Mayiladuthurai aka mayuram aka mayavaram is a town in the nagappattinam district of tamir nadu.
it houses the famous mayuranatha swami temple. a huge temple with many sannidhis and has a big tank stright ahead to the east.
mayil-aadu-thurai
in tamir , the name came from the phrase ‘mayilgal aadum thurai’ meaning the place where peacocks dance.
it is said that parvathi , after entering the fire when her husband was insulted by her father daksh took the form of peacock and did penance here to marry the lord. the dance she performed is known as gouri thandavam and the place also came to be called gowri maayooram. pleased by her dance , the lord took the form of male peacock and married parvathi. he is blessing devotees ever since.
vallalar
the lord also goes by the name vallal, meaning the one who provides in abundance. he is one of the 5 such in a list that includes
– thurai ( one who drained cauvery to show the banks ) kaattum vallal , in vilanagar about 6 kms east
– vaakku ( to bless with wisdom ) kaattum vallal , in perunjeri to the south
– vari ( to show the place to dhevas ) kaattum vallal , in moovalur to the west &
– kai ( the chin mudra as dakshinamurthy ) kaattum vallal , in vallalar koil to the north.
worshippers list
mayura natha swami is worshipped by indran , kanva maharishi , bramma , brahaspathi , agasthiyar , nadhasharma , anavidhya , dhileepan , ashta dhik balakar , saptha maathaas and many others.
birds and animals also worshipped the lord. eagle , parrot , horse , jackal , monkeys and donkey have worshipped and attained salvation here.
a couple by name anavidhya and nadha sharma worshipped shiva in many temples and finally reached thiruvaiyaru.
panchanadheeswarar told them to go to mayavaram and worship mayuranathar. they came and installed 2 lingams by their names and worshipped. shiva appeared before them and told that one must worship both the lingams and then only the main sanctum to get the fullest effect of worship. the lingam worshipped by anavidhya still is draped with a saree.
iyppasi – thula maasam – holy dip
during tamir month iyppasi , ganga comes to take bath and joins cauvery which flows thru the town. so people taking a holy dip in cauvery at that time get the benefits of taking bath in all the holy rivers of bharath.
people have seen the wonder of water collected from cauvery on iyppasi-amavasya day in a vessel not getting spoiled for many years , proving the presence of ganga water.
on the day of ‘kadai mukam’ , all the deities of all temples in mayavaram come to the thulaa ghaat in cauvery and take a dip and bless devotees along with mayuranathar. it is the most important festival associated with the temple. people taking bath during the month are blessed with eternal happiness and are freed from the bondage of life and death.
it is one of the 6 temples said to be at par with kaasi.
sung by appar and sambandhar along with arunagirinathar in thiruppugar.
one of the 18 siddhars , kudhambai siddhar attained mukthi here. his samadhi is inside the temple.
mayavaram houses 2 major shaivite aadheenams of tamir nadu. swaami and ambaal sannidhis belong to thiruvaavaduthurai aadheenam and murugan sannidhi belongs to dharmapuram aadheenam.
temple is open all days from 6 to 12.30 pm and from 4 to 9.30 pm. phone number – 04364 223 779 , 93451 49412.
countless stories can be written about this temple but that will make this post very huge and so i have given a compressed version.
countless temples also are in the vicinity of mayiladuthurai. navagraha temples and ashta veerattana temples can be mentioned.
I have seen the video of Shiv. Excellent. I got view of 380+ shiv temples. I will never be able to visit all of them. I am saving this on DVD for future. I must thank you from heart for your efforts.
dear sir ,
i am very glad to hear this. these kind words keep me going.
there are more versions coming in the future with categories and better pictures.
thank you for your patronage …
thank you,
sriram