Tirunallar Dharbaranyeswarar Temple

Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple or Dharbaranyeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shani (saturn)[1] located in Tirunallar in Karaikal district of Pondicherry, India.[2] The presiding deity is Shiva, Dharbaranyeswar and the place Tirunallar was historically called Dharbaranyam (lit. "Forest of Dharba grass"). The temple is revered by the hymns of 7th century Tamil saivite poets, Appar, Sundarar and Sambandar and is classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.

Tirunallar Dharbaranyeswarar Temple
Dharbaranyam
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictKaraikkal
DeityDharbaranyeswarar(Shiva), Shani,Bogamartha Poonmulaiyaal(Parvathi)
Location
LocationTirunallar
StatePondicherry
CountryIndia
Location in Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates10°55′32″N 79°47′32″E
Architecture
TypeDravidian architecture

Legend

As per Hindu legend, the ruler of the region asked a shepherd to provide milk to the temple daily. The shepherd was a staunch devotee of Shiva and he was happily providing the quota of milk to the temple for ablution of the presiding deity. The government's headman who was living close to the temple asked the shepherd to give the milk he is offering to the temple to him and threatened him not to reveal this to the king. At a later point, the king came to know from the temple priest that the temple was not receiving the milk from the shepherd. The king wanted to punish the shepherd and asked him the reason for disobeying his order. Out of fear of the headman, the shepherd remained silent, which angered the king further. He ordered the shepherd to be slaughtered. The shepherd was praying to Shiva to relieve him off the punishment. When he was about to be slaughtered, Shiva stopped it with his trident. Following the legend, the altar (balipeetam) of the temple is slightly away from the axis of the flagstaff and the central shrine.[3]

Architecture
Vimana of the presiding deity

The presiding deity is Dharbaranyeswarar(Lord Siva)[4] and is believed to have been made of dharba grass. The worship is also centered around the icon of planet saturn, called Shani, originally treated as the door keeper of the shrine. According to Hinduism, saturn resides in each rasi(zodiac) for two and half years.[5] The tradition is to worship Shani before entering the inner sanctum of Lord Siva.[3]

The Nala Theertham at dawn

Processional Dance

The Thyagarajar Temple at Tiruvarur is famous for the ajapa thanam(dance without chanting), that is executed by the deity itself. According to legend, a Chola king named Mucukunta obtained a boon from Indra(a celestial deity) and wished to receive an image of Thyagaraja Swamy(presiding deity, Shiva in the temple) reposing on the chest of reclining Lord Vishnu. Indra tried to misguide the king and had six other images made, but the king chose the right image at Tiruvarur. The other six images were installed in Thirukkuvalai, Nagapattinam, Tirukarayil, Tirukolili, Thirukkuvalai and Tirumaraikadu.[6][7] All the seven places are villages situated in the river Cauvery delta. All seven Thyagaraja images are said to dance when taken in procession(it is the bearers of the processional deity who actually dance). The temples with dance styles are regarded as Saptha Vidangam(seven dance moves)[8] and the related temples are as under:[9]

Temple Vidangar Temple Dance pose Meaning
Thyagarajar Temple Vidhividangar Ajabathaanam Dance without chanting, resembling the dance of Sri Thyagaraja resting on Lord Vishnu's chest
Dharbaranyeswarar Temple Nagaradangar Unmathanathaanam Dance of an intoxicated person
Kayarohanaswamy Temple Sundaravidangar Vilathithaanam Dancing like waves of sea
Kannayariamudayar Temple Adhividangar Kukunathaanam Dancing like a cock
Brahmapureeswarar Temple Avanividangar Brunganathaanam Dancing like a bee that hovers over a flower
Vaimoornaathar Temple Nallavidangar Kamalanaanathaanam Dance like lotus that moves in a breeze
Vedaranyeswarar Temple Bhuvanivividangar Hamsapthanathaanam Dancing with the gait of a swan

Religious significance

Sambandar, the 7th century nayanar and Tamil saivite poet has revered the deity with four hymns, in one of which he refers to a contest with Jains, and his victory. Appar and Sundarar, the other Nayanars have glorified the temple with their hymns. Arunagirinathar, a 15th-century poet and staunch devoteet of Lord Muruga has composed hymns on the deity and this temple is attributed to Murugan worship as well.[10]

The temple is one of the nine Navagraha temples of Tamil Nadu and is a part of the popular Navagraha pilgrimage in the state - it houses the image of Shani (Saturn).[11][12][13] Tirugnana Sambandar, a 7th-century Tamil Saivite poet, venerated Naganathar in ten verses in Tevaram, compiled as the First Tirumurai. Appar, a contemporary of Sambandar, also venerated Dharbaranyeswarar in 10 verses in Tevaram, compiled as the Fifth Tirumurai. As the temple is revered in Tevaram, it is classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam, one of the 275 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon.

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References
  1. Dealing With Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia.P.62.Selva J. Raj, William P. Harman
  2. Tourism in India .P.179. Vijay Kumar Gupta
  3. R., Ponnammal. 108 Thennaga Shivasthalangal (in Tamil). Giri Trading Agency Private Limited. pp. 52–61. ISBN 978-81-7950-707-0.
  4. Tourist Guide to Tamil Nadu .P.64.
  5. V., Meena (1974). Temples in South India (1st ed.). Kanniyakumari: Harikumar Arts. p. 32.
  6. Pillai, J.M. Somanasundaram (1994). The great temple at Tanjore. Tamil University, Thanjavur. p. 9.
  7. Glimpses of the history of Karaikkal.Saroja Sundararajan
  8. The Journal of the Music Academy, Madras: Volumes 33-34 .Music Academy (Madras, India) - 1962
  9. Nityasumaṅgalī: devadasi tradition in South India .P.146. Saskia C. Kersenboom-Story
  10. The Tyāgarāja cult in Tamilnāḍu: a study in conflict and accommodation. p.62. Rajeshwari Ghose
  11. Suriya (2015). Jothirlingam: The Indian Temple Guide. Partridge Publishing. p. 92. ISBN 9781482847864.
  12. K.R., Sundararajan; Mukerji, Bithika (2003). Hindu spirituality: Postclassical and modern. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 425. ISBN 9788120819375.
  13. "Navagraha temples". Thanjavur District Administration. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
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