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| Aathmanabha Swamy, Avudaiyarkoil - Tamil Nadu en.wikipedia.org |
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| Avudayar Kovil, location map Maps of India |
This temple, where the presiding deity is "Atmanatha Swamy'' was built in the 8th century CE, and much older than the Brehadeshwar temple (Big temple) of Thanjavur built by the great Chola ruler Sri Raja Rajan I. This temple is believed to have been built by the great Tamil Scholar and saint (Nayanmar) Sri Manickkavasagar in the 8th century CE. He was one among the famous 63 Nayanars (Aarupathumoovar), who wrote the soul-stirring devotional hymns in chaste Tamil on Lord Shiva - Thevaram and Thiruvasakam. There is a close link between the legend of of this temple and saint Manickkavsagar
The legend has it that one Tiruvadhavoorar, a minister under the Pandya rule, on orders from the ruler king Varaguna Pandya II, visited a village Perunthurai to buy war horses. Influenced by the chanting of Shiva mantra, by a saint who was sitting below the Kurungai tree, he approached him to teach him meditation to get spiritual ecstasy. The saint taught him the various aspects of spiritualism and later disappeared. This divine encounter with a saint brought about a change in his persona. He became more spiritual life and relegated materialistic and mundane life to the back stage. Nothing made him happier than spending time meditating on god to attain Gnanam - ultimate knowledge. Without neither discretion nor second thought, he used the king's money (meant to buy horses) to build this temple. All he did was he had built a platform upon which rice was offered as neiyadyam. There was no stone image and no consecration of the main vigraham. He intensely felt the presence of Lord Shiva in the sanctum.
The furious Pandya king imprisoned the minister for failing to buy horses. Lord Shiva came to his devotee's rescue; in the guise of a Horse Trader he supplied the horses to the king. What the lord did was he converted the foxes in the forest into horses. At mid night all the horses became foxes again. The king, still, did not release the minister. Soon, when the embankment along the river Vaigai broke due to flooding, the king engaged men to fix the bund. Lord Shiva. who took the form of a worker, never worked and soon fell asleep. Infuriated king hit him (lord) with a stick. Every body, including the king felt the pain upon each hit. Then the king realized his mistake and understood that it was a divine intervention. The minister was released from the prison and soon he became a saint. The minister Tiruvadhavoorar, who became a great devotee of lord Shiva, is none other than Manickavasagar who presented his lovely work famous "Tiruvasagam" at the Avudaiyarkoil.
Even today, to mark this great event - construction of temple with no stone image (Moolavar), certain rituals are done in this temple to sanctify this place. In the later period, Pandya kings and other rulers Nayaks and Marathas of Thanjavur extended the patronage and had countless sculptures, stone images and ornate pillars carved in the stone to make this temple attractive. Among the 63 Nayanmars, four are counted as the most revered Shaivite saints and they are: Appar, Sundarar, Manickkavasagar and Thirugnasambandar. All their idols are enshrined here at this temple.
The following are some of the unique features of Avudaiyarkoil:
01. Nandi (Shiva's mount Bull) is commonly associated with all Shiva temples. Seldom is there any exception to this Agama Sastra tradition. The interesting fact is the Nandi is absent here. I am at my wit's end to find the right explanation for the absence of Nandi, an integral part of a Shiva temple. Here, the Utchavamurthy (processional deity) is the idol of Manickkavasagar!!
02. Yet another baffling fact is the absence of a Flag staff (Dwajasthambam) as well as Chandikeswarar shrine . Both are present in all Shiva temples, in particular, the former is a must in all temples during festival times. Before the start of a temple festival, it has been a tradition to raise the temple flag on the flag-staff and do puja by the officiating priest. All Hindu temples follow this ritual before the commencement of major temple festivals. The absence of Dwajasthambam is an enigma!!
03. The deity in this temple faces towards South (Dakishnamurthy or Guru form) which is a rare thing among Shiva temples.
04. Yet another fascinating fact is the main deity has no form whatsoever. The name of the lord is Atmanatha Swamy meaning form less lord. Either there is a stone image or is there a sketch of the God in the sanctum. In the garbagriha, one can see nothing but a platform with a stone slab, first set by Tiruvadhavoorar (alias Manickkavasagar).
