Tirupperunturai
| Avudaiyarkoil | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Pudukkottai |
| Deity | Athmanathar(Shiva) |
| Location | |
| Location | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
  Location in Tamil Nadu | |
| Geographic coordinates | 10°05′N 78°35′E / 10.09°N 78.59°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Dravidian architecture |
| Creator | Manikkavacakar, Vikramaditya Chola |
Tirupperunthurai (also called the Athmanathaswamy temple) is located in Avudaiyarkoil.[1][2][3][4][5] It is a Shaiva temple situated near Aranthangi in the Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu. One of the sacred books of Tamil Saiva Siddhanta, Manikkavasagar's Tiruvacakam, originated from this shrine. Manikkavasagar is said to have converted the king to the religion of Shiva and built the temple with money that had been intended for war-horses.[6]
Legend
The temple is supposed to have been built by Manickavasagar. Being the prime minister, he spent all the money given to him, to buy good horses in Chola Nadu, by the Varaguna Pandya II king to buy horses in building the temple.[7] As he was bereft of money, Shiva displayed one of his Thiruvilayadal, a divine sport, by transforming foxes to horses, and once they were given to the king became foxes again.[8]
Architecture
Athmanathar temple is a testimony to the temple architectural skills of ancient Tamil sculptors and engineers. The temple covers an area of over 10 acres (40,000 m2) with three enclosures and faces south, constructed so that the setting sun strikes the sanctum even though it is cloistered within three circumambulatory paths. The presiding deity is formless (Atmanatar); there is no Śivalingam but only a pedestal {Āvudayār} located in the sanctum, hence the name Avudayar Koil.[9] The God faces South in this temple- in Dakshinamurthy or Guru form. His consort is worshipped as Śivayoganāyaki(Yogāmbāl) in iconless form. There is no Nandi bull icon as is conventional in almost all Shiva temples. There is deep spiritual significance in this. Hinduism allows deity worship for the novice. As one's devotion matures,one begins to contemplate the truth of formlessness of the Brahman. The temple has been designed to illustrate this theology. This one of the rarest Saivite shrine in whole of India to portray the supreme truth symbolically. Since the soul (athma) has no form, the deity is called Athmanathar.[10] There are five lamps in the sanctum indicating the five time scales and 27 lamps indicating the 27 stars.[8]
Tirupperunthurai is also known as Kokozhi, Śivapuram, Ākāśa Kailāsa, Vadavūr, Chaturvedamangalam and Ādi Kailāsa in Sangam literature. It is also known as Atīta Sabhā as it has six Sabhā-s, namely Kanakasabhā, Chitsabhā, Satsabhā, Ānandasabhā, Ratnasabhā and Devasabhā in comparison to five Sabhas at Chidambaram, each of these halls is named after Shaivite theological terms. These halls have exquisite carvings. It is believed that Manikkavacakar himself built these sabhas, and covered the Sabhas with 21600 plates of copper. Mother Parvathi in the Thillai Mandap in the second prakara granting the Pasupatha weapon to Arjuna as hunter and his wife is very realistic in workmanship. Mother appears with a chain around the neck, bangles in hand and holding a bag each carved in stone. Iron screws are use in some of the mantapams, which is unique for that age.
The temple is noted for the zephyr(granite) roof work. The ceiling of the Kanga sabhai(golden hall) is a grandeur creation in stone. The ropes, rafters and nails all are made of granite.[11] The bow wielding Muruga, Kali and Siva's Rudra thandavam(wild dance) are the finest specimen in sculptural art. The five philosophies representing the Panchakshara the five letters – Na, Ma, Shi, Va, Ya – Nivrtti Kalā, Pratiśta Kalā, Vidya Kalā, Śānthi Kalā and Śāntyātīta Kalā are in sculpture form on the roof of the Panchakshara Mandap.
The composite columns of Virabhadra holding sword and horn are found be additions of the Vijayanayagara kings during the early 16th century. Similar columns of Virabhadra are found in Veerapthara swamy temple at Pasumbalur Village near Perambalur, Adikesava Perumal Temple at Thiruvattaru, Meenakshi Temple at Madurai, Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli, Kasi Viswanathar temple at Tenkasi, Krishnapuram Venkatachalapathy temple, Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram, Soundararajaperumal temple at Thadikombu, Srivilliputhur Andal temple, Srivaikuntanathan Permual temple at Srivaikuntam, Vaishnava Nambi and Thirukurungudivalli Nachiar temple at Thirukkurungudi.[12]
Many renovations have been carried out, much of the current structure dates to the 15th century CE. The thousand pillared hall has several delicately crafted pillars with depictions of the Oordhwa Tandavam of Shiva, Karaikal Ammaiyar, Dhanurdhara Subramanya, etc.
Administration
As at Chidambaram and Tiruvanaikoil, here Vedic rituals are performed, unlike the Sivachariyar or Adhisaivar temples who follow Agama rituals. In this case the temple is administered by Nambiar Brahmins (not to be confused with Nair Nambiars or Brahmin Namboodaris) – a class of Vaideeka Brahmins said to be descendants of Rowshayadana, a saint who originated from Agni, and were taught the Vedas by Atmanathar Himself. They are said to number three hundred and are also called Munnothioruvar. This Agnivesha is also famous author of a magnificent ancient medical treatise called Agnivesha Kalpasutra spanning 77000 verses that discusses medicines and treatment for many types of diseases.
Festival
The annual festivals celebrated here are Aani Tirumanjanam and Maargazhi Tiruvaadirai as in Chidambaram Nataraja Temple. Worship or Pooja is done six times a day.
References
- ^ "New inscriptions confirm Manickavasagar built temple". thehindu.com. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
- ^ http://tnmaps.tn.nic.in/vill.php?dcode=22¢code=0009&tlkname=Avudayarkoil%20%20332209
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ http://tnmaps.tn.nic.in/district.php
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Das, Sisir Kumar; Akademi, Sahitya (1991). A History of Indian Literature. Sahitya Akademi. p. 574. ISBN 81-7201-006-0. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
- ^ Footprint India.Roma Bradnock
- ^ a b V., Meena. Temples in South India. Kanniyakumari: Harikumar Arts. p. 18.
- ^ Smith, David (2003). The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India. Cambridge University Press. p. 230. ISBN 0-521-52865-8. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
- ^ Tourist Guide to Tamil Nadu
- ^ Concise classified dictionary of Hinduism. Kodayanallur Vanamamalai Soundara Rajan
- ^ Branfoot, Crispin (1 June 2008). "Imperial Frontiers: Building Sacred Space in Sixteenth-Century South India". The Art Bulletin. 90 (2). College Art Association: 186. JSTOR 20619601.