Ponvaithanathar Temple / பொன்வைத்த நாதர் கோயில், Thiruchitremam, சித்தாய்மூர் / Sithamoor, Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu.

This is the 223^rd Thevaram Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam and the 106^th Sthalam on the south side of the river Kaveri in Chozha Nadu. The place was called Chitremam during the Thevaram period and is now called “Sithamoor” and is locally called Chithaimur.

In Periyapuranam, Sekkizhar records that Thirugnanasambandar came to this temple after worshiping Lord Shiva of Thirukalar. In that, he didn’t mention this temple in particular, but mentioned other temples on the way to Thirumaraikadu.

மற்றுஅவ்வூர் தொழுதுஏத்தி மகிழ்ந்துபாடி

        மால் அயனுக்கு அரியபிரான் மருவும்தானம்

பற்பலவும் சென்று பணிந்து ஏத்திப்பாடி

        பரவுதிருத் தொண்டர்குழாம் பாங்கின் எய்தக்

கற்றவர் வாழ்தண்டலை நீள்நெறி உள்ளிட்ட

        களகமதில் திருக்களரும் கருதார் வேள்வி

செற்றவர் சேர்பதி பிறவும் சென்று போற்றித்

        திருமறைகாடு அதன்மருங்கு சேர்ந்தார் அன்றே

Thirugnanasambandar and Vallalar have sung hymns in praise of Lord Shiva of this temple.

நிறைவெண்திங்கள் வாள்முக மாதர்பாட நீள்சடைக்

குறைவெண்திங்கள் சூடியோர் ஆடல்மேய கொள்கையான்

சிறைவண்டு யாழ்செய் பைம்பொழிற் பழனம் சூழ் சிற்றேமத்தான்

இறைவனென்றே உலகெலாம் ஏத்திநின்ற பெருமானே

……. திருஞானசாம்பந்தர்

                                        -“மேன்மைதரும்

முற்றேமம் வாய்ந்த முனிவர் தினம்பரவும்

சிற்றேமம் வாய்ந்த செழுங்கதிரே””

…. திரு அருட்பா

Moolavar  : Sri Swarna Sthabaneswarar, Sri Ponvaithanathar

Consort    : Sri Akilandeswari

Some of the salient features of this temple are…..

The temple faces east with a 3-tier Rajagopuram. Balipeedam and Rishabam are after the Rajagopuram. In Koshtam Vinayagar, Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbavar, Brahma, and Durgai.

Urchavars are Velavar, Somaskandar, Aadipoora Amman, Pradosha Nayagar, Chandrasekar, Sambandar, and a Chettiar with his wife.

In praharam Kanni Vinayagar, Murugan, Mahalakshmi, Brahmarishi, Ayyanar, Bhairavar, Saneeswarar, Suriyan, and Viswanathar.

The Temple complex consists of the sanctum sanctorum, antarala, artha mandapam, and a maha mandapam. A two-tier Vimana is in the sanctum. 

HISTORY AND INSCRIPTIONS

Since Thirugnanasambandar has sung hymns in praise of Lord Shiva of this temple, the original temple might have existed before the 7^th century. Later, the same was reconstructed as a stone temple during the Chozha period and further expanded by the Nayakas.

The Inscriptions recorded from this temple belong to Chozha Kings, Madurai Konda Koparakesarivarmar, Rajakesari Varmar, Rajendra Chozha, Thiribhuvana Chakravarthi Rajendra Chozha, Pandya Kings Varaguna Pandya, Srivallabha alias Veera Panya, Maravarman Sundara Pandyan, and Vijayanagara Kings Venkatapathy Rayar.

As per the inscriptions, this place was in “Rajarajavalanattu VettraRRu Nattu Puntrirkootrathu Thiruchitremam”. This place was called Thiruchitremam in 1459 CE. Lord Shiva was called Thiruchitremamudayar, Pazhayavanaththambiranar, Pazhayavana Perumal, Pazhayavana Thambiranar, and  Thiru(va)aathitha Eswaramudayar.

Kulothunga Chozha-III’s 35^th reign year inscription records the endowment of some gifts by the Muppathu Vattathu Brahmins. Inscription's last portion was not available.

