| Erumbeeswarar Temple | |
|---|---|
.jpg) View from the foothills | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Trichy |
| Deity | Erumbeeswarar(Shiva)Narun Kuzhal Nayagi (Parvathi) |
| Location | |
| Location | Thiruverumbur |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
  Location in Tamil Nadu | |
| Coordinates | 10°47′34″N78°46′3″E / 10.79278°N 78.76750°E /10.79278; 78.76750 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Dravidian architecture |
| Website | |
| http://erumbeeswararkovil.in | |
Erumbeeswarar Temple inThiruverumbur, Tamil Nadu, India, is aHindu temple dedicated to the deityShiva. Built on a 60-foot (18 m) tall hill, it is accessible via a flight of steps. The temple's main shrines and its twoprakarams (outer courtyards) are on top of the hill, while a hall and thetemple tank are located at the foothills. Shiva is believed to have transformed himself into an ant hill and tilted his head at this place to enable ants to climb up and worship him. Erumbeeswarar is revered in the canonical 7th-century Tamil Saiva work theTevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known asnayanmars and classified asPaadal Petra Sthalam.
The temple is one in a series built byAditya Chola (871-907 CE) along the banks of riverCauvery, to commemorate his victory in the Tirupurambiyam Battle. It has several inscriptions from theChola Empire dating back to the 10th century.[1] The temple has been declared a protected monument by theArchaeological Survey of India and is locally referred as "Kailash of South India".[2] The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 am to 8:00 pm, and three yearly festivals in its calendar. The annualBrahmotsavam (prime festival) is attended by thousands of devotees from far and near.[3] Every full moon, tens of thousands of pilgrims worship Erumbeeswarar by circumambulating the hill barefoot in a practice calledgirivalam. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
According to Hindu legend, there lived a demon (asura) Tharukasuran, who conqueredPrithvi (earth) andSvarga (heaven).Indra, the leader of celestial deities and othergods suffered at the hands of Tharukasuran and sought the help of the creator-godBrahma, who asked them to worshipShiva inThiruverumbur. In order to deceive Tharukasuran, the devas transformed into ants and reached the temple. Since the surface of thelingam (aniconic form of Shiva) was slippery, the ants found it difficult to climb up and worship. Shiva transformed himself into an ant hill and slid his head, which enabled the ants to climb and worship. Hence the nameErumbeeswarar is derived fromErumbu meaning ant andEaswaran referring to Shiva.[4] This is one of the three places where Shiva slid his head for his worshippers, the other two being the temples at Virinjipuram andThiruppanandal. The temple is also referred as Rathinakoodam, Thirverumbipuram, Erumbeesam, Brahmapuram, Laskhmipuram, Madhuvanam, Rathnakoodapuram, Manikoodapuram and Kumarapuram in various religious literature.[5] The temple is locally called asKailash (the abode of Shiva) ofSouth India.[2]
Erumbeeswarar temple in its current form was built by theChola kingAditya I (871-907 CE). Aditya won a battle in Tirupurambiyam and to commemorate the victory, he built a series of temples along the banks of the riverCauvery.[6] The temple has 49 inscriptions from the Chola period (850-1280 CE). The inscriptions numbered 101, 104, 105, 127, 130 and 133 of 1914 are believed to be inscribed during the 5th to 7th year of the reign of Aditya and hence believed to be between 882 and 885 CE.[7] Another set of inscriptions from theSundara Chola (957-970 CE) period indicate gift of land to maintain four signs ofTirupadigam.[8] One another inscription indicates the donation of tenkalanchu (a measure) of gold to the deity by a temple woman in the year 875 CE.[1][9] A king by name Siruthavur Sembian Veithi Velan from Kiliyurnadu is believed to have constructed thevimana (structure over the sanctum).[5] The temple was the only temple thatMalik Kafur (1296-1316 CE) could not conquer in 1311 CE, during his South Indian expedition.[2] The temple is a declared monument of the Archaeological Survey of India on account of the inscriptions in the temple.[10] During the war betweenBritish andFrench during 1752, the temple acted as an infantry for the French troops.[5][11] In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.[12]
