Sivagurunathaswamy Temple
Encyclopedia
The Sivagurunathaswamy temple one of the Padal petra stalam
, Hindu
God, Shiva
temples reverred by 7th Century poets mentioned in the Tevaram
. It is located in Sivapuram near Kumbakonam
.
on the way to Thiruvarur.
. The temple is one of the 67 sthalams or holy abodes mentioned in the Thevaram located in the ancient Chola kingdom
. The deity
is also referred to as Sivagurunathar or Sivapuranathar. According to different legends, Vishnu
, Brahma
and Kubera
had worshipped Shiva here at different times. As Kubera is believed to have worshipped here, the village is also known as Kuberapuri.
The present temple in the village dates back to the Later Chola period and covers an area of 1.3 acres (5,260.9 m²). The principal shrine is dedicated to Lord Shiva who is worshipped by a sculpted figurine of Vishnu in his Varaha
Avatar
. There are also shrines dedicated to Subrahmanya, Gajalakshmi
and Bhairava
.
It is also believed that a shivalingam lies buried at this spot. This shivalingam was worshipped by the Saivite saint Tirugnanasambandar.
, Tirugnanasambandar, Somaskandar, Pillaiyar
and two other goddesses from the Later Chola period were recovered by a farmer Annamuthu Padaiyachi in his field. The farmer alerted government authorities about his find and handed the idols to the authorities. On October 10, 1953, the District Collector of Thanjavur donated the idols to the Sivagurunathasamy temple to be installed along with other deities. On receipt of the idols, the temple authorities commissioned sculptor Ramasamy Sthapathi to repair the idols. The idols were subsequently returned to the temple after the repairs had been carried out.
Some time later, Dr. Douglas Barrett of the British Museum
, who had visited the temple in 1961, wrote in his book South Indian Bronze that the Nataraja idol in the Sivagurunathaswamy temple was fake and that the original idols were in the possession of a private art collector in the United States of America. This claim prompted the Government of Tamil Nadu to send S. Krishnaraj, Deputy Inspector General, CID
, to the USA to investigate the claim. As the outcome of Krishnaraj's investigations, a case was registered at the Natchiyar Koil police station.
The case was entrusted to the Crime Branch CID and investigations were carried out with the assistance of the Scotland Yard
. It was found that in 1956, one Thilakar of Kuthalam
and his brother Doss had persuaded Ramasamy Sthapathi to lend the six idols to them in return for six fake ones which Ramasamy had returned to the temple authorities. The idols were purchased by a private art collector Lance Dane of Bombay who kept the idols in his possession for a decade before selling them to Bomman Beharan. The idols eventually made their way to the United States where in 1973 they were purchased by Norton Simon Foundation for $900,000.
The Indian police arrested Lance Dane, Thilakar, Doss and Ramasamy Sthapathy. Meanwhile, the Scotland Yard found out that the actual Nataraja idol was in the possession of Mrs. Anna Plowden of England. The Government of India filed a civil suit against the Norton Simon Foundation. The Tamil Nadu government approached the Government of the United States of America through India's Ministry of External Affairs. The Nataraja idol was handed over to Dr. M. S. Nagaraja Rao, the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India
in 1987 and is currently present in a safe-vault in the Kapaleeswara temple
, Mylapore
, Chennai
.
Padal petra stalam
The Paadal Petra Sthalams are 275 temples that are revered in the verses of Saiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE and are amongst the greatest Shiva temples of the continent...
, Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
God, Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
temples reverred by 7th Century poets mentioned in the Tevaram
Tevaram
The Tevaram denotes the first seven volumes of the Tirumurai, the twelve-volume collection of Tamil Saivite devotional poetry. All seven volumes are dedicated to the works of the three most prominent Tamil poets - Campantar , Appar and Cuntarar...
. It is located in Sivapuram near Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam , also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India , is a town and a special grade municipality in the Thanjavur district in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam...
.
Location
Sivapuram is located 5 kilometres south-east of the town and taluk headquarters of KumbakonamKumbakonam
Kumbakonam , also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India , is a town and a special grade municipality in the Thanjavur district in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam...
on the way to Thiruvarur.
The temple
Sivapuram is famous for the Sivagurunathaswamy temple dedicated to the Hindu god ShivaShiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. The temple is one of the 67 sthalams or holy abodes mentioned in the Thevaram located in the ancient Chola kingdom
Chola Kingdom
Chola was a powerful southern kingdom. They were mentioned in both great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. They were believed to have some link with the Sivi or Sibi clan, situated along with the Sindhu Sauviras. In the time of recorded history, Chola kingdom grew into a powerful empire...
