Skip to main content

SINGEESHWARAR TEMPLE – MAPPEDU

 SINGEESHWARAR TEMPLE – MAPPEDU - TIRUVALLUR DISTRICT - TAMILNADU



The cosmic dance was in progress, Lord Nataraja was in full splendor doing his Thandavam, however Singee(Nandi) was equally immersed in beating the drums(Miruthangam). So much was he immersed in the miruthangam, that he missed to see the cosmic dance of the Lord. He prayed to lord shiva in this Temple in Mappedu a small village in Tiruvallur district. Pleased with his devotion, the Lord danced once more here and hence the Lord is known as Singeeshwarar, (Singi = Nandi + Eshwarar the Lord).
The Mother Goddess is so fragrant, like a flower that she is known as PushpaKujambal( the goddess of flowers)
Devas and Asuras churned the Ocean of Milk ( Samudra Manthan) in order to get Nectar ( Amrith). Lord Maha Vishnu prayed to Lord Shiva here to give him the Avatar of Mohini (The Celestial Woman). Mohini ensured that the Nectar is given to Devas only without sharing with the Asuras. As Lord Vishnu attained the form of Mohini here, the Village was known as Thirumalpedu, later Meipedu in the past. Mei (Beautiful) Pedu ( Girl) and currently corrupted to Mappedu.
The village is about 40 KM’s from Chennai and is on the route to Arakkonam. It falls under Kanchipuram district. The temple is visible from the 2nd Bangalore Highway.
The Temple was built by the Chola Prince Aditya Karikalan II in the year 967 CE, making it more than 1000 years old.while the extensions were done during the Vijayanagara period. In fact, Ariyanatha Mudaliar a resident of the Village,went to a Sivanadiyar and asked him about his future. The Sage, told him that he will be on a high post in the government and will command respect from others. He also took a vow from the Mudaliar that, he will consolidate the temple of Singeeshwarar. Ariyanatha became the chief accountant and administrator under the Vijayanagara King Krishna Deva Raya & had not kept his word to the Sivanandi.
When he realized this, he built the Rajagopuram, the compound,16 Pillared hall for the Goddess & the Vasantha Mandapam. You can see the image of Ariyanatha Mudaliar sleeping under a serpant hood on the Rajagopuram
Ariyanatha Mudaliar also built the 1000 pillared hall in the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai.
At the North eastern corner of the Temple is the shrine of the Lord as a lingam (without his consort) known as Veerabaliswarar. Right opposite to that is the Shrine of Shri Anjaneya, with a Veena.(Unique). Lord Anjaneya composed the Amrithavarshini Raga and sang before the lord here. This shrine is the oldest in the temple and is supposed to be 5000 years old.
The Rajagopuram is five tiered one and is facing south, with a horde of sculptures depicting the gods in various Puranic lore’s across the Mukha Dwaram. As you enter you come into a huge open compound. In a straight line is the entrance to the Mukha Mandapam with a few steps. The mukha mandapam has an adhikara Nandi, and leads to the Ardha Mandapam and a Chathuranga Garbha Griham with a chaturanga vimanam. The lord is about 4 to 5 feet in the form of a Lingam with a circular avudayar or Pindika. After praying to the lord, you come out to the Praharam, where you can find shrines dedicated to Vinayakar, Adikesava with his consort’s Sridevi and Bhudevi,Subramniar with Valli and Devasena. On the Mandapam outer wall you can see, Rutha Ganapathy, Dakshinamoorthy, Maha Vishnu, Bramha, Durga on Mahisha & a shrine to Chandikeshwarar.
On the North west corner is the Shrine of the Goddess Pushpakujambal with a 16 pillared mandapam. Almost on the completion of the circumambulation you see the Vasantha Mandapam ( 20 Pillared), and Anjaneya with the Veena (Unique) praying to the shrine of Veerabaleeshwarar Lingam.
You come to the completion of the prahara with the Balipeetham, Dhwaja Sthambam and the “Singi”(another name for Nandi) – Nandi facing the lord from the East. Before the Nandi is a square stone (Now tiled) on which one has to face the north or south( without showing the back to Nandi or the Lord) and pray to both in a straight Line on the days of Pradosham. The belief is that people with ailments of the Bone, including joint Pains get cured.
As Surya himself prays to the Lord, there is no Navagraham in this Temple. The lord himself is the Adipathi of all the Planets here.
Contact : Shridhar Gurukkal - 9444943644.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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....
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more