Thirukkadaiyur (Thirukadavur) is a village on the east coast of Tamil Nadu, about 300 km south of Chennai and 15 km north of Karaikal. The history of the village is associated with the legends of Markandeya and Abirami Pattar. The village is centered around Amritaghateswarar - Abirami Temple of Tirukkadaiyur, which is a replica. The original temple, Thirumeignanam Gnanaparameswarar Temple,[1] called Thirumeignanam, built in the 11th century, was ravaged by the sea, and is in ruins now. People worship and pray at Thirukkadaiyur temple for having a longer life.
In modern times, the village is part of Nagapattinam district and is administered by a village panchayat. As per 2021 census, the village had a population of 6,244. The village is connected by bus transport and is located on the Chidambaram - Nagapattinam highway. There is a small seaport under the control of Tamil Nadu Maritime Board.
Thirukkadaiyur derives its name from the pot, called Gatam in Tamil. Vishnu, Indra, and the other Devas needed an outstanding place to consume the Amrita that had been churned during the Samudra manthan and, therefore, brought the Amrita pot here. Before consuming it, they forgot to worship Ganesha, who has to be worshiped before any great undertaking. Ganesha, hurt and offended at the unintentional slight by them, stole the pot of Amrita and hid it at Tirukkadaiyur. Ganesha created a Shiva Lingam, dedicated to his father and mother, and poured some of the Amrita over it. The Shiva Lingam at this temple is known as Amrita Ghat Eshwarar, which, translated from Sanskrit literally means "Lord who leads to immortality" ('Immortality' (Amrita) 'Step' (Ghat) 'Lord' (Eshwarar)). It is also believed that Abhirami incarnated here by the power of Vishnu. As per popular legend, near the temple of Tirukkadaiyur, there lived a sage named Mrikandu and his wife Marudmati. They were both devotees of Shiva and worshiped him day and night for many years, asking to be graced with a child. After many years of penance, Shiva appeared before Mrikandu and Marudmati. He told them that he heard their prayers and would give them a choice: they could either have a gifted son who would live only up to sixteen years, or a son of low intelligence who would live a longer life. Mrikandu and Marudmati chose the former, and were blessed with Markandeya, an exemplary son, destined to die at the age of sixteen.
As Markandeya grew, so did his devotion to Shiva. As advised by his father, Markandeya worshipped the Shiva Lingam at Tirukkadaiyur, even bringing water from the Ganges to the temple via an underground passage. On the day he was destined to die, Yama, the deity of death, appeared with his noose in his hand to tie around the soul of Markandeya and take it away with him. Markandeya sought refuge in the temple and embraced the Siva Lingam. Shiva appeared and warned Yama not to touch Markandeya, as he was under his protection. Yama refused to listen and threw the noose, binding around both Markandeya and the Lingam together. Angered by Yama's extraordinary arrogance, Shiva kicked and held him under his foot, thereby making him inactive. Markandeya was blessed by Shiva to remain sixteen years old eternally. Meanwhile, with Yama being rendered inactive, there were no deaths on earth, but people were still being born. Burdened by the weight of so many people and unable to sustain their hunger, the earth-goddess, Bhumi Devi, appealed to Shiva for help. Shiva, feeling compassionate for the earth-goddess, released Yama, allowing deaths to occur again. However, in order to remind Yama never to try again to kill any one who is worshiping Shiva, the icon of Shiva in this temple is depicted with his forefinger raised in warning about it.[2]
History
Shrines of both the temples
There are several inscriptions in the temple belonging to the Medieval Cholas. On the southern wall in the central shrine, there is an inscription from the 13th year reign of the king, Rajaraja I Cholan, indicating stipulation of delivering paddy to the temple by a merchant in return to the land offered by the temple. Another inscription in the temple indicates the record (ARE 242 of 1925) of a gift of paddy to the temple by the king, Rajendra Chola, for conducting an eight-days temple festival annually. A third inscription on the same wall indicates a record dated to 1054 AD from the reign of the king, Rajadhiraja Chola informs about a gift of land by a devotee to feed 17 devotees. The fourth inscription (ARE 244 of 1925) in the shrine from the period of the king, Kulothunga Chola I, indicates that Mahasabha of Tirukadavur selling 1.74 velis of land that had been lying fallow for 50 years. Another interesting inscription from the outer precinct from the period of the king, Rajaraja II Cholan indicates confiscation of lands from a custodian of a temple who colluded with Vaishnavites (worshipers of Vishnu). There are also several other inscriptions indicating donations for performing art, drama, dance and music.[3] The temple is maintained and administered by the Dharmapuram Adheenam.[4]
Culture, Administration and utility services
As per 2021 census, the village had a population of 6,244. The village is connected by bus transport and is located on the Chidambaram - Nagapattinam highway. There are three secondary schools and one senior secondary school in the village. There are a total of 1,528 households and the total area of the village is 793.4 ha (1,961 acres). There was one medical practitioner with M.B.,B.S. degree and four other medical systems practitioners. Being a tourist village, the public transports like autorickshaws, car-taxis and buses are common. The village also has an Anganwadi centre and noon meal nutrition centre. The village is also agrarian with a total of 455.3 ha (1,125 acres) irrigated lands. The village has a minor port close to the private PPN Power Generating Company. The port is under the control of Tamil Nadu Maritime Board. Shastiapthapoorthi (60th birthday), Bhimaradha Shanthi (70th birthday), Sadabishegam (80th birthday) and other Ayul Shanthi fire worships are very famous here.[5]
Accessibility
The village is connected by buses from Mayiladuthurai to Poraiyar. The buses travelling to Poraiyar, Karaikal, Nagapattinam stop at Thirukkadaiyur bus-stop.
