10th
May 2019.
This
Ayyanar temple is in the midst of a sugarcane field at Idaikattur one of the ancient
villages of the Sivaganga District in Tamil Nadu. Usually, Ayyanar with
Elephant as Vahana is called Sastha or Sathan. He used to sit in a
Rajaleelasana ie keeping his left leg up with a yoga band ( yoga patti which passes
through his hip ). He also holds a Chattai / Chentu ( crooked stick ) in his
right hand. The worship of Ayyanar started in the 3rd Century. The
worship of Ayyanar and its Iconography
took different forms in later periods. At one stage the Ayyanar with his
consorts Purana & Pushkala disappeared from worship, but still, some temple of Ayyanar
is worshiped as Ayyappan.
Usually in Villages, the Ayyanar temples will be at the
end of the Village, worshiped as a guarding deity of the Village. Ayyanars will
be in pairs with ferocious looks holding long swords in their hand. In the Kongu area, they are used to called Chinna Annan and Periya Annan. Animals are also
sacrificed for these Ayyanars. The guardians are Maduraiveeran, Pavadairayan, Karuppaswamy,
etc.
Due to the intrusion of Sanskrit the worship of Ayyanar and Iconography also
changed to a large extent. Ayyanar has become Saththan and later Sastha. Slowly from the 12th Century, Ayyanar has become Ayyappan.
IDAIKATTUR ARULMIGU KARUVALUDAIYA
AYYANAR TEMPLE:
The
Ayyanar temple faces east with two
gigantic horses on which Karuppaswamy and
Maduraiveeran are sitting. Dwarf assistants are shown at the base of the horse.
The sanctum sanctorum consists of
Sanctum, antarala, artha mandapam and a mukha mandapam. Elephant vahana with balipeedam
are in the mandapam. Dwarapalakas, Vinayagar and Balamurugan are at the entrance
of the sanctum. Ayyanar with his consort Purana Pushkala are in the sanctum. In
Koshtam Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbavar, and Durgai. A two-tier Vimana is on the
sanctum. The Vimana has stucco
images of Shiva forms.
In the
outer prakaram Sannadhi for Periya Nachi Amman, Siriya Nachiamman, Irulappa
Swamy, Irulayi, ChinnaKaruppan, Periya Karuppan, Thottichi Amman, Samayan,
Mariappan, Rakkayi Amman.
The original
temple may belong to the 12th Century and was reconstructed to the present
form and Jinortharana ashtabhandhana Maha Kumbhabhishekam was conducted on 24th
May 2015. Some sects of the people worship this Ayyanar as their Kula Swamy.
HOW TO REACH:
Town
bus route nos 99F from Periyar bus
stand, and 99M from Mattuthavani bus stand stop at Muthanenthal and from there, share autos are available to
Idaikattur.
All
the buses to Manamadurai from Madurai stop at Muthanenthal.
Nearest
Railway station is Manamadurai.
LOCATION: CLICK HERE
---OM
SHIVAYA NAMA---
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