Tirunallar
Encyclopedia
Thirunallar is a small town in Karaikal
, India
, in the Union Territory
of Pondicherry (better known in the Tamil language as Puducheri), and can be reached by road from the town of Kumbakonam
which lies in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu
. Thirunallar is most noted for the shrine of Lord Shani
(Saturn), Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple
within the temple dedicated to Lord Darbharanyeswaran, a form of Lord Shiva
.
(Saneeswaran, in Tamil). Whenever (planet) Saturn transits from one zodiac sign to another (an occurrence roughly every 2.5 years), millions throng this shrine for worship. The legendary King Nala is said to have been relieved of his afflictions caused by the malefic influence of Saturn, after worship in this temple. Of the numerous theertams (sacred bathing places), the Nala theertam is the most important one. It is believed that by bathing here, one washes off all kinds of misfortunes and afflictions caused by one's past karmas (in terms of deities, Lord Shani
or Saturn is said to be the dispenser of karmas (both good and bad), but also one whose Grace, particularly at this shrine, can dispel bad karmas or, at least, make them bearable).
language, Pachchai = evergreen, Padigam = decadal verse)
Thirunallar possesses one of the greatest pieces of Tamil
hymnal literature called "Pachchai Padigam". This hymn is written in praise of Lord Darbharanyeswaran. Story has it that in the 7th century C.E. (Common Era), in Madurai
, the capital of the Pandian Kingdom, the king
. During this time, Jainism was spreading in influence
in South India. Soon, all but his queen Mangaiyarkarasi and his minister Kulacchirai Nayanar - both staunch Saivaites (worshippers of Lord Shiva) had embraced Jainism
, forsaking the old religion. This caused immense agony to the queen and the minister who were anxious to reclaim both king and kingdom back into the fold of the traditional religion (Saivism).
To these two grief stricken individuals came news of the camping of boy saint Thirugnana Sambandar at Vedaranyam. Having heard of the miracles performed by this young Saivite saint in Thanjavur district, they sent an urgent invitation to him to visit Madurai and extricate the king and his subjects from the clutches of Jainism.
The arrival of the Saivate saint irked the Jains, who are said to have then set fire to his holy dwelling. But by his yogic powers, Sambandar had the heat transferred to the king, who consequently suffered in agony. The young saint then sang the Padigam 'Mandiramavadu Neeru' and sprinkled a few grains of holy ash on the right side of the king's body to alleviate the pain. The Jains in turn chanted the Aruga Mantra (Jain Mantra) and stroked the left side of the king's person with peacock feathers, but it only aggravated the pain! In response to entreaties by the king and his ministers, Sambandar applied a few more grains of the sacred ash to the king's left side also and the poor Pandian monarch, who only a little while ago was the very picture of suffering, misery and distress, now smiled gaily and was free of his burns.
But the Jains challenged the Saivites further, asking that the Mantras of both religions be written on palm leaves and consigned to flames to see which one survived the ordeal of fire (thereby showing superiority over the other). The Jains first placed their palm leaf onto the fire but it was soon consumed by the flames. Saint Thirugnana Sambandar placed on the flames one leaf containing the forty-ninth Padigam of the Tevaram
hymn which was sung at the shrine of Lord Darbharanyeswaran Shiva
at Thirunallar. The leaf remained untouched by the flames and maintained its evergreen freshness, reestablishing Saivism as the true religion in Pandian capital. Hence the glory of the Thirunallar temple.
Karaikal
Karaikal is a major port city of east coast of India and a municipality in Karaikal district in the Union Territory of Pondicherry, India. Several explanations are offered for the word 'Karaikal'. The imperial Gazetteer gives it the meaning 'fish pass'. According to Julien vinson the town is said...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, in the Union Territory
Union Territory
A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or...
of Pondicherry (better known in the Tamil language as Puducheri), and can be reached by road from the town of 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...
which lies in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. Thirunallar is most noted for the shrine of Lord Shani
Shani
Sanskrit Śhani शनि, Kannada Śhani ಶನಿ ದೇವರು,Shani/Sani , is one of the Navagraha or Jyotiṣa . Shani is embodied in the planet Saturn and is the Lord of Saturday....
(Saturn), Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple
Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple
Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple or Dharbaranyeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Sani located in Tirunallar in Karaikal district of Pondicherry, India. The presiding deity is Lord Siva, Dharbaranyeswar and the place Tirunallar was historically called Dharbaranyam...
within the temple dedicated to Lord Darbharanyeswaran, a form of Lord 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...
.