05. The God's consort is Goddess 'Yogambal' (Yoga Nayaki) . Though there is a separate shrine, surprisingly the sanctum is devoid of any image or idol of the goddess. You can see nothing but the Paatham ( holy foot print) of the Goddess. However, a small idol of Goddess is located outside the main shrine.
06. The Pandya ruler became an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva at the instigation of Manikkavasagar and spent lavishly on this temple. Mannickkavasagar built only the sanctum (Garbagriha). Other rulers built the halls - mandabam, water tank, etc.
07. One of the sacred books of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta, Manikkavacakar's Tiruvasagam, was first presented to the world from this temple; originated from this shrine
08. In was near the Sthala viruksham (Kurutha tree) where the idol of Shiva teaching Manickavasagar was found.
09. The temple has no separate shrine for Navagrahas (nine planets) as seen in other temples. However, they are found only in the pillars. All the 27 stars are beautifully depicted in the form of sculptures in this temple near the entrance.
10. There is no Bali Peedam in this temple.
11. Here, saint Manickkavasagar merged with the Jyothi (divine fire/ god) and attained Mukthi (salvation), hence, no Deepa Aradhana is done here.
12 In the sanctum on the 3 foot tall platform there is stone slab (Thittakkal) measuring 7 feet x 6 feet where the Naivaidhyam - offering (cooked food) is kept during the 6 kaala puja. Only boiled rice is used here unlike other temples.
!3, The fire (Agni) in the hearth is never put out and it has been there for more than one thousand years. Naivaidyam is made only on this fire (agni).
14. The temple chariot is one the largest in Tamil Nadu and has not been used for the past several decades. The diameter of the wooden wheel is 8 1/2 feet. This chariot is so sturdy and strong, it is said, it requires about 5000 people to pull it. The diameter of the rope (to pull the chariot) is so big. it requires more than 2 hands to hold.
kovil en.wikipedia.org
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Above image; 8th CE. Avudaiyarkoil kovil, Tamil Nadu. The Stone, Kodungai, work in the ceiling of the Ponnarangu (Golden Hall)
stone inscriptions. uri441.wordpress.com
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| Avudayar kovil , TN ,Miracles of Kanchi Mahan - WordPress.com |
17. It is believed that Brahma was taught the Gayatri Mantra here by Atmanatha swamy. Hence this place is also called Chaturvedapuram.
, TN vgopalan.blogspot.com
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| ornate ceiling. | Avudaiyarkoil |
Above image: The ceiling in the Kanaga sabhai (golden hall) is a mind-blowing stone work that requires well-planning and utmost care. It is a splendor in creative stone work. The size of the ornamental ceiling is (length 13 1/2 feet, width 5 feet and thickness 2 feet). It is a grandeur creation in stone. The ropes, rafters and nails all are made of hard stone -granite. stone-rings in the ceiling.
TN vgopalan.blogspot.com
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Above image: The hall (mandapam) has several ornate pillars on which are carved life-size stone images with minute details like jewelry, bells, etc.The hall was built by the rulers, not by the saint Mannickkavasagar ....................
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| Avudayarkovil with stone roof.veludharan.blogspot.com |
, TN Pillared hall, ornate pillars tripadvisor.in
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flick.comr
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| Narasimha avataram, | Avudaiyarkoil |
TN, a man on the horse.Flickr
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| Amazing stone image; | Avudaiyarkoil |
tripadvisor.in
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| Stone carved horse | Avudaiyarkoil |
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| Avudayarkovil temple car tninja/blog/ |
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| A normal temple car with wooden carvings. alamy.com |
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| 27stars carved on the stone. | Avudaiyarkoil , |
stone statue of Kurathi (Gypsi). tninja/blog
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The Aani Tirumanjanam and Maargazhi Tiruvaadirai are the two major annual festivals held here with devotion. The Pooja to the main deity is done six times a day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avudaiyarkoil
http://www.arunachala-ramana.org/forum/index.php?topic=8304.0
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