Sri Chandramouleeswar Temple – Thiruvakkarai
Sri Chandramouleeswar Temple
is located in Thiruvakkarai Village in Villupuram district of Tamilnadu. It is
on the banks of the river Varaha.
Here Lord Shiva is
worshipped as Chandramouleeswar and his consort Parvati devi as Amirthambigai.
It is one of the Paadal
Petra Sthalam
This temple was
constructed during the 10th Century and built in the Tamil style of
architecture.
This temple has 7 tier
Raja gopuram
The sanctum sanctorum
houses one of the rare images of Chandramowleeswarar in the form of Lingam, an
iconic form of Shiva with three faces, said to be one of the very few in India.
There is an Ardha Mandapa
and a Mukha mandapa, pillared halls leading to the sanctum.
The first precinct has
the shrines of Vinayakar, Murugan, Durga, Dakshinamurthy, and Chandikeswara.
In contrast to other
temples, the crow in Sani Bhagavan's Vahanam faces left instead of right.
There is also a separate
shrine for Varadaraja Perumal.
As per Hindu legend,
Vishnu killed a demon king Vakrasura. Kali destroyed Vakrasura's sister
Dhunmuki. Since Dhummuki was pregnant, she pulled out the child from the womb
and wore it as an earring in her right ear. Since Kali slayed the sister of
Vakrasura, she came to be known as Vakrakali and the place came to be known as
Thiruvakkarai.
Adi Shankara is believed to have quelled her anger by installing a Srichakra in her left leg. The place
is called Vakra Shanti Tiruthalam. The shrine of Kali is modeled similarly to
the Durga shrine at Thenupuriswarar Temple at Patteeswaram, Brahma Chamundeeswari
Chidambaram, and Thillai Kali at Chidambaram. Usually, Kali temples are located
on the outskirts of the village, but the shrine of Kali is situated inside a
Shiva temple only at Thiruvakkarai.
The most well-known
festivals held in the temple are Chitrapournami, which is held during the Tamil
month of Panguni (April–May), the float festival for Chandramouleeswarar, which
takes place during the Tamil month of Vaikasi, and the Kaanum Pongal festival,
which takes place during the Tamil month of Thai.
Shivaratri, Vinayaga Chaturthi, Vijayadasami, and Karthigai Deepam are other festivals celebrated in the temple.
Timings
6.00 am to 12.00 noon
4.00 pm to 8.00 pm
How to reach the Temple
27 km from Villupuram
156 km from Chennai
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