Friday, June 19, 2020

Sri Jalanatheeswarar Temple, Vellore



 












Moolavar: Sri Jalanatheeswarar
Amman: Sri Giriraja Kannikambhal
Place: Thakkolam, Vellore

This ancient temple is believed to have been built by king Rajaraja Chola-II.Periyapuranam refers to this place as “Kalikai Maanagar”.

Sage Theerkadar was born to Sage Udhadhi the brother of Jupiter (Guru) and Mamathai. Theerkadar was well educated and became a scholar. One day he saw the divine cow Kamadenu near his hermitage. He requested Kamadenu to come with him and assist him in a yajna that he was about to conduct. Kamadenu said that she could not oblige him without the permission of Lord Indira. The sage tried to tie her but she cursed him to become an ordinary, blind man who would spend the rest of his life doing menial jobs (“sandalan” in Tamil). In turn the sage cursed Kamadenu to become an ordinary animal losing her divine powers.

Sage Udhathi was saddened by the plight of his son. He came to this place on the advice of Maharishi Naradha, and worshiped the Lord Jalanatheeswarar. Lord Shiva gave dharisanam to the sage and advised him to pray to Nandhi and requested him to bring water from the holy Ganges to this place. He further advised the sage to perform abishekam with that holy water.

To carry out the lord’s wishes, Sage Udhathi installed a separate shiva lingam and a Nandhi near to the Jalanatheeswarar temple and started his penance. This Shivalingam is praised as Sri Gangadhareswarar and this temple is called Sri Gangadhareswarar temple. The Goddess of this temple is named as Sri Mohanavalli. It is believed that Nandhi was pleased with his penance and created a tank near this temple and filled it with water from the Ganges itself. He is believed to have channelled water from the Ganges through his mouth.
Thereafter the sage is believed to have performed abishekam to Lord Jalanatheeswarar with this water to complete his worship.  He also named the lord as “Thiruvooral Easwarar”. He also advised his son Theerkadar to take a dip in the water tank and pray to Lord Shiva. Thereafter Theerkadar is believed to have been relieved from Kamadenu’s curse.

Other Paadal Petra Shivasthalams near Thakkolam are – Ilambaiyangkottor (10 kms), Thiruvirkolam (16 kms), Thirumalpur (17 kms), Thirupachur (26 kms) and Thiruvenpakkam/Poondi (35 kms).

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