|
Name |
Thiru Chaaikaadu |
|
Vernacular Name |
Saaya Vanam |
|
District |
Nagapattinam |
|
State |
Tamilnadu |
|
Devaram |
Thiru Gnana Sambandhar Appar |
|
Position |
North of Kaveri – 09/276 |
|
Presiding deity |
Shiva |
|
God |
Chaaya Vaneshwarar Indreshwarar Rathina Chaaya Vaneshwarar Chaaya Vana Naadhar Chaaikaadu Udayaar |
|
Goddess |
Kuyilinum Ini Mozhi Ammai Kokilavani Goshambaal |
|
Speciality |
Vil Endhiya Velavan Eyarpagai Naayanar Charitram Sambaadhi Amman Kovil |
|
Sthala Vriksham |
Korai (Nut Grass) |
|
Theertham |
Airavatha Theertham Sangumuga Theertham Kaveri |
|
Worshipped by |
Indira Dev, Adhithi Devi, Eyarpagai Nayanmaar |
|
Temple timings |
7AM to 12PM 5PM to 8PM |
|
Contact details |
LORE:
What is the Lore of the temple?
The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Chaaya Vaneshwarar and His Devi is Kuyilinum Inn Mozhi Ammai.
Why does the Sthalam go by the name of Chaaya Vanam?
The land was once abundant with ‘Chaai’ grasses (also known as ‘Korai Pul’). Hence it got the name as Chaaya Vanam – The forest of the Nut Grass.
What is the speciality of this Shrine?
The shrine is said to be one of the six temples on par with The Kasi Viswanathar temple of Banaras. The other five being Thiruvaiyaru (51/276), Mayiladuthurai (102/274), Thiruvenkaadu (11/276), Thiruvidaimarudhur (93/276) and Thiru Vanjiyam (133/276).
This is the birthplace of Eyarpagai Naayanar and the shrine where he and his wife attained salvation.
What is the story of Eyarpagai Naayanar?
Eyarpagaiyaar was born in Poompuhar and was a wealthy merchant. He and his wife Karpinukkarasiyaar were ardent Shiva devotees. He had gained the name of Eyarpagaiyaar, which means “the one who goes against the natural order of things” because he never refused to give anything to saints who came seeking for food and shelter from him. His munificent patronage of Lord Shiva’s devotees was rather unconventionally capricious.
The Lord of Chaaya Vanam wanted to show the world about the devotion of Eyarpagaiyaar and elevate him to the status of Nayanmaar. He came in the guise of an old saint to Poompuhaar. He knocked the doors of Eyarpagaiyaar asking for alms.
Eyarapagaiyaar was more than happy to welcome the old saint into the house and asked him what was that he sought. The old saint told that he had heard of the great deeds of generosity of Eyarpagaiyaar and had travelled from quite afar to get what he wanted. Eyarpagaiyaar was exalted and promised to give the senile monk whatever he desired.
The saint then made a very peculiar demand. He told that he was from afar and had taken a vow of celibacy to serve the temple of Lord Shiva and that he had no wife and children to take care of him in his old age. Saying that he asked Eyarpagaiyaar to send his wife as a caretaker with the saint to his town.
Eyarpagaiyaar instantly obliged and went inside to talk to his wife. His wife, though initially shocked, quickly regained her composure and gracefully conceded to be the caretaker of the aging mendicant.
They were all set to leave Poompuhaar when the saint asked for one more favour from Eyarpagaiyaar. He told that as he was taking away Karpinukkarasiyaar as his personal caretaker, her relatives and the townsfolk might object and cause harm to him. So, he requested Eyarpagaiyaar to accost them till the edge of the town.
Eyarpagaiyaar dutifully obliged to the request. He took his sword and followed the saint who was leaving with Karpinukkarasiyaar. All her relatives and many of the irked townsfolk took to arms and chased after the apparently lecherous monk. But Eyarpagaiyaar was a skilled swordsman too and they were all slain by him with elan.
They reached the edge of the town, near Chaaya Vanam. The monk then thanked Eyarpagaiyaar for his kindness and asked him to go back because his job of protecting him was over. Eyarpagaiyaar turned back and started walking towards Poompuhaar.
Suddenly, he heard the monk scream. He rushed to the spot, assuming that someone from Poompuhaar had struck the monk down. To his surprise he and his wife saw the monk disappear and had the amazing darisanam of Lord Chaaya Vaneshwarar and Devi Goshaambal seated on the bull, in the sky.
The Lord blessed the couple and gave them salvation and elevated Eyarpagaiyaar as one of the 63 Nayanmaars. The relatives and townsfolk of Eyarpagai Nayanmaar who were slain by him were also given salvation. There is a statue for Eyarpagaiyaar and Karpinukkarasiyaar in the outer corridor of the Chaaya Vanam Temple.
Why is Devi called as Kuyilinum Ini Mozhi Ammai?
Once upon a time, Indra Dev’s mother, Devi Adhithi came to Chaaya Vanam to worship The Lord here. She was so enchanted with the shrine that she stayed back in admiration of the Lord and His regalia. Meanwhile, Indra Dev was searching for his mother and eventually found out that she was n Chaaya Vanam. He came down to the shrine and fell in love with The Lord and His temple.
