Jai Sriman Narayana !!
Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara !!
Thirumukkicharam is one of the
275 Thevara Shivasthalam of Lord Shiva located in Uraiyur, Thiruchirapalli,
Tamil Nadu. This is one of the oldest
temples of Lord Shiva built by King Varaguna Pandiya in the 8th
century famous for its exquisite architectural and stunning murals. In this temple Lord Shiva worshipped in the
form of a self-manifested Linga. Lord
Panchavarneswara manifested as Ratna Linga, Saptika Linga, Swarna Linga, Vaira
Linga and Chitra Linga at the different intervals of worship hours to Sage
Mathanga.
Presiding deity – Thiru
Panchavarneswarar /Thanthondreeswarar with his consort Goddess Sri Kanthimathi
Ammai/Kumkumavalli
Mangalasasanam – Thiru Gnana
Sambandhar
Saint Arunagirinathar sung
praising the glories of Lord Subramanya in this temple.
Worshipped by – Lord Brahma,
Sage Mathanga, Sage Kashyapa & his wife Kadru, Serpent Karkodaka, Garuda,
Lord Shiva was pleased at the
devotion of Sage Mathanga and revealed his astounding five forms as
Panchavarneswara in five worship hours in a day. Ratnalinga in the morning hours, Spatika (Crystal) Linga
in the afternoon, Swarna (Golden) Linga in the evening, Vaira (Diamond) Linga in the night and Chitra
Linga at the midnight.
This is the birthplace of Ko
Chengan Choza and Pukazh Chozha Nayanar, one of the 63 prominent Shivaite
Saints. Ko Chengan Chozha built 78 magnificent
temples of Lord Shiva known as Maadakovil with narrow passages, impossible for
an elephant to enter into it. Pukazh
Chozha was a successful ruler in Uraiyur, he won a battle against his
neighboring King. After the ferocious
battle Pukash Chozha inspected the battlefield, there he found a head of a
Shivaite Saint with matted hair locks and holy ashes on it detached from the
body. Pukazh chozha was inconsolable at the sin he
had committed to a devotee of Lord. He
assigned the Kingdom to his son who was heir to the throne. Pukazh Chozha entered into a blazing inferno
holding the head of the devotee of Lord and attained the Abode of Lord
Shiva.
Sannidhis
– Lord Ganesha, Lord Nandikeshwara, Sage Mathanga, Lord Vishnu, Lord Surya,
Lord Kalabhairava, Lord Shaneeswara, Lord Subramanya with his consort Goddess
Sri Valli & Deivayanai, Lord Chandikeshwara, Goddess Kali, Sri Mahalakshmi,
Goshtamurtham-Lord Dakshinamurthy, Lord Brahma, Goddess Durga, stone carved
images of Bikshadaneswarar and Rishi
patnis of Darukavana hermits, elephant & Rooster, Thandava postures of Lord
Shiva,
Festivals – Vaikasi Bramotsavam,
Aippasi, Thiru Karthikai, Maha Shivaratri, Adi Festival,
Theertham – Naga Theertham
Sthalavruksham – Vilvam
There are several interesting myths
associated with this temple. The wife of
Chola King who was ruled Uraiyur as capital city was a passionate devotee of
Lord Shiva. The queen Kanthimathi constantly visited the fort temple of Lord
Thayumanavar at the hill top and resumed her worship. She continued this practice although she was
fully pregnant. One day she has started her expedition from Uraiyur to Thiruchirapalli on the
scorching heat. As soon as she reached
this sacred land, she had fallen unconscious due to the unbearable heat. After regaining consciousness, queen Kanthimathi
was miserable at the thought of abandoning the daily worship of Lord. The most compassionate Lord Shiva appeared as
Thanthondreeswarar before the queen Kanthimathi and elevated her emotional state
into supreme bliss.
Another legend has that the Chola
King who was ruled this city was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. The King carried out a supervision of the
entire villages in Uraiyur with his men . King majestically took his seat
on the royal elephant and arrived at this place; suddenly the elephant lost its
mental balance and ferociously wandered through this place causing all kinds
threat. Kings men were worked so hard to
calm down the elephant, but all their efforts became fruitless. King was in dilemma, he earnestly prayed to
Lord Panchavarneswarar. Instantaneously,
Lord’s fleeting looks fallen at a rooster grazing on the extreme end of this
village. At once, the rooster gained a
massive strength of a demon and darted to the forehead of the elephant. The rooster with all its strength pierced hardly
on the forehead of the elephant and calmed down. The elephant hurried to a bael tree with the
unbearable pain and positioned calmly.
Soon, the rooster also joined with the elephant. After witnessing this miraculous incident the
King understood the divinity of this sacred place and decided to construct a
magnificent temple for Lord Shiva.
Thus, this place has got its name Kozhiyur, afterwards changed into
Uraiyur.
The idol of
Goddess Sri Kanthimathi Ammai was worshipped by the Naga Kanyakas (Serpent Gods
& Goddesses) and it was brought to Uraiyur by the Chola King.
This temple
remains open from 6.00 AM to 12.00 PM 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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