Abathsahayeswarar Temple
Ponnur, Mayiladuthurai
Main Deity : Abathsahayeswarar, Ligusaranyeswarar, Agneeswarar, Pandathaveswarar.
Ambal : Periyanayaki, Piruhannayaki, Nayagiammai.
Other Deities : NarthanaGanapathy, Dakshinamurthy, Durga,Murugan with Valli and Theivanai, Chandrasekarar, Natarajar, Sivagami, Adipura Amman.
Theertham : Agni Theertham, VarunaTheertham(both are same).
Temple Tree : Lime.
Prominence of the shrine : This temple was praised in the Thevaram hymns of Saints TirugnanaSambandar and Tirunavukkarasar. This is the 22nd Shiva temple on the northern bank of Cauvery praised in Thevaram hymns. This temple is facing east and it is small temple without tower. There are beautiful concrete sculptures above the main entrance. Varunatheertham is present in front of the entrance. Nandi mantap (hall) is present after passing the entrance. There is another entrance which leads to the main God. In the second entrance tower there are beautiful concrete sculptures. In the outer courtyard shrines of Ganesha, Muruga, Mahalakshmi and Navagraha are present. In front of the sanctum, Goddess Brahanayagi’s shrine is present. In the courtyard of the Goddess, AdhimulaLinga is present. It is believed that Lord Shiva is in the form of Agni in the temple, hence also the name Agnipureeswarar. Those performing rituals for the ancestors pray to Lord Shiva forAtma Shanti. 5 days during the Panguni month (March-April), the rays of Sun fall on the Lord. So this temple is called as Baskarashetram. The event of Rathi the wife of Manmatha worshipping Lord is observed in Karthikaimonth (November-December) with special pujas.
There are two Dakshinamurthis side by side. Lord MedhaDakshinamurthy has His shrine. Nandhi is at His feet. People pray for wisdom and excellence in education. Parents admitting their children in schools, perform special pujas to both Dakshinamurthis seeking blessings for good education. Varuna the God of Rain and King Harichandra had worshipped Lord Shiva in this temple. Planets Sun, Sani Bhagwan and Lord Bhairava are side by side in a shrine. Though Sani Bhagwan, son of Sun is generally considered a malefic planet, He is all good to devotees in the temple. Those facing adverse Sani aspects pray here for relief. Lord Muruga with His consorts’graces majestically in a different form wearing Kuzhai a circle shape design ear rings. There is a separate shrine AdhiShankarar. There are two temples in the name of Thiruanniyur, one in south and the other in north of river Cauvery. The location of the temple which is in north of Cauvery is called as Ponnur.
Temple History : Demon Taraka was harassing the Devas with the boon he obtained from Brahmma. Devas fell at the feet of Lord Shiva for protection. As Lord Shiva was in deep meditation, they could not wake him up. So they engaged cupid-Manmatha the authority to trigger passion in the mind of anyone to shoot the arrow of flowers on Lord. Opening His forehead eye in fury, Lord Shiva burnt Manmatha to ashes. His wife Rathi begged the Lord for her husband. Lord said that she would get him back at an appropriate time. Rathi performed penance on Lord. Manmatha was restored to life and they both jointly worshipped Lord Shiva in this temple. Granting darshan to them Lord came in here as a swayambulinga.
When Rathidevi was in distress for losing her husband, Lord Sun fell in love with her. So Rathi got annoyed and cursed Sun to lose his right hand. To get redressed from the curse the Lord Sun prayed to Lord Shiva of this temple. He got back his hand. This temple is special for Surya parikara. Agnidevan was punished by Veerabatran for attending the yajna conducted by him.He went to many Shiva temples and worshipped to get relieved from the curse. Thiruanniyur temple is one among them. Agnidevan created a Theertham in this temple which is called as Agni Theertham to worship the Lord.
People who worshipped here : Varunan, Sun, Agni, Rathi and Pandavas.
Poets who sang its praise : Tirugnana Sambandar and Tirunavukkarasar.
Temple Timings : Morning 07:00 am to 10:00 am, Evening 05:30 pm to 07:00 pm.
Temple Festivals : MahaShivrathri, VaikasiVisakam and Tirukarthikai.
Nearest Town : Mayiladuthurai.
Temple Address : Abathsahayeswarar Temple,
Ponnur, Pandur (po)-609203 via Needur, Mayiladuthurai circle, Nagapattinam District.
Hotel Near Abathsahayeswarar Temple, Ponnur :
1.Chola Inn,
105, Pidari South Street,
Thenpathi,Sirkazhi,
Tamil Nadu 609111,
Ph: 094444 93388
2.Ayarpadi Hotel,
Old NH,Thenpathi,Sirkazhi,
Tamil Nadu 609110
3.Hotel Aryabhavan,
Old NH,Thiruvalluvar Nagar,
Thenpathi,Sirkazhi,
Tamil Nadu 609111
4.Mangala Vilas Hotel,
Thenpathi,Sirkazhi,
Tamil Nadu
5.Ganesan Hotel,
Sirkazhi, Tamil Nadu.
Resturant Near Abathsahayeswarar Temple, Ponnur :
1.Samboorna Restaurtant,
Old NH,Thenpathi,Sirkazhi,
Tamil Nadu 609110
2.Garden Restaurant,
Thenpathi,Sirkazhi,
Tamil Nadu 609110
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 3.36 (463 Votes)
