Thiruverumbur
Thiruverumbur - Erumbeeswarer Temple
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 the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as nayanmars
and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.
Thiruverumbur – Sri Erumbeeswarer
Temple
|
|
Main Deity
|
Lord Shiva
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Name
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Sri
Erumbeeswarar
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Goddess Name
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Sri Narunguzhal Nayagi Amman
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Location
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Thiruverumbur
(Trichy – Tanjore Road)
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Significance
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Paadal Petra Sthalam
Kaverikarai Sivasthalam
Malaikovil
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Ancient
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Built
by Aditya Chola
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Travel Base
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Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
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Near By
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Tiruchirappalli,
BHEL
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According to Hindu legend, there lived a demon (asura)
Tharukasuran, who conquered Prithvi (earth) and Svarga (heaven). Indra, the
leader of celestial deities and other gods suffered at the hands of
Tharukasuran and sought the help of the creator-god Brahma, who asked them to
worship Shiva in Thiruverumbur. In order to deceive Tharukasuran, the devas
transformed into ants and reached the temple. Since the surface of the lingam
(an iconic 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 name Erumbeeswarar is
derived from Erumbu meaning ant and Easwaran referring to Shiva.
This is one of
the three places where Shiva slid his head for his worshippers, the other two
being the temples at Virinjipuram and Thiruppanandal. The temple is also
referred as Rathinakoodam, Thirverumbipuram, Erumbeesam, Brahmapuram,
Laskhmipuram, Madhuvanam, Rathnakoodapuram, Manikoodapuram and Kumarapuram in
various religious literature.
The temple is one in a series built by Aditya Chola (871-907 CE) along the banks of river Cauvery, to commemorate his victory in the Tirupurambiyam Battle. It has several inscriptions from the Chola Empire dating back to the 10th century. The temple has been declared a protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India and is locally referred as "Kailash of South India". The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 am to 8:00 pm, and three yearly festivals in its calendar.
Every full moon, tens of thousands of pilgrims worship Erumbeeswarar by circumambulating the hill barefoot in a practise called girivalam. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. This Temple has been declared as Ancient monuments by ASI, Archaeological survey of India.
How To Reach :
Thiruverumbur - Erumbeeswarer Temple
Malaikoil, Thiruverumbur,
Tamil Nadu 620013, India
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