He wanted to take away the temple to Swargam and summoned his mount, the elephant Airavatham to pull the temple skyward. He tied the thread to the temple and to The Lord and asked the elephant to pull. This sent tremors through the land.
Devi was shocked and cooed in a voice sweeter than that of a cuckoo. Chaaya Vaneshwarar heeded to Her pleas and asked Indra Dev to stop trying to move the temple and to stay here and worship Him. Indra realised his folly and stayed in the temple. Even to this date, he is seen in the outer Prahaaram with hands joined in obeisance to The Lord Chaaya Vaneshwarar. The scar of the rope used by Airavatham to pull The Lord is still seen on the Moolavar.
Thus, She is called as Kuyilinum Ini Mozhi Ammai – The Goddess whose voice is sweeter than that of the cuckoo.
How did Vil Endhiya Velavan come to Chaaya Vanam?
The most unique feature of the temple is the statue of Vil Endhiya Velavan. Lord Murugan, wielding the bow and arrow, in the stance ready for war is such an astounding sight to behold.
The base of the statue has the engraving “Sendhil Andavar”. Legend has it that the Dutch soldiers who came to invade India, stole this statue from the Thiruchendur Sendhil Andavar Temple and were homebound via the sea in 1648. The Bay of Bengal threw up a big storm to condemn this act of sacrilege.
The Dutch soldiers then thought that the rough tide might be due to the statue and deemed it to be cursed and they threw it into the sea. Several years later, the statue was found by the local fishermen and was then installed in Chaaya Vanam.
Vil Endhiya Velavan stands poised to strike down foes and is a feast for eyes. He wields the bow and arrow in two of His four arms. He also has the Veera-Kandara-Mani, the precious jewel of Valour, tied to his leg.
Devi Parvathy blessed Lord Murugan with Her Shakthi Vel and Lord Shiva is said to have blessed Him with the Veera-Kandara-Mani to be victorious against His battle with Tarakasuran.
The Jewel is sculpted on to the leg of Vil Endhiya Velavan and can be seen only during the Abhishegam and is otherwise hidden by His attire.
Who is Sambaadhi Amman?
Sambaadhi Amman is said to be the Kaaval Deivam (Protector of the Boundaries) of Poompuhaar.
She is described in the Manimekalai and was worshipped by Kannagi, Madhavi and Manimekalai. She is also called as Sambaagi Amman and Sambaabathi Amman by the locals. She is mentioned in the Silappadhigaaram and the Manimekalai as the Protector Goddess of the Town of Poompuhaar.
Her temple is in Chaaya Vanam, a few hundred metres away from the main temple, surrounded by lush greenery. The original temple is in ruins now and all that remains are the vine-laden dilapidated walls and a few statues. The family that lives there keeps the Moola Moorthy of Sambaagi Amman in a separate, brick-walled, small shrine and does Nithya Poojai to Her.
Our Experience:
We had planned to cover Thiruchaaikaadu (09/276) in the evening session. But, after Pallavaneswaram (10/276) we just wanted to make sure that the route was clear and decided to head to the temple as it was a mere 800 metres away.
To our surprise the outer corridor was open. The priest had left and hence the main shrines were closed, but still we had a beautiful darisanam of The Lord Chaaya Vaneshwarar and His Devi, Kuyilinum Ini Mozhi Ammai.
Vil Endhiya Velavan is seen standing in a separate shrine in front of The Sanctum sanctorum and we had drunk up every drop of His handsome visage to our heart’s content.
Chaaya Vanam is a fortified temple-complex and is a very serene locale. The Raja Gopuram has three tiers. And there are two beautiful archways with Vil-Endhiya-Velavan welcoming us into the temple-complex
The temple is also one of the 70 Maada koils built by the Chozha king, Kochengannan. A “Maada koil” is the form of architecture where the sanctum-sanctorum is at a higher level, accessible only by a flight of stairs and a narrow gateway, both of which precludes elephants from entering the temple and worshipping the deities. It is said that Kochengannan was a spider in his previous birth and had bitter enmity towards elephants. Hence, in this jenmam as the Chozha king, he built all temples as Maada Koils in remembrance of that enmity. Kochengannan’s previous birth as an arachnid and his conflict with pachyderms is associated with the legend of the Jambukeshwarar temple of Thiruvaanaikovil (60/276)
After being overwhelmed by the amount of divine grace we were showered in half-a-day (7 Paadal Petra Sthalangal) we decided to take a break and explore the coast of the forgotten port city of Poompuhaar.
We waltzed on the coast and went to the site where the river Kaveri entered the Bay of Bengal. Because of the recent rains, there was enough water in the river and we happily waded in the Sangama Theertham (the confluence of the river and the sea)
After a quick but filling meal, we decided to check into Chaaya Vanam once again, hoping that the priest would have come. He did not turn up till 4.30PM, hence we again went into the temple, saw The Lord and His Lady, sought their blessings and were on our way to the next temple for the evening session, Thalaichanga Naan Madhiyam (one of the 108 Vainava Divya Desangal)
Loads of love,
Karthick and Rahul.