Erumbeeswarar temple is located atop a 60 feet (18 m) hill with a flight of granite steps to the top. Since the temple is atop a hill, it is locally called "Malai Kovil" (meaning hill temple). The temple complex has twoprakarams (outer courtyard) and a two-tieredrajagopuram (gateway tower).[3] The central shrine faces east and holds the image of Erumbeeswarar (Shiva) in the form oflingam made of mud mound. The granite imagesGanesha (son of Shiva and god of wisdom),Murugan (son of Shiva and god of war),Nandi (the bull and vehicle of Shiva) andNavagraha (nine planetary deities) are in the hall leading to the sanctum. As in other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the first precinct or the walls around the sanctum of Erumbeeswarar has images ofDakshinamurthy (god of knowledge),Durga (warrior-goddess) andChandikeswarar (a saint and devotee of Shiva). The central image of Erumbeeswarar is made of mud mound and is referred by other names like Erumbeesar, Mathuvaneswarar, Manikoodalachapathi, Piplikesvarar and Manickanathar. The inscriptions in the temple refer Erumbeeswarar as Thirumalai Alwar, Thiruverumbur Alwar and Thiruverumburudaya Nayanar. The shrine of the consort-goddess Narunguzhal Nayagi Amman, facing south, is in the second precinct of the temple. The second precinct is surrounded by granite walls. Narunguzhal Nayagi Amman is referred by other names like Sugantha Kuzhalal, Soundra Nayagi, Madhuvaneswari and Rathnambal.[5]
The path around the foothills, called Girivalam Path, is 20 ft (6.1 m) wide and 900 m (3,000 ft) long. The construction and beautification of the path was carried out by the Tourism department of the government of Tamil Nadu in 2011.[3] The temple has a garden maintained by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL, Trichy).[13]
The temple priests perform thepuja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to theShaiva community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps:abhisheka (sacred bath),alangaram (decoration),naivethanam (food offering) anddeepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Erumbeeswarar and Narunguzhal Nayagi Amman. The worship is held amidst music withnagaswaram (pipe instrument) andtavil (percussion instrument), religious instructions in theVedas (sacred texts) read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals likesomavaram (Monday) andsukravaram (Friday), fortnightly rituals likepradosham and monthly festivals likeamavasai (new moon day),kiruthigai,pournami (full moon day) andsathurthi. The major festival of the temple, theBrahmotsavam, is celebrated during theTamil month of Vaikasi (May -June). Other festivals include Annabishekam during the Tamil month of Aipasi (October -November),Mahashivaratri and Pournami Girivalam. Every full moon, tens of thousands of pilgrims worship Erumbeeswarar by circumambulating the hill barefoot. The circumambulation covers the circumference of the hill, and is referred asgirivalam.[3][5][14]
The temple is counted as one of the temples built on the banks ofRiver Kaveri.[15]Appar, a 7th-centuryTamilSaivite saint poet andnayanmar, has revered Erumbeeswarar and the temple in his verses inTevaram, compiled as theFifth Tirumurai. As the temple is revered inTevaram, it is classified asPaadal Petra Sthalam, one of the 276 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon. The temple is counted as the seventh in the list of temples in the southern banks of riverCauvery.[13][16] Appar has glorified the temple in nine poems referring the place as "Erumbiyur" and the deity as "Erubmiyur Eesan", meaning god of Erumbiyur.[16]Manickavasagar, a 9th-century Tamil saint and poet has revered Erumbeeswarar in his work,Thiruvasakam.Tiruverumbiyur Puranam is a religious work that describes the religious history of the temple.Ramalinga Swamigal (1823-74 CE) has revered Erumbeeswarar and the temple in his religious work,Thiruvarutpa.[5]
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