proportionate wages.  Hence, the fourth circumambulatory path of this temple is widely known as ‘Thiruneetru Mathil’.

 

 

Goddess Sri Parvati came down to Earth due to the curse of Lord Shiva.  Goddess consecrated a Linga /Appu Linga and worshipped Lord Shiva on this sacred land.  Lord was pleased at the devotion of Goddess Sri Parvati and blessed her with eternal wisdom.    The main priest of this temple presumes the worship Lord Jambukeshwara to memorialize the divine act. 

 

 

 

Previously, Goddess Sri Akilandeswari in this temple was in a vicious form.   The earring (Thadagangal) of Goddess was installed by Sri Adi Sankara to bring her in a composed state also installed Sri Chakra and sanctified the idols of  Lord Ganesha and Lord Subramanya on both the sides of her.  In this way, Sri Adi Sankara brought back tranquil form Goddess Sri Akilandeswari in this temple. 

 

 

Sage Jambu was a fervent devotee of Lord Shiva.  He offered an exquisite and an extraordinary white Jambu fruit as offerings to Lord.   Lord accepted his offering and left the seed untouched.  Sage Jambu passionately swallowed the remaining as Lord’s blessings, surprisingly a tree started to grow on its place.  Sage Jambu earnestly prayed to Lord to take place under the tree as his Abode.  Lord Shiva instructed the Sage to continue his penance on the river banks of Cauvery and also promised that he would take the place under the Jambu tree as his Abode in due course of time.  Consequently, Goddess Sri Parvati undertook penance under the tree worshipping Lord.  As a result a Linga manifested under the Jambu tree and fulfilled the yearnings of Sage Jambu as well.

 

 

Theertham – There are nine holy theerthas located in this temple.  They are Cauvery Theertham, Brahma Theertham, Chandra Theertham, Indra Theertham, Rama Theertham, Agni Theertham, Agastya Theertham, Surya Theertham and Kollidam river.  There is an undying natural spring beneath the Linga in the sanctum sanctorum.

 

 

Festivals – Maha Shivaratri, Annabhishekam, Arudra Darisanam, Thiru Karthikai, Navaratri,

 

 

Worshipped by – Lord Vishnu, Lord Rama, Lord Brahma, Ashtadikpalakas, Sage Parasara, Sage Jambu,




 
 
 
 

The legend has that the two Ganas of Lord Shiva were born as elephant and spider at the curse of Lord.  Ganas were destined to be engaged in the self-less service to Lord.  Lord Shiva appeared as a Linga under a tree in Jambukvanam on this sacred land.  The elephant worshipped Lord Shiva with the fresh alluring flowers and trunk full of water from the nearest pond.  The spider worshipped Lord with its magnificent webs as a shield on top of the Linga to protect it from falling dry leaves.  The elephant was unhappy with the webs all around, patiently removes the web and keep the place tidy and clean, the spider was dejected at the act of the elephant.  Both the worshippers were unhappy at each other’s and the hostility towards each other’s deepened.  The spider sneaked into the trunk of the elephant and bit him.  The elephant forcefully thrashed its trunk on the floor with accumulated pain; both of them were died instantly.  Soon, the elephant relieved from the curse and attained his position as one of the Shiva Ganas.  The spider was remained on the Earth to fulfill its desire to build temples to protect the Linga.  The spider took birth as King Kochengan and built a magnificent temple to worship on its place.  During his regime King Kochengan built numerous temples known for Madakovil (which has narrow steps and corridors) and Thiruvanaikka is the first and foremost temples in that row. 

 

 

This temple remains open from 7.00AM to 1.00PM in the morning and 3.00PM to 8.00PM in the evening.





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

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