The
visit to this Sri Pasupatheeswarar Temple at Chittoor was a part of the “Shiva,
Vishnu, Amman Temples and Heritage sites from Komarapalayam to Edappadi Visit”
– On 19th May 2024. Thanks to ல மா செல்வராசு, one
of my FB friends of Komarapalayam, for taking me to all these places.
Moolavar : Sri Pasupatheeswarar
Consort : Sri Mangala Nayagi
Some
of the salient features of this temple are….
The
temple faces east with an entrance arch. Balipeedam and Rishabam are in
front of the sanctum sanctorum under a recently built mandapam. Moolavar in the
sanctum sanctorum is of swayambhu and
square in shape. In koshtam, Vinayagar, Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbavar, and
Brahma.
In the praharam, Vinayagar, Ayyappan, Sri Valli Devasena Subramaniar, Chandikeswarar,
Navagrahas, and Bairavar.
Ambal
Mangala Nayagi is in a separate sannidhi facing south. Ambal is in a standing
posture with abhaya varada hastam.
Moolavar is of swayambhu and square in shape
Sri Vallidevasena Subramaniar
ARCHITECTURE
The
temple consists of the sanctum sanctorum, antarala, and ardha mandapam / mukha
mandapam. The mukha mandapam was built in recent years. The sanctum
sanctorum is on a pada bandha adhistanam with threepatta kumudam. The bhitti
starts with vedikai. The pilasters are Brahmakantha pilasters with vettu
pothyal. The prastaram consists of valapi and kapotam with nasi kudus. The
temple was constructed with stone from adhistanam to prastaram. The one-tala
vimanam above prastaram was built with bricks. Shiva, Dakshinamurthy, Maha
Vishnu, and Brahma are in the greeva koshtams. The sigaram is of the vesara style.
Stucco
images of Kannappar, Nalvar, and Natarajar are in the Tala koshtams, which is a
unique feature of this temple.
HISTORY
AND INSCRIPTIONS
It
was said that a lot of inscriptions are found on the adhistanam. During
renovation, the stones are ground to form a smooth surface, and the
inscriptions are lost. The temple may be 400 to 500 years old, built during the Vijayanagara Nayakas and reconstructed/renovated in recent years.
LEGENDS
As
per the Legend, Shiva sensed the conceit of Brahma, the creator of this
world, and sent Kamadhenu to this world and take up the job of creation. Kamadhenu
worshiped Lord Shiva by milking on the anthill. During the process of worship,
accidentally Kamadhenu’s hoof hits Lord Shiva. She pleaded with Lord Shiva to pardon
her. Hence, Lord Shiva was called Pasupatheeswarar. Pleased with the worship of
Kamadhenu, Shiva asked her to continue her creation. In the meantime, Brahma realized
his mistake and did a penance to Lord Shiva to get back his power of creation. He
came to this place, created a Theertham, and worshiped Lord Shiva. Finally satisfied with the worship of Brahma, Shiva pardoned him and gave back the power of creation.
In
another legend, in the process of playing Chokkattan, Ambal cheated Shiva, and Maha Vishnu was also in favor of
Ambal. Shiva cursed Ambal to be born as a cow on earth and Maha Vishnu as a herdsman. As a cow, Ambal roamed on the earth and worshipped Shiva by milking
on a Shiva lingam. Satisfied with Ambal’s worship, Shiva pardoned her and
relieved her from the curse. Shiva married Parvati, and hence Shiva is called Pasupatheeswarar.
POOJAS
AND CELEBRATIONS
Apart
from regular poojas, special poojas are conducted on pradosham, Maha
Shivaratri, Vinayagar Chaturthi, etc.
TEMPLE
TIMINGS
The
temple will be kept open from 07.00 hrs to 11.00 hrs, and from 17.00 hrs to
19.00 hrs.
The
Gurukkal resides adjacent to the temple and may be contacted for darshan.
CONTACT
DETAILS
HOW
TO REACH
The
temple at Chittoor is about 500 Meters from Chittoor, Padavetti Amman Temple,
8 km from Edappadi, 23 km from Sankagiri, and 47 km from Erode.
The nearest
Railway Station is Sankagiri.
LOCATION
OF THE TEMPLE: CLICK HERE
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OM SHIVAYA NAMA ---
