Skip to main content

PRALAYANATHASWAMY TEMPLE – SHOLAVANDAN

 PRALAYANATHASWAMY TEMPLE – SHOLAVANDAN – MADURAI



On the banks of the Vaigai river a pandian King, installed a Shiva Lingam, which he had brought from Kashi and was immersed in prayers to the Lord. There was a deluge of water and the river Vaigai was in full spate breaking boundaries. People took shelter near the Shiva Linga along with the King. The torrents of water felt like, it would blast away everyone and everything on its path and deposit them in Patala. People prayed to Lord Shiva to come to their help, who graaced them and saved them from any harm to them or the place. This place is Sholavandan and the name of the Lord here is Pralaya Nathar. (One who saved his devotees from Pralaya =Deluge or destruction.) (Lord over Pralaya) The goddess is known as Pralaya Nayaki or Soundarya Nayaki.
The temple is over five hundred years old and was built by the Pandian rulers and was later supported by the Naicker’s of Madurai.
The Temple has a North entrance, which leads into a huge compound with many a shrine. In the centre are two separate Mukhamandapams ( built in modern times) for the Lord and the Goddess with the Garbha Grihams. Both Lord Shiva and goddess Parvathi are facing the east. The shrine of the goddess is on the left side of Lord Shiva. The Lingam is a Bana lingam, meaning excavated with a square Avudayara or Pindika indicating the significance of the Goddess in the Temple. For it is the Goddess Parvathi who opened the eyes of the Lord, married him and made him a house holder for the benefit of the entire world. People also call it Swayambhu. However, I feel a swayambhu Lingam is a natural formation and need not be in a perfect shape of the Lingam. The goddess is in a standing Position, with all her splendour.
There is only one Prahara which has the Koshta devatas on the outer walls of the Shrines, including Bala Vinayagar, Dakshinamurthy,Lingothbhavar, Bramha & Durga. On the walls of the Goddess shrine are the Ichha, Kriya and Gyana Shakthi Idols. There are two Nandi’s facing the lord and the Goddess.The temple compound also has shrines for Lord Vinayaka, Subramaniar with his consorts, Chandikeshwarar , Hanuman and Mahalakshmi & Kala Bhairava.
The temple also has Saneeshwarar in the form of a lingam. Since Saneeshwarar is facing West, the Pindika or Avudayar is facing towards the Left.
Except for the Garbha Grihas of the Lord and the Goddess, and the Nandi’s, everything including the mukhamandapam, the compound, Vimanas are all new constuction. There is no Rajagopuram.
The Sthala Vriksham is Vilwam.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

THYAGARAJASWAMY TEMPLE - TIRUVOTRIYUR

  THIRUVOTRIYUR THYAGARAJASWAMY TEMPLE....! The Adipurishwarar and Thyagarajaswamy Thiagarajaswamy Temple in Tiruvotriyur is more famously known as Vadivudai Amman Temple. The huge temple complex stands majestically in this bustling commercial and industrial area on the outskirts of Chennai. The temple was originally built by the Pallavas and later rebuilt by the great king, Rajendra Chola I.The Chola kings, who were reigning in Thondainadu (this area), patronized the worship of Shiva. King Rajendra Chola rebuilt the central shrine of Adipureeswarar and a vimanam (dome) of black stone was added.... The uniqueness of this temple is that devotees from six sects of Hinduism perform poojas here. Followers of Shiva, Vishnu and Shakthi andUchavar, AdiSaivites and Namboodris (from Kerala) come to this temple and worship the manifestations of Shiva and Shakthi....! Thiruvotriyur is about 10 kms from Chennai,the capital of Tamil Nadu. This temple is a Paadal Petra Sthalam, a holy place prai...

VAIKUNTHA PERUMAL TEMPLE OR THIRU PARAMESHWARA VINNAGARAM KANCHIPURAM

  THIRU PARAMESHWARA VINNAGARAM OR VAIKUNTHA PERUMAL TEMPLE KANCHIPURAM Thiru Parameswara (The greatest Lord) Vinnagaram (temple) or Vaikunta Perumal Temple is a temple dedicated to Vishnu & his concert Vaikundavalli located in Kanchipuram. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple finds mention in the Divya Prabhanda the early medieval tamil literature of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one among the 108 temples dedicated to Vishnu. The temple is considered the second oldest extant temples in Kanchipuram after the Kailasanathar temple & is in a straight line facing each other, though seperated by 3.5 KMs. The temple is believed to have been built by the Pallava king Nandivarman (720-796 CE), with later contributions from Chola's and Vijayanagara Kings. The temple is surrounded by a granite wall enclosing all the shrines and a pond of the temple. The outer walls of the inner praharam is full of Kalakrithis related to the lord....

ELEPHANTA CAVES PART 15 - FINAL - ICONOGRAPHY OF ELEPHANTA CAVES - GHARAPURI

GHARAPURI - ELEPHANTA CAVES 15 - FINAL ICONOGRAPHY OF ELEPHANTA CAVES MAHESHAMURTHY  NOT TRIMURTHY The Gharapuri or Elephanta Caves must have been built between the 5th and 6th century C.E., the five  Hindu and two Buddhist caves collectively known as the Elephanta Caves have survived through centuries of habitation, invasion and neglect. The island and its resident caves received the name ‘Elefanta Ishle’ from Portuguese invaders after the discovery of a black stone sculpture of an elephant on the island, now housed outside Mumbai’s  Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum . VAMADEVA The excavations of cave temples in this region are divided into three classes according to the sects to which they belong, namely Buddhist, Brahmanical Hindu, and Jains. The earliest known architecture are the Buddhist around 3 rd century BC, Brahmanical caves whether connected to Shiva or Vishnu came next around the 4 th century to 8 th century Current Era and can be termed...