Marundeeswarar Temple
Encyclopedia
Marundeeswarar Temple is a legendary temple located in the breezy area of Thiruvanmiyur
, Chennai
adjacent to the beach of Bay of Bengal
. This is the biggest temple in Thiruvanmiyur. This is a magnificent temple built for Lord Shiva, in his incarnation of Lord Marundeeswarar. Lord Marundeeswarar is said to have the power to heal. This is one of the great Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu.
, who wrote The Ramayana
, came here to The Marundeeswarar temple to worship The Lord. Sage Valmiki was said to be blessed here. After this incident, this place was to be known as Thiruvalmikiyur, after a long period of time, the name gradually changed to Thiruvanmiyur. There is a place present in Thiruvanmiyur called Valmiki Nagar in his honour. There is also a temple built for Sage Valmiki in the middle of the East Coast Road. The temple is built very close to the Marundeeswarar temple. It came as a surprise that the builders of the ECR
(East Coast Road
) had even considered demolition of the temple of Sage Valmiki in order to complete the project (of building the ECR). The high court of Tamil Nadu then directed that the temple be in its place and not to disturb it.
The lingam for which Lord Hanuman performed pooja, The lingam(meenakshisundareswarar) that cured the curse of Lord Indra, the Lingam for which Saint Bharadwaja performed pooja are present here. Markandeyar performed a penance and prayed to lord Shiva here, Lord Brahma is believed to have conducted a festival here for lord Shiva.
Even lot of people from far away places like Orissa frequently come to this place.
. Lord Nataraja is supposed to be Lord Shiva in his dancing form. Lord Theyagaraja and Lord Nataraja are the only forms of Lord Shiva in which he is not in the Lingam form. The last shrine is for Lord Marundeeswarar's consort, Goddess Thirupurasundari, who is actually Goddess Parvati
. (The order of shrines given is the order which is supposed to be followed while worshipping the idols). The sculpture of the temple is accurate, and has a lot of detail in it.
. In the Mahamandapam where The deity resides, there are 108 lingams, and the replicas of the five lingams of the five elements. The divine cow Kamadhenu is believed to deliver milk to the lingam daily and hence the lingam is white. Another name for the lingam is 'Paalvannanathar' (in Tamil, 'Paal' means milk, 'Vanna' means colour). And hence, Paalvannanathar means 'one whose colour is that of milk'. Other names of the Lord here are Oushadheeswarar, Marundheesar, Vedapureeswarar. The Goddess or ambal is known as Thirupurasundari, Chokkanayagi and Sundaranayagi.
Holy Tree of the Shrine
Vanni
Theertham
Jenmanasini, Kamanasini, Pavanasini, Gnanadhayini, Motchadhayini are the five therthams here.
Thiruvanmiyur
-Transport:The area is easily accessible by Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses and has a sprawling bus terminus. Bus Routes connecting Thiruvanmiyur with other places in Chennai are: 1, 1A, 1C, 1D, 6D, 22A, 23C Extn., 29M,29C Extn., 41C, A47, 47A, 47D, M1, M49, M7, C51, T51, M23, M19, M70,...
, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
adjacent to the beach of Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
. This is the biggest temple in Thiruvanmiyur. This is a magnificent temple built for Lord Shiva, in his incarnation of Lord Marundeeswarar. Lord Marundeeswarar is said to have the power to heal. This is one of the great Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu.
Mythology
Lord Marundeeswarar is known so because he taught sage Agastya about some magical medicine. Since then The Marundeeswarar temple has been a place of worship for people with diseases and various problems with their health. It is said that even The Sage ValmikiValmiki
Valmiki is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the Adi Kavi, which means First Poet, for he discovered the first śloka i.e...
, who wrote The Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, came here to The Marundeeswarar temple to worship The Lord. Sage Valmiki was said to be blessed here. After this incident, this place was to be known as Thiruvalmikiyur, after a long period of time, the name gradually changed to Thiruvanmiyur. There is a place present in Thiruvanmiyur called Valmiki Nagar in his honour. There is also a temple built for Sage Valmiki in the middle of the East Coast Road. The temple is built very close to the Marundeeswarar temple. It came as a surprise that the builders of the ECR
ECR
ECR can stand forAssociations* Efficient Consumer Response, a trade and industry body* US Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution* European Conservatives and Reformists, a grouping within the European UnionRadio:...
