The shrine is praised in the hymns of saivite saints Sundarar and
Appar. This is the 34th shrine sung in Thevaram hymns on the northern
banks of Cauvery.
The temple is in the shape of a Rath Car. The left
wheel is stuck to the earth as Lord Vinayaka pressed it. Lord
Kunjithapada Nataraja graces with Mother Sivakami in a leaning
position. The life history of the celebrated saivite Nayanmars are
sculpted on the wall of the main shrine. The pleasing feature is
that Lord Arthanareeswara graces with Nandhi the bull vehicle on the right wall
while Lord Ranganatha is below. Special pujas are performed to Lord
Ranganatha on Vaikunda Ekadasi day in (December-January). On the back
wall, Lord Vishnu graces with a Shivalinga on His hand with Sri Andal,
Garudazhwar and Sri Anjaneya. Lord Muruga with His consorts Valli
and Deivanai graces on the opposite side. Saint Arunagiriar has sung
the praise he Lord of Muruga in this temple. Lord Gangadhara and
Lord Aalinganamurthy also grace from this ghoshta walls. Lord
Dakshinamurthi graces from the Vimna tower above the sanctum sanctorum with a
flute and Veena. Lord Vinayaka graces in the name of Aaravara
Vinayaka.
It is believed that all the nine planets pray to Lord Shiva in
this temple on their respective days. Accordingly, Lord Shiva is
dressed with clothes of different colours attributed to the
planets. The shrine is regarded as one meant to seek relief from
various planetary problems faced by devotees. The Navagraha shrine
is opposite to the shrine of Mother.
Mother VidhyuJothi Nayaki , VidyaSaraswathi, Jothi Mahalakshmi,
Nayaki Durga combining the powers of three Shaktis graces as Saraswathi with
Veena in the morning, with elephant as Mahalakshmi in midday and with trident
as Durga in the evenings. Hence the name
Vidyajothinayaki. Mother also has the name Jothi
Minnammai. Those seeking wedding and child boon worship Mother with
turmeric and bangles.
Saint Tirunavikkarasars hymn dedicating himself to the service of
Lord saying My job is only to serve my Lord was sung in this temple.
Lord Vrushaba Thandavamurthi graces in a dancing form on His
Nandhi Vrushab or bull vehicle is the procession deity with 10
hands. Special pujas are performed to Him on Pradosha days 13th day
of new moon or full moon day. His darshan is available only on this
day. In the peeta-stage below are Mother Parvathi, Lord Vishnu, Bhairava,
Veerabadra, Lord Vinayaka, Maharshis Narada, Brungi and Mruganda, Nandhi Deva,
Gandharvas a group in the celestial world known for musical skills and
Boodhaganas.
Lord Vinayaka, who destroyed the pride of Indira is in a separate
shrine with the name Aaravara Vinayaka as He created great noise by pressing
the Rath and taking the nectar pot Amirta Kalasa. He looks with an
indignant face with head leaning left.
Place for planet Mars: Before waging His war
against demon Surapanma, Lord Muruga visited this temple to worship mother and
get the bow. Hence, Muruga in the temple appears with a
bow. Planet Mars worshipped Lord Muruga here. Mars is a
procession deity here.
Lord Brhamma on the wall appears worshipping Lord
Shiva. Yama the Lord of Death and his assistant Chitra Gupta are on
both sides. Sage Patanjali is nearby holding Lord Nataraja on his
head showing his overwhelming joy of enjoying the dance darshan of the
Lord. Mother Durga appears without toe. Below Her are the
Meru Mount and the Sri Chakra installed by Acharya Sankara.
Devas who churned the nectar ocean began to consume it without
worshipping Lord Vinayaka who angrily took away the pot to teach them a
lesson. When He passed through this place, once a Kadamba forest, a
drop of nectar fell on the earth and it became a Swyambu
Linga. Realizing their folly, Indira and Devas came here and begged
Lord Vinayakas pardon who in turn advised them to worship Lord
Shiva. Lord Shiva, responding to their prayers gave them the nectar
and stayed here as Amirthakadeswarar Amirtha nectar, Kada the pot and Easwara
the Lord.
Athithi, mother of Devas was worshipping Lord Amirthakadeswarar
for granting the nectar to her children. Indira did not want to see
his mother coming to this place each day and wanted to take the Lord to his
Indraloka itself to help his mother. He changed the temple as a car
and tried to pull it towards his place. Lord Vinayaka pressed the
left wheel which got stuck to earth. Indiras attempts failed to
lift the car temple. He begged Lord Vinayaka for help who agreed to
let the temple if Indira installed a crore of Lingas. Indira took
the challenge with pride but every piece got damaged. Realizing his
pride, Indira fell at the Feet of Lord Amirthakadeswarar. Lord asked him
to make one Shivalinga chanting His name thousand times. Indira made
the Rudrakoteeswara Linga. Lord appeared before him and said that He
wishes to stay here itself and do the worship for his mother. Indira
obeyed. It is believed that Indira performs pujas to the Lord in
this temple each day.
Moolavar: Amirtha Kadeswarar
Urchavar: Somaskandar
Amman / Thayar: Vidyujothi
Nayaki, Abhirami
Thala Virutcham: Kadamba
tree
Theertham: Shakti
Theertha
Agamam / Pooja: Shivagama
Old year: 1000-2000
years old
Historical Name: Tirukadambur
This sivasthalam temple is located on the
Mayiladuturai Tarangambadi route. Tirukkadavur Mayanam,
another paadal petra sthalam is located at a distance of 2 Kms from here.
