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