Sri Veerateeswarar Swamy Temple – Thiruvirkudi
Sri Veerateeswarar Swamy
Temple is located at Thiruvirkudi in Mayiladuthurai district of Tamilnadu
State.
Here Veerataneswarar is
the name of the presiding deity, who faces west. In the temple, Lord Shiva is a
Swayambumurthy.
His consort is Elavar
Kuzhali
It is believed that
Lord Shiva defeated eight different demons, and the eight Ashta Veeratanam
temples are constructed in honor of each of his victories. One of the eight
temples where Shiva is said to have punished Jalandhara is this one.
The temple faces the East
and has a five-tiered rajagopuram. The temple tank, the Chakra Theertham is
located outside the main entrance and another water body named Sangu Theertham
is located behind the temple.
The sanctum houses the
image of Veeratneeswarar in the form of lingam. The sanctum has an ardhamandapa
before it and a Mahamandapa, the worship hall. The Mahamandapa houses the metal
image of Kamadahanamurthy sported with six hands holding six different weapons.
There are metal images of
festival deities in the Mahamandapa. The Maha mandapam also houses another metal image of Murugan, Somaskanda, and Vinayagar. The important image is that of
Jalandharavathamurthy, a panchaloha image sported with chakra in the right hand and
various weapons in the other hand.
The shrine of Ambal in
the form of Elavar Kuzhali faces South. The image is sported in a standing
posture with four hands. The ceiling in the hall before the Ambal shrine has
the twelve zodiac signs. The outer precinct has the image of Lord Vishnu and
Tulsi built a shrine, which is also believed to be the place where Vishnu
worshipped Shiva.
It is one of the shrines
of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, Shiva Sthalams praised in Tamil Saivite
Nayanar Sambandar's early medieval Tevaram poems.
In the Shiva Purana, when
Indra and Brihaspati were going towards Mount Kailash to meet Shiva, they met a
mendicant on the way who was Shiva himself. Indra did not recognize them and was
asking him about the whereabouts of Shiva, to which the mendicant did not
reply. Getting infuriated, Indra used his weapon, the Vajrayudam on Shiva.
Shiva was angry at Indra and immediately opened the third eye to destroy Indra.
Brihaspati recognized Shiva and prayed to him, requesting him to pardon Indra.
To avoid killing Indra, Shiva directed the fire from his eye towards the ocean.
The fire when it met with the ocean created an asura that Brahma named
Jalandhara as he was born out of the ocean. He also told the celestial deities that
since he emanated from the third eye of Shiva, he could be killed only by
Shiva.
Jalandhara under the
aegis of the Guru Sukracharya became very powerful. He defeated all celestial
deities and Indra. Indra along with other deities prayed to Shiva to destroy
the demon. Jalandhara in the meanwhile, married Tulasi (also called Vrinda), the
daughter of the Asura Kalanemi. Her chastity and devotion to her husband made
him even more powerful. Shiva appeared as Veerateewarar (also called
Jalandharavathamurthy) There was a severe fight between the Shiva and Jalandhara
in Virkudi, with both showing equal prowess. Each time Shiva appeared
to overpower Jalandhara, Tulasi's chastity saved him. Vishnu in the
meanwhile tricked Tulasi by appearing as a sage and bringing bad dreams to her.
She approached the sage for relief, who created a mirage showing Jalandhara
being killed by Shiva with the sage bringing him back to life. Tulasi was happy
with the replica of Jalandhar, who was Vishnu himself. She lost her chastity on
account of the incident. Shiva in the meanwhile, challenged Jalandhara to break
a chariot, which he could not. Shiva killed the demon with the chariot. Tulasi,
in the meanwhile cursed Vishnu that he would turn into a stone. Pleased by her devotion, Vishnu gave her a boon that she would be part of every Vishnu
worship and would acquire an equal place in his heart as Lakshmi. Jalandhar,
being born out of Shiva, got merged into Shiva.
There are monthly
celebrations like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon
day), and sathurthi, as well as weekly rituals like somavaram and sukravaram
and fortnightly rituals like pradosham. During the Thiruvadhirai festival in
the Tamil month of Margazhi (December–January), there is a temple procession.
The main festivals in the temple are Masimagam in February and March and the
10-day Brahmostavam after it.
Temple Timings
6.00 am to 12.00 noon
4.30 pm to 8.00 pm
How to reach the Temple
38 km from Mayiladuturai
76 km from Thanjavur
Nearby Temples
Parasalur, Keelaparasalur
Veerateswarar Temple – 48 km
Therazhundur, Sri Devadirajan Perumal Temple – 59 km
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