|
Temples - I
Sree Surya Bhagawan
Thanjavur has the
disticntion of having temples for the Navagrahas: Suryan,
Chandran, Angaragan,
Budhan, Guru,
Sukkiran, Saneeswarar,
Raaghu and Kedhu.
Let us look at these temples:
Suryanar
Koil
 Two
kilometres north of Aaduthurai lies Suryanar
temple. It is situated on
the road between Kumbakonam and Kadhiramangalam and 15 km to the east of
Kumbakonam.
There are two other
holy places near Suryanar Koil - Thirumangalakudi and Kanjanur.
Of the nine grahas, the
primary position is given to Lord Surya which is why the first day of
the week is said to be Sunday. The seven days of the week refer to the
seven grahas, including the Sani Bhagawan.
The
eighth graha is Raaghu. Of the seven days in a week, 10 hours are
reserved for Raaghu, i.e., one-and-a-half hours per day. This
one-and-a-half hours is what we call as 'Raaghu kalam'.
The ninth graha is
called Kedhu. Like for Raaghu, the same amount of time is reserved for
Kedhu also. This one-and-a-half hours is called 'Yama kandam'.
Raaghu kalam and Yama
kandam are believed to be inappropriate for performing auspicious deeds.
Sree
Surya Puranam
 When
the world came into existence, the first sound that reverbrated was 'Om'.
Suryan was born from this 'Omkara naadham'. Sree Markandeya Puranam has
explained this factor.
Suryan was the son of
Sage Kashyap and was the grandson of Sage Maarisi. Surya married
Soorvarsala, the daughter of Viswakarma. Vaivasvatha Manu and
Yamadharmarajan were his sons and Yamuna, his daughter.
It should be mentioned
here that the chariot of Surya has only one wheel. It is drawn by seven
horses in seven colours. Lord Surya, who is the chief of the grahas,
appears with a lotus in his divine hands.
Surya Bhagawan blesses
his devotees with good health, fame and efficient management.
The
temple
The tower of the temple
is 15.5 metre in height and consists of three tiers. At the top of the
tower are five domes. To the north of the rajagopuram lies the sacred
bathing ghat, called Surya Pushkarni. It is important to bathe in this
ghat before offering worship at the temple. If not, one should at least
sprinkle its water on one's head.
Special
features of the temple
All the grahas face
Surya Bhagawan in this temple. As soon as one enters the temple, there
is a sacrificial platform (bali peetam ). To its east lies a mandap
where one can see an idol of a horse. The Lord's vehicle is the horse (vaahanam)
which goes by the name 'Saptha, meaning seven in Sanskrit. The
one-wheeled chariot is drawn by seven horses.
As soon as one enters
the temple one sees the shrine of 'Khol Theertha Vinayakar'. After
worshipping the Vinayakar, one can worship Kasi Viswanathar and Sree
Visalakshi Ammaiyar. Surya Bhagawan is found in a lying posture inside
the sanctum sanctorum with Usha and Parathyusha (Chaya Devi ).
There are steps in
front of Guru Bhagwan which leads to the idols of other grahas. After
worshipping these grahas, one is supposed to worship Khol Theertha
Vinayakar again. Then comes the flag mast, and after worshipping it, one
should circumambulate the temple.
Those who worship Surya
Bhagwan and Lord Siva in this temple are blessed with prosperity. It is
the only Navagraha temple where the other eight grahas can also be found
along with the main one.
Those who are affected
by 'Graha Dhosham' can come to this temple for the antidote (pariharam).
Those who are afflicted with the malefic influence of Sani, Ashtama Sani
and Janma Sani can visit this temple and be relieved of their
sufferings.
To
reduce the fury of Surya Bhagawan, Guru Bhagawan appears in the standing
posture in front of the former.
If one bathes in the
nine ghats in this place continuously for 12 Sundays, they will be saved
from sufferings and blessed with a happy and peaceful life.
According to Atharvana
Veda, one who worships Surya Bhagawan will be relieved from diseases
pertaining to the eyes and heart.
This temple is open
from 6 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on all days.
Requirements
for worshipping the Lord
Flower - Senthamarai
(Red Lotus)
Samith (sacrificial fuel ) - Erukku ( madar plant )
Dhaniyam (grain) - Wheat
Vasthram - Lotus red
Neivedhyam - Sakkarai pongal
Next: Chandra Bhagawan
|
