| Vaseeswarar Temple | |
|---|---|
Thirupasoor Temple | |
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Tiruvallur |
| Deity | Vaseeswarar(Shiva) |
| Location | |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
  Location inTamil Nadu | |
| Coordinates | 13°08′27″N79°52′34″E / 13.14083°N 79.87611°E /13.14083; 79.87611 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Chola architecture |
Vaseeswarar Temple (also calledPasoornathar Temple,Thirupasoor temple) is aHindu temple dedicated to the deityShiva, located inThirupasoor, a village inTiruvallur district in theSouth Indian state ofTamil Nadu. Shiva is worshiped as Vaseeswarar, and is represented by thelingam. His consortParvati is depicted as Pasupathinayagi. The temple is located on the Southern banks ofPoondi reservoir on the Thiruvallur - Thiruthani road, 5 km (3.1 mi) away from the town. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th-century CE Tamil Saiva canonical work, theTevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as thenayanmars and classified asPaadal Petra Sthalam.
The temple complex covers an area of one acre and all its shrines are enclosed with concentric rectangular walls. The temple has a number of shrines, with those of Vaseeswarar, his consort Pasupathi Nayaki and that of Murugan being the most prominent.
The temple has three daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and four yearly festivals on its calendar. Brahmotsavam festival during theTamil month ofVaikasi (May - June) is the most prominent festival celebrated in the temple.
The original complex is believed to have been built byCholas, while the present masonry structure was built during the 16th century. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by theHindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of theGovernment of Tamil Nadu.
As per Hindu legend, the place was once a bamboo forest. A cow at this place was pouring it milk on a mound in an elevated place. The shepherd informed the king about the event and the king dug the place with a tool called Vasi. Blood was oozing out of the place and the king and the troops were taken aback. The enemies left a pot of snakes and a snake charmer came and rescued the king. Shiva appeared in the dreams of the king that night and informed him that the snake charmer was none other than Shiva himself. The king was much pleased and built a temple housing theLinga found in the place. The tilted feature of the image in the temple is believed to have been caused by the tool Vasi.[1]
Another legend is that once, whileVishnu andBrahma contested for superiority, Shiva appeared as a flame, and challenged them to find his source. Brahma took the form of a swan, and flew to the sky to see the top of the flame, while Vishnu became the boarVaraha, and sought its base. The scene is calledlingothbava, and is represented in the western wall at the sanctum of most Shiva temples. Neither Brahma nor Vishnu could find the source, and while Vishnu conceded his defeat, Brahma lied and said he had found the pinnacle. In punishment, Shiva ordained that Brahma would never have temples on earth in his worship. Thazhambu, the flower which was helping Brahma, was also punished for lying about Shiva. The flower was cursed that it won't be used during the worship of Shiva, but an exception was given duringShivaratri festival in the temple.[1]
The original complex is believed to have been built byCholas, while the present masonry structure was built during the 16th century. There are inscriptions from laterChola emperors likeRajaraja Chola I (985–1014 CE),Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE) andRajendra Chola III (1246–1279 CE).[2] The first among the five inscriptions is the one on the northern wall of the sanctum indicating an agreement between Rajadhirajadeva and the temple priest with regards to the temple service. The second one is a broken inscription on the Western wall indicating grant of paddy to the temple by a private party during the third regnal year ofKulothunga Chola I (1070-1122 CE). Another inscription on the same wall indicates a gift during his fourth regnal year. The third recorded inscription on the same wall is during the reign ofRaja Raja Chola I (985-1014 CE). The last inscription on the Western wall of the temple accounts the grants made for the perpetual lighting of the temple made during the reign of Sri Kulothunga Chola Deva, which could have been done during either of the Kulothunga Cholas.[3]
Vaseeswarar temple is located in a village calledThirupasoor, around 5 km (3.1 mi) fromThiruvallur on the Thiruvallur - Thiruthani road. The temple has a five-tieredgopuram facing South, the gateway tower and all the shrines of the temple are enclosed in concentric rectangular granite walls. The central shrine is approached through the side doors facing South axial to the gateway tower through Parvathi, Murugan and Vinayaka shrines, all of which are parallel to the Shiva shrine. The central shrine facing East houses the image of Vaseeswarar in the form ofLingam. The image has a mark of tool attack and is tilted towards left. Thevimana, the roof over the sanctum is Gajabrusta in design (like that of an elephant's seated posture). The shrine of Pasupathi Nayagi (also called Mohanambal), facing East has agopuram type roof. The central shrine is approached through a Mahamandapam and Arthamandapam. As in other Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu, the shrines ofVinayaka,Murugan,Navagraha, Chandekeswara andDurga are located around the precinct of the main shrine. The second precinct has a four pillared hall and garden around the periphery of the compound wall.[1] There are image ofSaptamatrika and Srichakra consecrated byAdi Shankara in the temple.[4]
Tirugnana Sambandar, a 7th-century TamilSaivite poet, venerated Vaseeswarar in ten verses inTevaram, compiled as theFirst Tirumurai.Appar, an 8th-century nayanmar, also venerated Idaiyatreeswarar in 10 verses inTevaram, compiled as theThird Tirumurai. As the temple is revered inTevaram, it is classified asPaadal Petra Sthalam, one of the 275 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon.[4]
The temple priests perform thepuja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. The temple rituals are performed three times a day;Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m.,Uchikalam at 12:00 a.m. andSayarakshai at 6:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps:abhisheka (sacred bath),alangaram (decoration),naivethanam (food offering) anddeepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for Vaseeswarar and Gnanambigai. Unlike other Shiva temples, anointing with oil is not performed in the temple.[4] There are weekly rituals likesomavaram (Monday) andsukravaram (Friday), fortnightly rituals likepradosham, and monthly festivals likeamavasai (new moon day),kiruthigai,pournami (full moon day) andsathurthi. Brahmotsavam during theTamil month ofVaikasi (May - June) is the most important festivals of the temple.[1][4]