(East Coast Road
East Coast Road
East Coast Road is a two lane highway in Tamil Nadu, India, built along the coast of the Bay of Bengal connecting Chennai to Cuddalore via Pondicherry. Presently, the East Coast Road has been extended up to Thoothukudi via Chidambaram, Karaikal, Nagore, Nagapattinam, Thiruthuraipoondi, Muthupet,...
) had even considered demolition of the temple of Sage Valmiki in order to complete the project (of building the ECR). The high court of Tamil Nadu then directed that the temple be in its place and not to disturb it.
The lingam for which Lord Hanuman performed pooja, The lingam(meenakshisundareswarar) that cured the curse of Lord Indra, the Lingam for which Saint Bharadwaja performed pooja are present here. Markandeyar performed a penance and prayed to lord Shiva here, Lord Brahma is believed to have conducted a festival here for lord Shiva.
Even lot of people from far away places like Orissa frequently come to this place.
The Temple History
Marundeeswarar temple belongs to the Chola period and occupies an area of about 1 acres (4,046.9 m²). The temple is believed to be built somewhere in the 7th century A.D.Tirugnanasambandar and Tirunavukkarasar the Saint Saivite Poets have visited and sung the praises of this temple, testifying its existence during their lifetime - about a 1200 years ago. Arunagirinathar has visited this temple and has sung praises of Subramanya here. Stone inscriptions dating back to the 11th century AD are found in abundance in this temple. The origins and antiquity of this temple is corroborated by the inscriptions found in other temples in the city namely Kapaleeswarar Temple, Virupaksheeswarar Temple etc. which bear testimony to Tiruvanmiyur�s exalted existence aeons back. This temple held an exalted position for centuries and it gradually fell in repair. Temple renovations started from the beginning of the 20th century. A new life has been put into this ancient worshipping place , first in the year 1903 and then in 1970's.The Temple
Located in the southern part of chennai city this famous temple is a Paadal Petra Sthalam with Thirugnanasambandhar and Thirunavukkarasar having delivered Paasurams here.The Architecture
The temple has two entrances, one from East Coast Road and the other from West Tank Street. The Entrance from the West Tank Street has got three gates whereas the entrance from the East Coast Road has only one gate.The Shrines
The temple has smaller Shrines for Lord Ganesha, Lord Murugan, Lord Shiva, which has the idols of Lord Shiva in his three forms, Lord Theyagaraja, Lord Marundeeswarar, and Lord NatarajaNataraja
Nataraja or Nataraj , The Lord of Dance; Tamil: கூத்தன் ;Telugu:నటరాజ is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the cosmic dancer Koothan who performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for god Brahma to start the process of creation...
. Lord Nataraja is supposed to be Lord Shiva in his dancing form. Lord Theyagaraja and Lord Nataraja are the only forms of Lord Shiva in which he is not in the Lingam form. The last shrine is for Lord Marundeeswarar's consort, Goddess Thirupurasundari, who is actually Goddess Parvati
Parvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
. (The order of shrines given is the order which is supposed to be followed while worshipping the idols). The sculpture of the temple is accurate, and has a lot of detail in it.
The Deities
The Primary deity, The Marundeeswarar Lingam is said to be naturally formed and not sculpted by anyone. This formation is known as svayambhu or Idumbu in TamilTamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
. In the Mahamandapam where The deity resides, there are 108 lingams, and the replicas of the five lingams of the five elements. The divine cow Kamadhenu is believed to deliver milk to the lingam daily and hence the lingam is white. Another name for the lingam is 'Paalvannanathar' (in Tamil, 'Paal' means milk, 'Vanna' means colour). And hence, Paalvannanathar means 'one whose colour is that of milk'. Other names of the Lord here are Oushadheeswarar, Marundheesar, Vedapureeswarar. The Goddess or ambal is known as Thirupurasundari, Chokkanayagi and Sundaranayagi.
Holy Tree of the Shrine
Vanni
Theertham
Jenmanasini, Kamanasini, Pavanasini, Gnanadhayini, Motchadhayini are the five therthams here.