Vaitheeswaran Koil, Vaitheeswarankoil
Vaitheeswaran Koil is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in Tamil Nadu, India. Lord Shiva is worshipped as Vaidyanathar or Vaitheeswaran means 'God of healing' and it is believed that prayers to Vaitheeswaran can cure diseases. Vaitheeswaran Koil is one of the Navagraha (nine planets) Temples and is associated with the planet Angaraka (Mars). The village is also known for palm leaf astrology called Naadi astrology in Tamil. The holy waters of the Siddhamirtham tank within the temple complex contains nectar, and a holy dip is believed to cure all diseases. The temple received contributions from various rulers of the region like Vikrama Chola, Vira Rajendra Pandya, Achuthappa Nayak and Maratha prince Thulaja. The temple has five inscriptions mainly belonging to the period of Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 CE).
Vaitheeswarankoil is located 13 km from Mayavaram and 90 km from Thanjavur on the Thanjavur - Chidambaram highway. The temple is located between Sirkali to Mayiladuthurai State Highway. Frequent bus services are operated by Tamil Nadu government. There is a Railway station which is located between Chennai to Mayiladuthurai railway road. Karaikal is the nearest proposal airport located around 40 kilometer from temple. The temple has a five-tiered gopuram, two inner gopurams and large precincts. The central shrine is that of Vaitheeswaran present as lingam in the inner most sanctum. The first precinct around the sanctum has the metal image of Subramanya, worshipped here as Muthukumara Swamy. The other metal images in the sanctum are of Nataraja, Somaskanda, Angaraka and stone sculptures of Durga, Dakshinamoorthy, Surya, Jatayu, Sampati.
The shrine of Thaiyalnayaki in the second precinct facing south houses the image of Thiyalnayagi sported in standing posture with the medicinal oil to cure the diseases. The large precinct also has a small shrine to Dhanvantari and shrine of Angaraka in stone sculpture. The southern gateway from this precinct leads to the temple tank and directly faces the Thaiyalnayaki shrine. The Sthala Vriksha is margosa (Neem tree), believed to possesses medicinal properties and is present near the eastern gateway. The eastern gateway also has the shrine of Adi temple that has a smaller replica of the main shrines. There is a fine metal image of Gangavisarjanar inside the temple. The shrine of Angaraka is present near the Eastern gateway in the third precinct.
The temple is one of the nine Navagraha temples of Tamil Nadu and is a part of the popular Navagraha pilgrimage in the state - it houses the image of Angaraka. The planets are believed to influence the horoscope computed based on time of one's birth and subsequently influence the course of life. Each of the planets are believed to move from a star to another during a predefined period and thus sway over an individual's fortunes. As per Hindu customs, Navagrahas are believed to provide both good and bad effects for any individual and the bad effects are mitigated by prayers. As in other Navagraha temples, the common worship practises of the devotees include offering of cloth, grains, flowers and jewels specific to the planet deity. Lighting a set of lamps is also commonly followed in the temple. As per local legend, Shiva was doing penance at mount Meru when a drop of water fell from his forehead which turned into a beautiful child. Bhoomidevi brought up the child, who went on to become a staunch devotee of Shiva. Pleased by the devotion, Shiva turned him to a planet. Based on his colour, Angaraka is usually clad with red coloured cloth. The temple is revered by Tevaram hymns of saint poets Thirunavukkarasar and sambandar belonging to the 7th century. The poets name the towns where they found the temple in their hymns and Pullirukkuvelur finds a mention in their verses, corresponding to the temple. The hymns appear to recognise the function of the mantras as invocation of Shiva. In addition the hymns from Thirunavukkarasar likens Shiva to luminous objects - a flame, a pearl, a diamond and pure gold.
During the Ramayana period, Rama, Lakshmana and Saptarishis have worshipped the deity in this place. There is a pond at this temple called Jatayu Kundam. One of the nine planets, Angaraka suffered from leprosy and was cured by Vaidhyanathaswamy. From then it is treated as one of the Navagraha Temples for planet Angaraka. Parvati, the consort of Shiva, asked her son, Subramanya to appear with one face from his regular appearance of six faces. When he did so, she was pleased and presented him with Vel (a weapon) to slay the demons. Subramanya overcame the asura Surapadman and in the war, his army was severely injured. Shiva came out as the healer Vaitheeswaran and cured the wounds. Jatayu, Muruga and Surya were all believed to have worshipped Shiva here. As Murugan obtained a Vel trident at this place, he is called Selvamuthu Kumaran. As per popular legend, 'Pul' (Jatayu), 'Irukku' (Irukkuvedam)', 'Vel' (representing Muruga) and 'Ooor' (place) worshipped in the place and hence it came to be known as 'Pullirukavelur'.
Photography, Videography & Live Coverage by Sri Photos - https://www.sri.photos/