Thread by @anbezhil12

#Kapardeeswarar #Vellai_Pillaiyar #Shweta_Vinayakar Thiruvalanchuzhi, Thanjavur

Cauvery which was enshrined in the Kamandalam of sage #Agasthiyar liberated by Vinayakar and she started flowing towards Chola Nadu. When informed of the arrival of the holy river, King Haridhwajan

received her with pujas and prayers. The river took a right turn around Lord Siva, circumambulating him (valan-chuzhi) and entered a hole near the Lord (called the piladwaram). The king tried his best to block it but was unsuccessful. He took the help of sage Herandar, who took

the shape of a bee as ordained by Lord Siva and blocked the hole. The Kaveri started flowing again, out of the earth. Since the Kaveri came up from here, this place is also called Melakaveri. The temple is primarily a Chola period construction, and has some beautiful architecture

and intricately carved pillars and walls. This temple is more popular for Vellai Pillaiyar and recognised for the crafted stone (palagaNi) at the Pillaiyar sannidhi. Vinayakar was made the froth from the ocean when parkadal was being churned by devas and asuras. Indra visited

many Siva temples carrying the Vinayakar made of froth, to get rid of the curse he received from Ahalya. When he reached this place, Vinayakar requested Lord Siva to let him stay here permanently. Acceding to his request, Lord Siva appeared in the form of a small boy in front of

Indra, who requested the boy to carry the Vinayakar till he returned. But the boy kept the murti on the ground as soon as Indra left. On returning, Indra found the murti under the bali peetham but could not move it. He called Mayan to create a chariot in stone resembling his own,

and tried to pull the murti away. Then Vinayakar appeared and told him to worship him every Vinayaka Chathurti day and undertake prayers here. It is believed that Indra visits even today. The shrine at Thiruvalanchuzhi started out as a Shiva temple. The principal deity here is

Kapartheeswarar (kapartham refers to the matted locks of Lord Shiva) and his consort is Brihan Nayaki. Over time, however, it has come to be known as a Vinayaka Sthala. There are 24 Vinayaka idols in the temple, but the best known of them is the tiny, white one in the shrine

straight ahead of the entrance. Made from a kind of sea sponge, the idol is coated with pacchai karpooram (edible camphor) and is said to absorb all the honey that is poured on it on Vinayaka Chaturthi. Yet, the deity retains his pristine white colour. The white Vinayaka of

Thiruvalanchuzhi is said to be that primordial Ganapati. The idol also has its trunk curling right (and that is why it is called Valan Chuzhi Vinayagar). The temple is famous for its fine stone-work, the finely carved pillars, and the tall, multi-tiered stone lamps. There are

coconut groves around the temple and it is an extraordinarily peaceful setting. The temple faces east with a majestic five tiered gopuram. As we enter we can see the beautiful temple tank called Jada theertahm.
The sanctum where Swetha Vinayagar presides is beautifully

architected in granite with intricate works. The entrance on both its sides has large panes carved out of stones (could be granite or some soft granite-like stone). The Swetha Vinayagar idol is pure white and is placed in a silver and gold mandap. The mandapam next to the sanctum

is called Gayathri Mandapam, with 24 beautifully carved pillars with intricate designs, depicting the 24 akshars of the Gayathri manthram. It is beleived that sitting in this mandap and chanting Ganesha gayathri mantra will bring you releif from all the difficulties in the life,

and you will be blessed by Ganesha with all prosperity. Another interesting factor is that in the sanctum of Kabartheeswarar, we can see Surya (Sun) and Shani (Saturn) are facing each other which is very rare. It is said that once a king who was visiting here ordered abhishekam

to be done to Vellai Pillaiyar.
The priest prayed to Vinayakar to save him. Vinayakar in turn cursed the king to be dissolved in abhishekam waters. The king realized his folly and begged for mercy. He was asked to build a mandapam before night fall to be relieved of the curse.

Mannipu (forgiveness) manadapam stands witness to this. Sage #Durvasa once conducted a yagam here, at which many sages were present. Some of them installed lingams on their own, for their worship. About 20 of these lingams can be seen in the outer prakaram. It is believed that on

#MahaSivarathiri Adiseshan comes through the piladwaram and worships Lord Siva at this temple and also at Tirunageswaram, Tirupampuram and Nagai Karonam.
Amman is to the right of the Lord, in kalyana kolam. Kali here is special because she is seen with eight arms (astha-bhuja-

kali). Similarly, Bhairavar at this temple is considered special and also aggressive. To reduce his malevolent effects, it is believed that Bhairavar’s murti here is slightly cracked, on purpose. #Arunagirinathar has sung Tiruppugazh hymns here.
This temple is one of the

Kumbakonam Sapta Sthanam temples. This temple is considered one of the parivara sthalams (Vinayakar sthalam) of the Tiruvidaimaruthur Mahalingaswamy temple. This temple is part of the Pazhayarai Pancha Krosha Sthalams, which is one out of four sets of Pancha Krosha Sthalams in

Tamil Nadu. It is believed that visiting these six temples (Pazhayarai, Nallur, Tiruvalanchuzhi, Sakti Muttram, Patteeswaram and Avoor) along with this temple in a single day is be beneficial to devotees. Tiruvalanchuzhi Is located about 7km from Kumbakonam, and 2km from

Swamimalai. This temple normally opens daily from 5 a.m. To 12 p.m. And 4.30 p.m. To 8: 00 p.m.
Let us create an opportunity to visit this temple and the neighbouring ones.

Sarvam Sri Krishnarpanam🙏🏻

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