Rajendra Chozha-III’s 6^th reign year inscription records the endowment of burning a sandhi lamp,  for the same gold coins were received by the people working with the temple. There is a word ”Pittukku man sumantha”, which denotes the “Thiruvilayadal Purana”. More details couldn't be obtained since the inscription was badly damaged.

Two nos of 12th-century fragment inscriptions record some endowments and the donations were made, in terms of Land, etc.

A damaged 17th-century Thanjavur Nayaka’s inscription records the endowment of burning a sandhi lamp for which 150 kasu was handed over to Siva Brahmins, and they agreed to do the same.

The inscription at the Temple Mandapa pillar records that the pillar was gifted by Muthranraman alias Mudiyal Puriyal. Veera Pandya Devar period and Inthiyur Sabha people gave gifts to this temple. A Channel was excavated to bring water to the kulam/tank during the Thiribhuvana Chakravarthy Rajarajadevar (II or III) period. 

A 19^th to 20^th Century inscription records that 25 veli land at Alangudi belongs to the Thiruvaimur Thambiranar. (This inscription is not available at present.) 

As per Kudavayil Balasubramaniyam, the 1753CE copper plate inscription records that the Villagers and officials gave donations from their income for conducting a special abhishekam to Lord Shiva on Deepavali Day.

LEGENDS

As per the Sthala Purana, a Merchant Sankaran Chettiar went on business after his wife was confirmed pregnant. She was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and used to worship him daily. Lord Shiva helped with livelihood in the form of a gold coin for a Chetti Lady. She used to sell the gold coins and lived. When her pregnancy was in an advanced stage, she prayed to Lord Shiva, and Ambal Akilandeswari came in the form of a mother to help her with the delivery. In the meantime, the Chettiar returned. Her neighbors and relatives told ill about his wife. She prayed to Lord Shiva in public to prove her innocence. To her prayer, Lord Shiva proved by opening the Sanctum door automatically, to shift the Aathi tree to the front of the temple and move the Rishabam to go behind the balipeedam. Thus, Lord Shiva showed Chettiar's wife’s innocence.

As per another legend, A place called Mutharasapuram was ruled on the north side of this place, Thiruchitremam. A pot of milk used to be carried to his palace through this place. On many occasions, the pot used to fall on a particular place and break. When the king came to know this, he wanted to know why it happened at a particular place. So he asked his people to excavate that particular place and found a Shiva Linga. Later, the King constructed a temple for this Shiva Linga. During the process of excavation, a scar was made due to the hitting of the excavation tool, which can be seen even now. 

Honeycomb is seen in the artha mandapam. It is believed that Brahma Rishi worshiped Lord Shiva of this temple as a honey bee during the artha jama pooja. One day, when he came to the temple after the artha jama pooja, and doors were closed. The Maharishi took the form of a honey bee, went inside, and worshiped Lord Shiva.

POOJAS AND CELEBRATIONS

Apart from regular poojas, special poojas are conducted on Vaikasi Visakam in the month Vaikasi (May – June), Aadi Fridays and Pooram in the month Aadi (July – Aug), Vinayagar Chathurthi in the month Avani (Aug – Sept), Skanda Sashti in the month Aippasi (Oct – Nov), Thirukarthigai in the month of Karthigai (Nov – Dec), Thaipoosam in the month of Thai (Jan – Feb), Maha Shivaratri in the month of Masi (Feb – March), and monthly pradoshams.

TEMPLE TIMINGS

The temple will be kept open from 08.00 hrs to 12.00 hrs, and from 17.00 hrs to 20.00 hrs.

CONTACT DETAILS

The mobile number of Ramnath +919629879889 may be contacted for further details.

HOW TO REACH 

On the bus route from Thiruvarur to Thiruthuraipoondi, get down at  Alathambadi, from there, Sithamoor is 3 km.

The temple is 15 km from Thiruthuraipoondi, 25 km from Thiruvarur, 34 km from Mannargudi, 65 km from Kumbakonam, 72 km from Thanjavur, and 347 km from Chennai.

The nearest Railway Station is Thiruthuraipoondi.

LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE: CLICK HERE

Some of the photos are taken from the website, and thanks to the unknown photographers.

--- OM SHIVAYA NAMA ---