Temple

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.

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.

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)

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.

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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