Temple info -3221. Thirumayiladi Sundareswarar temple,Kollidam. திருமயிலாடி சுந்தரேஸ்வரர் கோயில்,கொள்ளிடம்
Temple info -3221
கோயில் தகவல்-3221
Thirumayiladi Sundareswarar Temple : Thirumayiladi is around 1 Km from Kollidam which is on the Chidambaram-Sirkazhi main road. The distance from the former is 16 Km and the latter is 10 Km. We are visiting the Sri Bruhannayakis ( I have knowingly put the plural) sametha Sri Sundareswarar temple. It is also a late Chozha temple as this does not find a mention in Thevaram. It is open from 6 am to noon and from 4 to 8 pm. The contact numbers are 097881 96206 and 099440 76940. The sthala vruksham is Vanni and the theertham, Pushpakaranya Theertham.
When the temple work was taken up several centuries ago, the Ambal idol was being sculpted. Unfortunately, one of Her toes was damaged. Hence the sculptor kept it aside and made a new idol and it was to be installed in the temple. The day before the installation, Ambal came in the dream of the sculptor and asked him whether he would disown his mother for reasons like old age, ill health etc and keep her aside. The sculptor realised the mistake and it was decided to install both the Ambals in this temple in two separate shrines. Hence I used plural in the first paragraph. I have seen other temples with two Ambals, but with different names. This is an unique temple where She is present in two forms but with a single name! ( However, the locals in order to make identification easier, call Them Bruhannayaki and theTamil equivalent, Periyanayaki.)
There are two Vinayakars present on the banks of the Theertham. While Sundara Vinayakar was installed by a holy man named Neetheesan ( he was permitted to reach Shiva Padam with human body with the blessings of Sundara Vinayakar.) The other Vinayakar is called Kanva Vinayakar as He was worshipped by Sage Kanvar. ( this is responsible for the old name of this place Kannuvachipuram). This Vinayakar is believed to have given the power of speech to a dumb boy, Nikamanthan. Later this boy became a scholar and an ardent Shiva devotee called Nikamantha Sivachariar. This kind of presence of two Ganesas on the banks of theertham, is rare and hence it is suggested as the appropriate place to conduct Sraddha ceremonies ( Thithi).
Once there was a playful act between Shiva and Parvathi as to who was more beautiful/handsome. When Parvathi repeatedly claimed that She was more beautiful, Shiva disappeared from Kailash. In order to unite back with Him, Ambal took the form of a peacock and started dancing in this place. Pleased with Her dance, Lord appeared before Her in His magnificent best and hence He is called Sundareswarar here. Since Ambal danced as a peacock, the place came to be called Thiru Mayiladi (Mayil in Tamil means peacock).
Despite its fame as a Shiva temple, it is equally well known for its Murugan shrine. As per the legends, Murugan was sent to destroy Soorapadman and his brothers. When Muruga fought with one of them, the demon performed a tantric homa called Abhisara Yagnam and created Jura Devatha and pointed it towards the Devas. Devas were afflicted with high fever and could not fight. Subramanya realised what was happening and came here and created the theertha with His spear. He sat facing the Northern Direction and prayed to His mother. Parvathi summoned Seethala Devi (though this goddess is not that well known in South, She is well known in Western India and She is believed to control illness, especially the viral ones like pox). Seethala Devi contained Jura Devatha and Muruga won the war.
After defeating the Asuras, Murugan acceded to Soorapadman’s request to keep him as his vehicle (vahana) peacock. Hence we find the peacock as Vahanam in most of the temples. Here, in the Utsava Murthy, He does not sit on the peacock; instead,the peacock is under the Feet of Murugan, with his neck twisted and looking at the Lord! ( As per belief, Soorapadman represents arrogance and it cannot be completely removed, but only could be controlled.) Generally we find Murugan shrines in the western prakaram, facing East. This is an unusual temple where He faces North. Devotees are advised to worship Him facing South and this is believed to cure several problems including the sins from the previous births.
As mentioned earlier, this is a Shiva temple. Hence Lord Sundareswarar is in the central shrine facing East. The two shrines of the Ambal are side by side, facing south. In the koshtam, Dakshinamurthy is present. He is in an unusual posture-generally He sits with a leg dangling; here He is in Padmasana. This is perhaps the only kshetra where the Padmasana pose is seen. The shrines of other deities-Kumara Vinayaka (adjoining the Balasubramanya shrine), Natarajar with Sivakami, Saneeswaran and Navagrahams are in the prakaram. The Durga is called Brahma Durga in this temple. Since both Shiva and Murugan are prominent in this temple, festivals associated with both of Them are celebrated here. Note: Photos and some of the inputs were collected from various websites.
![]() |
Vimanam |
![]() |
Balasubramanian |
![]() |
Gopuram |
![]() |
Inside the temple |
![]() |
Nandi |
![]() |
Natarajar with Sivakami |
![]() |
Padmasana Dakshinamurthy |
![]() |
Swamy Sundareswarar |
![]() |
Comments
Post a Comment