Sri Pasupatheswarar Swamy Temple – Tiruvetkalam

 

Sri Pasupatheswarar Swamy Temple is located in Chidambaram in the Cuddalore district of Tamilnadu State.

Here Lord Shiva is the Presiding deity and he is worshipped as Pasupatheswarar.

Goddess Satgunambal and Nalla Nayaki are the consorts of Lord Shiva.

It is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalam

The temple is counted as the fourth in the series of temples on the northern bank of the river Kaveri. The temple is also called Bhairava temple. It is believed to be the place where sages Agastya and Valmiki are believed to have obtained grace. The image of goddess Sivakami Amman is sported with her friends Vijaya and Saraswati.

The temple complex is two acres in size.

This temple has a three-tier Rajagopuram

The sanctum is approached through a pillared hall called a mukha mandapa and an artha mandapa. The shrine of the goddess is located in the Mukhamandapa facing south.

Within the temple is the metal image of Arjuna receiving Pasupathasra from Shiva.

As per legend, Arjuna, the Pandava prince from the Hindu epic Mahabharata, performed severe penance at this place to please the god Shiva. One day, Arjuna spotted a wild boar speeding to attack him. While he shot the boar with an arrow, another hunter also claimed that he was the first to shoot the beast. A fight of superiority started between the two. Arjuna attacked the hunter with an arrow, the impact of which was felt by all beings in the world. The hunter then tossed Arjuna with his toe, who fell in Krupa Samudram. It took Arjuna time to realize that it was Shiva in the form of the hunter who attacked him. Parvati, the consort of Shiva was angry at Arjuna for hitting her husband, but Shiva pacified her. They both granted boons to Arjuna, a weapon named Pasupatham. Since Shiva granted Pasupatham at this place, he came to be known as Pasupatheeswarar.

There are weekly rituals like somavaram (Monday) and sukravaram (Friday), fortnightly rituals like pradosham, and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon day) and Chaturthi. Tamil New Year during the Tamil month of Chittirai (April) is the most important festival. Vaikasi Visagam during May–June, Aani Thirumanjanam during June - July, Navratri during Purattasi, Annabishekam during Aipasi, Thiruvadirai during Margazhi and Karthikai somavaram are other festivals celebrated in the temple.

Timings

7.30 am to 12.00 noon

4.30 pm to 9.00 pm

How to reach the Temple

4 km from Chidamabaram

48 km from Cuddalore

220 km from Chennai