Shiva Temples of Tamilnadu

Temple Significance & History

Temple History

King Kochengat Chola is believed to have been a spider in his previous birth. He worshipped Shiva at Tiruvanaikka by creating a web canopy over the deity. By the grace of Shiva, he was later blessed with birth as a great Chola king. Since an elephant had obstructed his worship in his previous birth, he built temples with raised sanctums that elephants could not enter. The temple at this place is one among the Maada Koils built by Kochengat Chola.

Origin of the Name

According to the legend, during the great deluge, Shiva protected all living beings by placing them in a pot of nectar and remaining in the form of a Shiva Linga at its mouth. When the time came for creation to begin anew, Shiva is said to have assumed the form of a hunter and broken the pot with his bow. The pot broke into three parts, and the places where its three portions fell became sacred sites. The bottom portion fell at Kumbakonam, known as Kudamukku or Kumbakonam (Adhikumbesam); the middle portion fell at Kalayanallur; and the mouth of the pot fell at Kudavayil, now known as Kudavasal.

Sangam-era Significance

This place has great antiquity and is associated with the Sangam period. The Purananuru records that the Chola king Kochengannan defeated the Chera king Kanaikkal Irumporai and imprisoned him at the prison fortress of Kudavayil. This indicates that Kudavayil served as a prison fortress of the Chola kingdom during that period. Poems by Sangam poets such as Kudavayil Keerathanar and Kudavayil Nallathanar are found in Sangam literary works including the Akananuru. A poem by Kudavayil Keerathanar in the Akananuru also indicates that Kudavayil served as a treasury centre of the Cholas during the Sangam period.

Legend of Garuda and the Nectar

Vinata, one of the two wives of Sage Kashyapa, was the younger wife and the mother of Garuda. Garuda, who became the mount of Mahavishnu and a devoted worshipper of Vishnu, is revered as Periya Thiruvadi. At one time, Garuda and his mother Vinata were forced into servitude to his elder mother's family. To free his mother from bondage, Garuda brought the nectar of immortality from the celestial realm as requested by his elder mother. While flying near Kudavayil, an asura tried to seize the pot of nectar from him. Garuda placed the pot on a large anthill nearby, spread darbha grass over it, and engaged the asura in a fierce battle, eventually defeating him. Meanwhile, Konēsa Peruman, who was within the anthill, gently drew the pot of nectar towards himself. When Garuda returned and found the pot missing, he searched the anthill with his beak. Shiva then emerged from the anthill and granted Garuda his divine vision. Following the command of Konēsa Peruman, Garuda built a temple for Shiva at this sacred place. Since the deity was bathed with the nectar brought by Garuda, Konēsar came to be revered as an Amrita Linga. As drops of nectar fell here, the water body opposite the temple came to be known as Amrita Theertham.

This is also the sacred place where Sage Thrinabindu worshipped Shiva, who emerged from the sacred pot and blessed the sage by curing him of his illness. Hanuman is also believed to have worshipped the deity here, and images of Hanuman can be found within the temple.