Mayiladuthurai Mayuranathar Temple
A bit far from the Cauvery river is the Mayuranathar temple, Mayiladuthurai. The temple is the abode of God Shiva, who is present here as a self-manifested lingam. The temple gets the name because Goddess Parvathi worshipped the lord here in the form of a peacock. Mayura means the peacock. The temple is vast and occupies 350000 square feet area, with its 9 tiered gopuram, which is of 165 feet high. When goddess Paravati persuaded to go to the yagna, her father Daksha conducted, she was insulted and so was her husband, God Shiva. So she took a form of a peacock and worshipped the Lord here. Also, you can find Tiruppariyalur Veerattam, where it is believed that the yagna was conducted by Daksha is found close to this temple, just 8 KM off. Another interesting fact is that there are 7 temples for the Sapta Matrikas, and this is one of them. All the other temples are also present very closely.
Architecture And Shrines
Aadhi Mayuranathar has a separate shrine, and Goddess Parvati is seen here in the form of peacock worshipping him. Lord Muruga here is praised by Arunagirinathar in his hymns. While in rest of the temples, Lord Muruga receives his weapon, the Vel from his mother Parvati during Kandasashti, He receives here from Shiva. There is a shrine where Lord and His consort are both in the form of peacock. The evening prayers are first offered to Lord Nataraj.The Linga here is facing west and is always dressed in red saree. This is to denote that the God and Goddess are one and the same. A rare form of Durga is seen here. She is seen with her foot on a demon, and 2 other demons on her side. There is a shrine where Lord Vishnu is seen worshipping Lord Shiva.
The shrine of Kudhambai Siddhar is also present here. There is a shrine for Kanakkadi Vinayakar, who is often prayed by devotees to take care of their accounts.
History / Story
The Mudvan Muzhukku theory started from this temple. When Nadha Sharma and his wife set on the pilgrimage to this temple to take bath in Cauvery for Thula Sthanam, they couldn’t make it. Thula month or Aippasi falls between mid of October to mid of November. The couple had reached only after 30 days of this month completed. Crestfallen, they worshipped Lord Shiva here, and he asked them to take bath in Cauvery before sunrise, and assured they will get complete benefit of Thula Sthanam. The same belief goes till now, as the Lord froze time for his devotees here. Devotees take bath on Karthigai first here.
Festivals
All the days of Aippasi, the Utsavar is taken to the banks to Cauvery and the Brahmotsavam festival is during Vaikasi, the Tamil month that falls during March and April.
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