In the small village of Alangudi, surrounded by three holy
rivers is the Arulmigu Abathsahyeswarar Temple. Here, Lord Shiva is the
saviour, the one who consumed poison to protect the world. He is also in the
form of Dakshinamurthy, the personification of the Lord as the teacher, the one
with supreme awareness. Lord Dakshinamurthy is worshipped as Brihaspati or Guru
Bhagvan. This temple is believed to have been constructed by an ardent devotee
of Lord Shiva, Amuthokar. This temple of Guru construction epitomises the work
Pallav era, with contributions from Viajayanagar and Chola era. Sage Viswamitra
is believed to have worshipped Shiva here.
Location TamilNadu, Tiruvarur, Chennai
Legend
Mythology describes that when the Devas and Asuras were
churning the celestial ocean, Palazhi, the snake Vasuki who was used as the
churning rope emitted deadly poison (Alam visham). To protect the Universe,
Lord Shiva drank the poison. Hence Lord Shiva came to be called as
'Abathsahayeswarar', meaning 'savior' and the place came to be known as
'Alangudi'. Some legends say that Guru worshipped Lord Shiva in Alangudi
This Temple is part of famous Navagraha Pilgrimage Yatra.
Architecture
The temple is built in Dravidian style of architecture with
a tiered rajagopuram adorned with richly hued and intricate carvings. The vast
halls and decorative pillars proclaims the artisanship of the yesteryears. The
main deity is swayambhu and there is a copper coloured idol of Nandi. Guru
Dakshinamurthy is worshipped in a shrine along the parikarma path. There are
also shrines for Vinayaka, Chandikeswarar and other Navagrahas.
Culture
Kumbakonam as a salient place in the history of south India
as it served as the capital for medieval Cholas. The place is known for its
temples and monasteries. The place is famous for Mahamaham festival celebrated
at the Mahamaham tank once in 12 years.
Picture courtesy : Wikipedia
Darsan Info
Temple timings :- From 6.00 AM to 1.00 PM and from 4.00 AM
to 8.30 PM
Thursday is considered auspicious to visit the temple.
Darsan Dresscode
Devotees are advised to wear clean and traditional clothing.
Western attire are not allowed in the temples of Tamil Nadu
Famous Festival
January - Thai Poosam
March - Panguni Uthiram
April - Poornima day
July - Guru Periyachi (during the transition of Guru)
Temple Rituals
The priests perform regular rituals to the deities. The
sequence of worshipping is Lord Vinayaka, then, Dwaja Ganapathy followed by
Lord Abathsahayeswarar and Guru Dakshinamurthy.
Special Rituals
Devotees usually light 24 lamps with ghee and circumambulate
the Guru Bhagavan temple 24 times.
Additional Info
Chan Ganesh
Vandayar restaurant
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