. The deity
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
is also referred to as Sivagurunathar or Sivapuranathar. According to different legends, Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
, Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
and Kubera
Kubera
Kubera , also spelt Kuber, is the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology. He is regarded as the regent of the North , and a protector of the world His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of...
had worshipped Shiva here at different times. As Kubera is believed to have worshipped here, the village is also known as Kuberapuri.
The present temple in the village dates back to the Later Chola period and covers an area of 1.3 acres (5,260.9 m²). The principal shrine is dedicated to Lord Shiva who is worshipped by a sculpted figurine of Vishnu in his Varaha
Varaha
Varaha is the third Avatar of the Hindu Godhead Vishnu, in the form of a Boar. He appeared in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the Earth and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean in the story. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to...
Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
. There are also shrines dedicated to Subrahmanya, Gajalakshmi
Gajalakshmi
Gajalakshmi, that is Lakshmi with elephants, is one of the most significant Ashtalakshmi aspects of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. In this aspect, the goddess is depicted seated on a lotus, flanked on both side by an elephant . She is shown as seated in Padmasana yogic posture, and has four arms...
and Bhairava
Bhairava
Bhairava , sometimes known as Bhairo or Bhairon or Bhairadya or Bheruji , Kaala Bhairavar or Vairavar , is the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation...
.
It is also believed that a shivalingam lies buried at this spot. This shivalingam was worshipped by the Saivite saint Tirugnanasambandar.
Idol theft
In 1951, idols of 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...
, Tirugnanasambandar, Somaskandar, Pillaiyar
Ganesa
Ganesa can be:* Ganesa, alternate spelling of Ganesha, the Hindu god.* Ganesa , a genus of marine snails in the family Turbinidae....
and two other goddesses from the Later Chola period were recovered by a farmer Annamuthu Padaiyachi in his field. The farmer alerted government authorities about his find and handed the idols to the authorities. On October 10, 1953, the District Collector of Thanjavur donated the idols to the Sivagurunathasamy temple to be installed along with other deities. On receipt of the idols, the temple authorities commissioned sculptor Ramasamy Sthapathi to repair the idols. The idols were subsequently returned to the temple after the repairs had been carried out.
Some time later, Dr. Douglas Barrett of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, who had visited the temple in 1961, wrote in his book South Indian Bronze that the Nataraja idol in the Sivagurunathaswamy temple was fake and that the original idols were in the possession of a private art collector in the United States of America. This claim prompted the Government of Tamil Nadu to send S. Krishnaraj, Deputy Inspector General, CID
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
, to the USA to investigate the claim. As the outcome of Krishnaraj's investigations, a case was registered at the Natchiyar Koil police station.
The case was entrusted to the Crime Branch CID and investigations were carried out with the assistance of the Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
. It was found that in 1956, one Thilakar of Kuthalam
Kuthalam
Kuthalam is a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Indian Railways has this town as "Kutralam" with station code as "KTM" in its records. People often call this by its commercial name "Kuttalam" which has clash with another town Kuttalam in Tamil Nadu, which...
and his brother Doss had persuaded Ramasamy Sthapathi to lend the six idols to them in return for six fake ones which Ramasamy had returned to the temple authorities. The idols were purchased by a private art collector Lance Dane of Bombay who kept the idols in his possession for a decade before selling them to Bomman Beharan. The idols eventually made their way to the United States where in 1973 they were purchased by Norton Simon Foundation for $900,000.
The Indian police arrested Lance Dane, Thilakar, Doss and Ramasamy Sthapathy. Meanwhile, the Scotland Yard found out that the actual Nataraja idol was in the possession of Mrs. Anna Plowden of England. The Government of India filed a civil suit against the Norton Simon Foundation. The Tamil Nadu government approached the Government of the United States of America through India's Ministry of External Affairs. The Nataraja idol was handed over to Dr. M. S. Nagaraja Rao, the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India is a department of the Government of India, attached to the Ministry of Culture . The ASI is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of archaeological heritage of the country in accordance with the various acts of the Indian Parliament...
in 1987 and is currently present in a safe-vault in the Kapaleeswara temple
Kapaleeshwarar temple
Kapaleeshwarar Temple is a temple of Shiva located in Mylapore, a suburb of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The form of Shiva's wife Parvati worshipped at this temple is called Karpagambal...
, Mylapore
Mylapore
Mylapore is a cultural hub and neighborhood in the southern part of the city of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, India. Earlier, Mylapore used to be called Vedapuri....
, 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...
.