Tirukkadavur can be reached from Sirkazhi and Mayiladuthurai.
Tirukkadavur is one of the Attan
Veerattana Sthalams of Lord
Shiva. Shiva vanquished Yaman, the Lord of Death, at this sthalam to save the
life of Markandeya.
Sage Mrikandu and his wife prayed to Shiva for a child. Shiva gave
them a choice they could have a foolish son with a long life, or a short
lived, but intelligent child. They chose the latter, and soon had a smart
child, who came to be known as Markandeya. When, just before his 16th birthday,
he learnt that he would die soon, he left home, and stayed in the temple,
praying to Shiva, who was the one who had brought him to life. At the appointed
hour, Yama (or Kaala) arrived to take his soul, and threw his noose of death
over the child. Markandeya at once embraced the Shiva lingam, and the noose
fell over the lingam. Shiva was furious and came out of the lingam, kicking Yama
to death, thus stopping all death and saved Markandeya. However, with Yamas
death, there were no more deaths on earth, and Bhoomi Devi could bear the
burden no more. Finally, Shiva yielded to their prayers, resurrecting Yama, and
giving Markandeya eternal youth.
Thirukkadaiyur is the holy place where this legend is believed to
have taken place, and here, the main deity is called Amritaghateswarar the
lord with the pot of nectar, who can confer immortality. The legend is depicted
in the form of the bronze statue of Kaala Samhara Moorthy Markandeya
embracing the lingam out of which Shiva appears and kicks Yama.
The lower
portion of the statue showing the actual Samharam or killing of Yama is kept
closed and opened only during the Aarti. Right opposite the sanctum of Kaala
Samhara Moorthy is the sanctum of Yama, who is believed to be thanking the lord
for allowing him to live.The goddess here is Abirami, who is believed to have
answered the prayers of a great devotee of hers, Abirami Bhattar, by bringing the
full moon to the sky on a new moon night. It is believed that at this temple,
all the Navagrahas and even Yama owe their allegiance to Shiva, and hence
prayers to Shiva can solve all problems, and in particular, increase the life
span of people. The temple is at all times filled with multitudes of people who
arrive to perform special pujas and homams on their birthdays, especially their60th and 80th birthdays. Homams are conducted all day long, all around the
pragaram and inside the sanctum yet there are waiting lists. This is among the
most popular temples in the area.
Shivalinga in the temple is made of Navapashana nine herbals. The
rays of Sun fall on the Lord on 3, 4 and 5 of Panguni (March-April) and the rays
of Moon on the Apipasi Annabishekam day. It is said that Sani Baghwan had eagle
as his vahan the vehicle. It is said that Emperor Dasaratha gave him crow then
replacing the eagle. Hence, it is said that Sani Bhagwan Saturn in the temple
with the eagle vehicle belongs to the period prior to Ramayana days. Special
pujas are performed to him on Saturdays in the month of
Purattasi (September-October).
Shivrathri in (February-March), Aipasi Annabhishekam in
(October-November), Arudra Darshan or Margazhi Tiruvadhirai in (December-January),
feeding of Saint Gnanasambandar by Mother Parvathi in the month of Purattasi (September-October) are the festivals observed in the temple.
Those facing adverse effects of Mars planet pray in this
temple. Also those 60 years old (Sashti Aptha Poorthy) pray here for
longevity with Homas.
People facing problems due to Mars aspects pray to Lord Muruga
with red vastras. Special pujas are performed to Lord Muruga on Tuesdays with
Homas.
The temple is open from 7.30 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. and from 5.30 p.m.
to 7.30 p.m. For darshan during other hours.
Sri Amirthakadeswarar Temple, Malakadambur-608 304. Cuddalore
district. Contact Number - +91 264 638, 93456 56982.
Do:
- Do pray your Ishta Devata before pilgrimage to Temple.
- Do contact Temple Devasthanam information centre for enquiry, temple information and for Pooja details etc.
- Do reserve your travel and accommodation at Temple well in advance.
- Do bath and wear clean clothes before you enter the temple.
- Do concentrate on God and Goddess inside the temple.
- Do maintain silence and recite Om Namahsivaya or your Istamantram to yourself inside the temple.
- Do observe ancient custom and traditions while in Temple.
- Do respect religious sentiments at Temple.
- Do deposit your offerings in the hundi only.
Don't s:
- Do not come to Temple for any purpose other than worshipping of God and Goddess.
- Do not smoke at Temple.
- Do not consume alcoholic drinks at Temple.
- Do not eat non-vegetarian food in the Kshetram.
- Do not approach mediators for quick Darshanam. It may cause inconvenient to others.
- Do not carry any weapon inside the temple.
- Do not wear any head guards like helmets, caps, turbans and hats inside the temple premises.
- Do not perform Sastanga Pranama inside the Sanctum Sanctorum.
- Do not take much time while performing Sparsa Darshanam to God in Garbhagriha.
- Do not buy spurious prasadams from street vendors.
- Do not encourage beggars at Temple.
- Do not spit or create nuisance in the premises of the temple.