^V., Meena (1974). Temples in South India (1st ed.). Kanniyakumari: Harikumar Arts. p. 37.
^S.R., Balasubramanyam (1975). Middle Chola temples Rajaraja I to Kulottunga I (AD. 985-1070)(PDF). Thomson Press (India) Limited. pp. 104–6. ISBN978-9060236079.
^Dr. R., Selvaganapathy, ed. (2013). Saiva Encyclopaedia volume 4 - Thirumurai Thalangal. Chennai, India: Saint Sekkizhaar Human Resource Development Charitable Trust. pp. 127–131.
^Nagapattinam district Profile (PDF) (Report). Census of India. 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thirukkadaiyur.
March 05, 2023
thirukkadaiyur, thirukadavur, village, east, coast, tamil, nadu, about, south, chennai, north, karaikal, history, village, associated, with, legends, markandeya, abirami, pattar, village, centered, around, amritaghateswarar, abirami, temple, tirukkadaiyur, whi. Thirukkadaiyur Thirukadavur is a village on the east coast of Tamil Nadu about 300 km south of Chennai and 15 km north of Karaikal The history of the village is associated with the legends of Markandeya and Abirami Pattar The village is centered around Amritaghateswarar Abirami Temple of Tirukkadaiyur which is a replica The original temple Thirumeignanam Gnanaparameswarar Temple 1 called Thirumeignanam built in the 11th century was ravaged by the sea and is in ruins now People worship and pray at Thirukkadaiyur temple for having a longer life Thirukkadaiyur ThirukkadavurvillageThirukkadaiyurLocation in Tamil Nadu IndiaShow map of Tamil NaduThirukkadaiyurThirukkadaiyur India Show map of IndiaCoordinates 11 4 27 N 79 48 31 E 11 07417 N 79 80861 E 11 07417 79 80861 Coordinates 11 4 27 N 79 48 31 E 11 07417 N 79 80861 E 11 07417 79 80861Country IndiaStateTamil NaduDistrictMayiladuthuraiLanguages OfficialTamilTime zoneUTC 5 30 IST Vehicle registrationTN82In modern times the village is part of Nagapattinam district and is administered by a village panchayat As per 2021 census the village had a population of 6 244 The village is connected by bus transport and is located on the Chidambaram Nagapattinam highway There is a small seaport under the control of Tamil Nadu Maritime Board Contents 1 Legend 2 History 3 Culture Administration and utility services 4 Accessibility 5 References 6 External linksLegend Edit Shiva saving Markendeya from Yama Thirukkadaiyur derives its name from the pot called Gatam in Tamil Vishnu Indra and the other Devas needed an outstanding place to consume the Amrita that had been churned during the Samudra manthan and therefore brought the Amrita pot here Before consuming it they forgot to worship Ganesha who has to be worshiped before any great undertaking Ganesha hurt and offended at the unintentional slight by them stole the pot of Amrita and hid it at Tirukkadaiyur Ganesha created a Shiva Lingam dedicated to his father and mother and poured some of the Amrita over it The Shiva Lingam at this temple is known as Amrita Ghat Eshwarar which translated from Sanskrit literally means Lord who leads to immortality Immortality Amrita Step Ghat Lord Eshwarar It is also believed that Abhirami incarnated here by the power of Vishnu As per popular legend near the temple of Tirukkadaiyur there lived a sage named Mrikandu and his wife Marudmati They were both devotees of Shiva and worshiped him day and night for many years asking to be graced with a child After many years of penance Shiva appeared before Mrikandu and Marudmati He told them that he heard their prayers and would give them a choice they could either have a gifted son who would live only up to sixteen years or a son of low intelligence who would live a longer life Mrikandu and Marudmati chose the former and were blessed with Markandeya an exemplary son destined to die at the age of sixteen As Markandeya grew so did his devotion to Shiva As advised by his father Markandeya worshipped the Shiva Lingam at Tirukkadaiyur even bringing water from the Ganges to the temple via an underground passage On the day he was destined to die Yama the deity of death appeared with his noose in his hand to tie around the soul of Markandeya and take it away with him Markandeya sought refuge in the temple and embraced the Siva Lingam Shiva appeared and warned Yama not