Shani
This is the only temple that is dedicated to Lord ShaniShani
Sanskrit Śhani शनि, Kannada Śhani ಶನಿ ದೇವರು,Shani/Sani , is one of the Navagraha or Jyotiṣa . Shani is embodied in the planet Saturn and is the Lord of Saturday....
(Saneeswaran, in Tamil). Whenever (planet) Saturn transits from one zodiac sign to another (an occurrence roughly every 2.5 years), millions throng this shrine for worship. The legendary King Nala is said to have been relieved of his afflictions caused by the malefic influence of Saturn, after worship in this temple. Of the numerous theertams (sacred bathing places), the Nala theertam is the most important one. It is believed that by bathing here, one washes off all kinds of misfortunes and afflictions caused by one's past karmas (in terms of deities, Lord Shani
Shani
Sanskrit Śhani शनि, Kannada Śhani ಶನಿ ದೇವರು,Shani/Sani , is one of the Navagraha or Jyotiṣa . Shani is embodied in the planet Saturn and is the Lord of Saturday....
or Saturn is said to be the dispenser of karmas (both good and bad), but also one whose Grace, particularly at this shrine, can dispel bad karmas or, at least, make them bearable).
Literature
The Story of the Pachchai Padigam (In the 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...
language, Pachchai = evergreen, Padigam = decadal verse)
Thirunallar possesses one of the greatest pieces of Tamil
Tamil 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...
hymnal literature called "Pachchai Padigam". This hymn is written in praise of Lord Darbharanyeswaran. Story has it that in the 7th century C.E. (Common Era), in Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
, the capital of the Pandian Kingdom, the king
Legend behind the temple
Ninraseernedumaran converted to JainismJainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
. During this time, Jainism was spreading in influence
in South India. Soon, all but his queen Mangaiyarkarasi and his minister Kulacchirai Nayanar - both staunch Saivaites (worshippers of Lord Shiva) had embraced Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
, forsaking the old religion. This caused immense agony to the queen and the minister who were anxious to reclaim both king and kingdom back into the fold of the traditional religion (Saivism).
To these two grief stricken individuals came news of the camping of boy saint Thirugnana Sambandar at Vedaranyam. Having heard of the miracles performed by this young Saivite saint in Thanjavur district, they sent an urgent invitation to him to visit Madurai and extricate the king and his subjects from the clutches of Jainism.
The arrival of the Saivate saint irked the Jains, who are said to have then set fire to his holy dwelling. But by his yogic powers, Sambandar had the heat transferred to the king, who consequently suffered in agony. The young saint then sang the Padigam 'Mandiramavadu Neeru' and sprinkled a few grains of holy ash on the right side of the king's body to alleviate the pain. The Jains in turn chanted the Aruga Mantra (Jain Mantra) and stroked the left side of the king's person with peacock feathers, but it only aggravated the pain! In response to entreaties by the king and his ministers, Sambandar applied a few more grains of the sacred ash to the king's left side also and the poor Pandian monarch, who only a little while ago was the very picture of suffering, misery and distress, now smiled gaily and was free of his burns.
But the Jains challenged the Saivites further, asking that the Mantras of both religions be written on palm leaves and consigned to flames to see which one survived the ordeal of fire (thereby showing superiority over the other). The Jains first placed their palm leaf onto the fire but it was soon consumed by the flames. Saint Thirugnana Sambandar placed on the flames one leaf containing the forty-ninth Padigam of 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...
hymn which was sung at the shrine of Lord Darbharanyeswaran 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...
at Thirunallar. The leaf remained untouched by the flames and maintained its evergreen freshness, reestablishing Saivism as the true religion in Pandian capital. Hence the glory of the Thirunallar temple.
Etymology
The name ThiruNallar(u) is believed to represent the association of King Nala of the Nishadha country who was delivered from the bad effects of Shani (Saturn) by invoking the Lord's mercy here (Nala + Aru = Nallaru). The word "Aru" here denotes "to heal" and the two words taken together means the place where Nala was redeemed from the (malefic) hold of Saturn through the Lord's Grace. Others are inclined to read the meaning 'between rivers' in the name Nal-Aru, as this place is situated amidst rivers Noolaru and Vanchiaru in the north, and Arasalaru in the south.External links
- http://thirunallar.in/
- http://karaikal.gov.in/SDS/shistory.htm (Information about Thirunallar at the Website of the Collectorate of Karaikal)
- http://www.indiantemples.com/Articles/Tirunall.html (Shrine in Thirunallar)
- http://www.pondyonline.com/user/NavagrahaTemples/Saturn.aspx
- http://www.thirunallarsaneeswaran.org/ (live Webcasting of Sanipeyarchi on 26th Sept 2009 )
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandyan_Dynasty