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| Sri Mangalanathaswamy temple, TN India. Emerald idol,hindu-blog.com |
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| main tower. Sri Mangalanathaswamy upload.wikimedia.org |
Mangalanatha Swamy temple, dedicated to God Shaiva near Ramanathapuram town in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu is a famous pilgrimage center glorified by Tamil Saivite saints Manickavasagar (9th century CE) and Arunagirinathar (15th century). The primary builders of this temple were Pandya kings, Achutappa Nayak (1529–1542 CE), Muthuveerappar (a ruler in Thanjavur district) including rulers of Ramanathapuram ruling dynasty at different time. But the temple itself is much older.
The temple is closely associated with the rebirth of Tamil poet and saint Manickavasgar in his later birth. He was the one who had built the famous Avudaiyar temple in Pudukkotai district where there are no idols of Shiva and his consort in the sanctums (garbagriha).
01. Among the various shrines in this temple primary ones are those of Mangalanathar, Mangalambigai and Natarajar. Of particular interest is the idol of Nataraja, the cosmic dancer. Unique specialty about this tall idol of 6 ft (1.8 m) size is it is made out of a single emerald mineral (maragatha Nataraja idol), a rare one of this kind, considering its size.
02. The Emerald idol of dancing Nataraja is believed to be the largest in the world.
03. The temple authorities take special care to guard this priceless maragatha idol which has deep green color. It is guarded in a safe vault with heavy doors, grill gates and burglar alarm.
04. Further, the idol is carefully set in such a way, there is no way the the intruders can take it out without getting it damaged.
05. The thieves and robbers in this part have an eye on this expensive big emerald idol, so the security people are on alert all the time.
06. In December 2018 two thieves made an attempt to lay their hands on the precious idol after scaling high compound walls around the walls; but their attempt ended in fiasco.
07. Further, the idol is set in such a way the intruders cannot take it out without breaking it. ay their hands on the
08.This idol is anointed with sandal paste round the year except on Tiruvathidirai festival day when special worship is done.
09. During puja time, percussion instruments that produce resonating sound are not permitted to play near the shrine where the emerald idol is kept. The sound or sonic vibrations might damage the precious idol.
10. The temple follows a unique worship protocol. The long-held temple tradition has been that as part worship the priests read the Veda texts to the accompaniment of nagaswaram (wind instrument) music ( a bit away from the shrine).
11. Once the puja is over devotees participating in the the prayer/puja prostrate toward the main deity in front of the temple mast or Dwajsthambam
12. The agnithertham is famous because it was in the Temple tank all 999 saints except one (in the following birth Manickavasagar) refused to jump into the fire ball to save the Vedas.
13. The main hall before the sanctum has 999 ligams made of Padigam (spatika; pure transparent quartz) and are anointed with cooked rice every afternoon during puja. The hall is called Sahasralinga mantabam.
14. In almost in all Shiva temples Thazhambu (screw-pine flower) is not used for puja. Contrary to the tradition, it is still used here for worship
The annual Tiruvathidirai festival in December is the most famous one here. The temple located 32 km East from Paramakkudi and 17 km west from Ramanathapuram is being managed by the the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board (HR & CE) of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uthirakosamangai
https://navrangindia.blogspot.com/2020/08/uthirakosamangai-temple-ramanathapuram.html
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