|
 Kancheepuram,
a vibrant holy town of Tamil Nadu, abounds in temples and one of the
holy shrines is Kailasanathar temple. The presiding deity in the
Kailasanathar temple is Shiva. The temple is replete with puranic
lore.
It is believed that Lord Narayana – Vishnu -
consecrated the Shiva Lingam at Kailasanathar temple. There is an
interesting story behind it. Many Asuras were devotees of Shiva and
one such Asura, called Thiripuranthakan, was an ardent devotee of
Shiva from his childhood. He used to worship Sivanadigalar and had
the greatest regard for them. During the day he was normal but his
demoniac streaks surfaced during the night. Even at that time he
never used to disturb Siva’s devotees but used to torture the sages
and Devas.
 Unable
to endure this torture, they prayed to Vishnu and begged Him to save
them from the Asura. Since Thiripuranthakan was blessed by Shiva
cursing him will be ineffective. Thus, Vishnu along with sage Narada
devised a plan to put an end to his atrocities. The Asura was very
stable during day but as night approached he became intolerable. He
was mentally unstable during night.
Taking cognizance of the situation, Vishnu and
Narada took the form of Adhi and Buddhan and befriended him. At
dusk, when the Asura was under the influence of alcohol, Adhi and
Buddhan used to speak ill of Shiva. At first the Asura reprimanded
them for talking ill of Shiva but later on he also joined them. He
started torturing Shiva’s devotees. Slowly Shiva withdrew his
kindness and the Asura’s end was nearing.
 To
please the sages, Narayana and Narada took the form of Adhi and
Buddhan and were indirectly responsible for torturing Sivanadigalar.
Is it not a sin to do so? How are they going to nullify this sinful
act? They at once descended on earth and Kancheepuram caught their
attention.
They landed at Paruthikundram. Narayana chose a
holy spot and meditating on the lord of Kailash – Shiva -
consecrated a Shiva Lingam and called the deity Kailasanathar. This
event happened in the place where the temple now exists.
Narada also installed another Shiva Lingam .What
did Shiva do after watching the sudden turn of events?
(To be continued)
Usha Raja
|
