Athigai Veerattanathar Temple, Tiruvathigai

Veerattanathar Temple, Tiruvathigai

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Location of the temple	Tiruvathigai
Deity known as	AthigaiVeeratteswarar
Female deity known as	Tiripurasundari
Pathigam	Thirunavukarasar, Sambandar, Sundarar
How to reach	This shivasthlam temple is located about 2 Kms south-west of Panruti on the north bank of river Kedilam. Town bus services from Panruti to Cuddalore goes via Thiruvathigai. One has to get down at Thiruvathigai temple bus stop and walk a short distrance to reach the temple. Anothar paadal petra sthalam Tiruthuraiyur is located at about 8 Kms. from Panruti.
Temple address	Arulmighu AthigaiVeeratteswarar Temple Tiruvathigai Panruti Post Panruti Taluk Cuddalore District PIN 607106

Route Map from Panruti Bus stand to Tiruvathigai.
Map courtesy by: Google Maps

Temple Legend - Thiruvathigai is one of the eight places where the valor of Lord Shiva was manifested. Lord Shiva performed Tripura Samhara at Thiruvathigai, which is one of the atta veerattana sthalams. The three asuras, Vidyunmali, Tharukaksha, and Kamlaksha, lived in three invincible moving cities or forts (Tripura) made of gold, silver, and iron, respectively. These demons wrecked havoc on the universe and harassed the devas. The Devas could not bear the harassment and appealed to Lord Shiva. To destroy the demons, a divine chariot was built with the four Vedas as four horses, Lord Brahma as the charioteer, the sun as the right wheel, the moon as the left wheel, and other worldly creatures making up the rest of the chariot's embellishments and the army. Every member of the army took pride, thinking that it was because of them that Lord Shiva was going to conquer the three demons. Lord Shiva took notice of their pride. To establish his supremeness, he smiled gently to subdue the pride of Devas. A joyous, bright smile that led to the well-being of those asuras in Tripura who never faltered in their shiva puja. A radiant smile that showed His sparkling white teeth, led to the end of those asuras in Tripura who faltered in their shiva puja. As soon as he laughed, the three forts were crushed to powder. Thiruvathigai is the place where all these incidents took place.

See also - Other Paadal Petra Shivasthalam associated with Tripura Samhara - Elambayankottur, 2. Tiruvirkolam.

Tirunavukkarasar - In the middle of the 7th century, A daughter named thilakavathy and a son named Marulneekiar were born to a couple (Thiru Pukalanar and Mathiniyar) in a village called Thiruvamur in Thirumunaipadi Nadu. Marulneekiar, during his childhood, was drawn to Jainism, joined a Jain monastery, where he was given the name Dharmasena. After the demise of her betrothed, Kalipagayar, a military commander who died in action, Thilagavathiar decided to lead an ascetic life. She became a saint and devoted her life to Lord Shiva. Thilagavathiar was not pleased by her brother’s conversion to Jainism and prayed to Lord Shiva. At this juncture, Marulneekiar suffered acute stomach pain that couldn't be cured. Finally, he turned to his sister for help, who in turn brought him to tiruvathigai temple and gave him the temple’s holy water and sacred ash (viputhi) as medicines. She urged him to pray to Lord Shiva wholeheartedly. It is believed that Marulneekiar was instantly cured and relieved. He spontaneously sang his first hymn, beginning with the line “Kootru Aayinavaru Vilakka hileer”. Lord Shiva was pleased by his poetic skill, and it is believed that at this point the lord’s divine voice was heard saying that “Marulneekiyar will henceforth be known to the world as ‘Thirunavukkarasar’ (Thiru meaning Sri; Navu meaning Tongue; and Arasar meaning King) and that his glories will be etched in history forever”.

Temple Layout The temple is large and located on a sprawling area of about 7 acres. The Main tower/Rajagopuram facing east has 7 tiers and 7 kalasas. In front of the temple, There is a mandapam/hall called Thiruneerthu Mandapam which has 16 pillars. The pillars of this mandapam have sculptures of Rishabharudar, Appar, Mayilvahanan, etc., and a sculpture of a vaisya who renovated the temple. On either side of the pathway that leads from the main tower are beautiful sculptures of women depicting 108 dancing postures. On the right side, at a height, is a grand sculpture of Lord shiva in the form of tripura samhara. Below this is another sculpture of Lord shiva in another form - Gajasamhara. Upon entering through the main gateway, another hall/mandapam with 16 pillars can be seen. On the south side of the open courtyard is the Sankara Theertham and on the north side is a 5-foot-tall statue of Buddha in Padmasana( a sitting posture). A shrine for vinayaka, the flagstaff, and the altar can be seen outside the gateway of the second tower/gopuram with 5 tiers. Once we cross the threshold of the second tower, a large statue of nandi is seen, flanked on either side by Ganapathy and Murugan. A separate shrine for thirunavukarasar and his sister thilakavathy can be seen on the southern side of the second precinct. Alongside are the shrines for Bhairavar, Saneeshwarar and Goddess Durga.Thereafter, is the shrine for Periyanayaki whose vimanam can be seen from the entrance of Ambal sannidhi. The colorful sculptures on this vimanam are quite appealing to the eye. Here, One particular sculpture of Tripuranthakar, in a standing posture with 12 hands, holding a trident in one, a bow in another, a foot on the chariot, and one leg raised up, is noteworthy.

The central shrine of adigai veerateshwar can be seen only in the third corridor. The Moolavar here is a big Swayambu lingam. The divine wedding scene of Shiva and parvathy can be seen on the wall panel behind the moolavar. The vimanam above the sanctum sanatorium dates back to pallava dynasty and is an architectural marvel. It is built in such a way that its shadow is invisible. Garuda, Brahma, Vishnu and the Pancha Pandavas have worshiped Lord Shiva in this temple.

The Panchamukha (five-faced) Lingam in the south-west of the inner corridor is a must-see. It belongs to the Pallava period. Such a Lingam cannot be found anywhere else in Tamil Nadu. The four faces of the lingam face four directions, and it is believed that the fifth face is facing upwards. This is a rare vision. Next to that are many Shivalinga images in a row. Beside the yagasalai and navagraha shrines, there is the Nataraja Sabha.

Lord Muruga here is with Devi Valli and Deivanai. Saint-poet Arunagirinathar has sung (2 songs) the praise of this Muruga in his Thiruppugazh pathigam.

Fearing to tread on the place where tirunavukkarasar did 'Uzhavara' work (volunteer and engage in keeping up the temple premises clean and tidy), Sundarar stayed at the nearby Siddhavada mutt and worshipped the Lord of this place. At night when Sundarar was sleeping, he felt that someone pushed him by foot. Sundarar moved and again felt that someone banged him on his head.Sundarar woke up and spoke harshly to the person who had touched his head with his foot. He then realized it was Lord shiva himself and worshipped him. A Pallava king Mahendravarman I converted from Jainism to Saivism under the influence of Appar. He is believed to have destroyed a Jain monastery and built a temple called Gunavareswaram close to the temple. Mahendra Pallava is believed to have attained the name Gunavareswara on account of the incident. These 2 incidents celebrate the greatness of this temple.