This temple is situated on the banks of the river vettaar. can be reached from both thanjavoor and kumbakoenam . from thanjavoor and kumbakonam town buses are available . a small village situated on papanasam – chaaliyamangalam road . papanasam is on thanjavoor – kumbakonam road.
Everyone knows the temple by name garbarakshaambigai temple. thirukkarugavur temple is a half a km from the bus stop
nearby town : kumbakonam, pin code: 614 302
railway station : papanasam
contact details : 04374-273423 , 0 887 005 8269
architecture and temple layout
temple is 460 feet long and 284 feet wide . the main raajagoepuram is in the east side and there is an entrance from south . main temple tank is on the east side near the gopuram .
on entering the temple flower garden is to the south and vasantha mandapam is in the north. temple office is also situated nearby . swaami ( main deity – lord shiva ) sannidhi ( place where he resides ) is seen straight ahead . located on the south east is the sannidhi of 63 naayanmaars . in the inside prakaaram ( a rectangular enclave surrounding the deities which people can use to walk around ) available are the sannidhis of ganesh , nandhi , dakshinaamoorthi , murugan ( god subramanya or karthick ) , gajalakshmi and chandikaeswarar . the temple tree which is a mullai plant is also seen and beneath that is the lingam ( shiva’s form ) worshipped by nruthya rishi ( saint ) .
main deity mullaivananaathar ( god who resides in the mullai forest ) is swayambu meaning no one created him . only punugu ( a kind of gum obtained from a kind of cat ) is applied and no abhishaekam is performed . tall lingam. a very plesant sight to see . we can actually see the scars formed as a result of mullai plants covering the lingam .
amman ( goddess ) sannidhi is seen on the 2nd prakaaram . a very grand and beautiful looking goddess seen in careful dressing and ornaments . would stop anyone for long time there itself . 5 and a half feet tall . temple details are painted on the ceilings .
temple legend aka sthalapuranam
being blessed with a child is every persons dream. thirukkarugavur garbarakshambigai is the supreme doctor when it comes to it.
couples longing for a child come here to be blessed with the best they can.
long before human existance a lingam formed here with amudham ( divine liquid ) and the 5 elements . the place was then a forest of mullai trees.
they covered the lingam . bramma ( god of creation ) worshipped the god here to get back the power to do the creation job . chandra ( moon ) worshipped god and we can still see his rays falling on the god every full moon day.
nruthya rishi – vedigai : garbarakshaambigai puranam
nruthya rishi ( saint ) lived in this place with his wife vedigai . he once left his wife and went to varunan the lord of ocean . his wife was pregnant at that time . at that time another saint by name oorthvapaathar came by and asked for food . vedigai couldnt serve him due to tiredness . saint being unaware of this thought cursed her with a disease called ‘raasayatchu’ . because of that the child in her womb got ill and vedigai came to the goddess here to cure her of her illness. goddess took care of the child and led thru a safe child birth. kamadenu , the divine cow came and fed her child . nruthvar , who came afterwards heard what happened and very pleased by the divine blessing asked that whoever pregnant and or expecting child birth in this thalam ( divine place ) would go thru a safe pregnancy cycle and be safe.
this can be seen even today that pregnant women from elsewhere come here and pray to the god and goddess for a safe child birth . no one in this place has ever had a miscarriage or pregnancy problem .
beema , garkiyar , kouthamar and a lot of ancient kings worshipped the god in this temple.
please click here for a full tamir sthalapuranam
festivals and other details
you can perform ghee prasadam pooja to conceive and
castor oil prasadam pooja for safe delivery
people who want to pay their kanikkais must bring their own sarees . it is told that worshipping the main deity god shiva will cure all kinds of skin diseases.
sung by appar and sambandhar