to touch Markandeya as he was under his protection Yama refused to listen and threw the noose binding around both Markandeya and the Lingam together Angered by Yama s extraordinary arrogance Shiva kicked and held him under his foot thereby making him inactive Markandeya was blessed by Shiva to remain sixteen years old eternally Meanwhile with Yama being rendered inactive there were no deaths on earth but people were still being born Burdened by the weight of so many people and unable to sustain their hunger the earth goddess Bhumi Devi appealed to Shiva for help Shiva feeling compassionate for the earth goddess released Yama allowing deaths to occur again However in order to remind Yama never to try again to kill any one who is worshiping Shiva the icon of Shiva in this temple is depicted with his forefinger raised in warning about it 2 History Edit Shrines of both the temples There are several inscriptions in the temple belonging to the Medieval Cholas On the southern wall in the central shrine there is an inscription from the 13th year reign of the king Rajaraja I Cholan indicating stipulation of delivering paddy to the temple by a merchant in return to the land offered by the temple Another inscription in the temple indicates the record ARE 242 of 1925 of a gift of paddy to the temple by the king Rajendra Chola for conducting an eight days temple festival annually A third inscription on the same wall indicates a record dated to 1054 AD from the reign of the king Rajadhiraja Chola informs about a gift of land by a devotee to feed 17 devotees The fourth inscription ARE 244 of 1925 in the shrine from the period of the king Kulothunga Chola I indicates that Mahasabha of Tirukadavur selling 1 74 velis of land that had been lying fallow for 50 years Another interesting inscription from the outer precinct from the period of the king Rajaraja II Cholan indicates confiscation of lands from a custodian of a temple who colluded with Vaishnavites worshipers of Vishnu There are also several other inscriptions indicating donations for performing art drama dance and music 3 The temple is maintained and administered by the Dharmapuram Adheenam 4 Culture Administration and utility services EditAs per 2021 census the village had a population of 6 244 The village is connected by bus transport and is located on the Chidambaram Nagapattinam highway There are three secondary schools and one senior secondary school in the village There are a total of 1 528 households and the total area of the village is 793 4 ha 1 961 acres There was one medical practitioner with M B B S degree and four other medical systems practitioners Being a tourist village the public transports like autorickshaws car taxis and buses are common The village also has an Anganwadi centre and noon meal nutrition centre The village is also agrarian with a total of 455 3 ha 1 125 acres irrigated lands The village has a minor port close to the private PPN Power Generating Company The port is under the control of Tamil Nadu Maritime Board Shastiapthapoorthi 60th birthday Bhimaradha Shanthi 70th birthday Sadabishegam 80th birthday and other Ayul Shanthi fire worships are very famous here 5 Accessibility EditThe village is connected by buses from Mayiladuthurai to Poraiyar The buses travelling to Poraiyar Karaikal Nagapattinam stop at Thirukkadaiyur bus stop References Edit Sri Brahmmapureeswarar Temple Temple Sri Brahmmapureeswarar Temple Temple Details Sri Brahmmapureeswarar Temple Tirumayanam Tamilnadu Temple ப ரம மப ர ஸ வரர V Meena 1974 Temples in South India 1st ed Kanniyakumari Harikumar Arts p 37 S R Balasubramanyam 1975 Middle Chola temples Rajaraja I to Kulottunga I AD 985 1070 PDF Thomson Press India Limited pp 104 6 ISBN 978 9060236079 Dr R Selvaganapathy ed 2013 Saiva Encyclopaedia volume 4 Thirumurai Thalangal Chennai India Saint Sekkizhaar Human Resource Development Charitable Trust pp 127 131 Nagapattinam district Profile PDF Report Census of India 2012 Retrieved 10 October 2021 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thirukkadaiyur Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thirukkadaiyur amp oldid 1113868537, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
