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Tamil unlocked the temple door
 Vedaranyam
or Thirumaraikkadu is situated in the southern-most corner of India. The
Vedavaneshwarar temple here is an ancient temple of great significance.
This holy place, which
was once a forest, is called Thirumaraikkadu as this was the place where
the Vedas worshipped Lord Shiva. This is the 125th holy place on the
southern banks of the Cauvery 'thirusthalas'. It is one of the 64 Sakthi
Peetams of Ambal. The 'Deva Sabhai' in the temple is one of the 16
sabhai's of Lord Nataraja. This is also one of the 'Sapthavidanga'
Sthalas and the Maragatha Lingam here is a naturally formed Lingam (swayambu).
This was the place
where Bhrama, Vishnu, Indra, Agasthyar, Nachiketu, Suvedha Kethu,
Viswamitra, Gauthama, Manu, Maandhatha, Dasaratha, Vasishta, Naradha and
the Vedaas worshipped Lord Shiva.
Behind the
Vedavaneshwarar Lingam, one can see the divine forms of Parvati and
Parameshwaran, which is unique to this temple.
Special darshan for Agasthya
 When the wedding of
Lord Shiva and Parvati took place in Kailayam, it was attended by the
Devas, Asuras and other living beings. The mega congregation caused a
serious imbalance in the world. Lord Shiva, realising the danger, asked
Sage Agasthya to go to the southern part to check the tilt. But the sage
also wanted to witness their wedding.
Lord Shiva promised to
come and give darshan in all his wedding splendour. He appeared with His
consort Parvathi at Thirumaraikkadu and gave special and exclusive
darshan to Agasthya. This is the reason why Shiva and Parvathi appear in
their bridal splendour behind the Lingam.
While daily abhishekam
is done for the Lingam alone, for Shiva and Parvathi it is once a year
along with 'sandana kappu'. It is believed that if one worships at this
temple, they will be absolved of their 'graha dhosham'.
Rat that trimmed the
wick
 Once upon a time, after
the regular pooja was performed, the temple was locked for the day. The
lamp that was burning became dim as the wick had burnt. Lord Shiva told
Parvathi that whoever trims the wick will be the fortunate one to rule
the three worlds in his next birth. But Parvathi was doubtful as the
temple had already been locked. Meanwhile, a rat came running near the
lamp in order to eat the ghee. It shook its nose in the process and the
wick got trimmed by this movement and shone brightly.
Thus the rat was born
as Mahabali Chakravarthy in its next birth. He became the unparellelled
king of the Asuras, ruled the three worlds, made Mahavishnu manifest
Himself as Vamana, promised the 'three feet' land, lost his kingdoms and
finally gave his head as the third feet to the Lord.
Veerahathi Vinayakar
 Sree Rama, by killing
Ravana, had committed the sin of 'Brahmahathi. Due to this, Rama's
character and colour changed. On seeing this condition of Rama, the
rishis advised him to go to Thirumaraikkadu to do penance and pray to
Lord Shiva. Rama did so and on a 'Panguni Uththiram' day, Lord Shiva
appeared before Rama and asked Him to bathe in the Manikarnigai, the
bathing ghat.
Vinayaka, who was in
the sanctum sanctorum near the west temple tower, kicked the 'Brahmahaththi'
and drove it away. Thus, Rama was absolved of the sin and the Vinayaka
idol came to be called 'Veerahathi Vinayakar'. He appears in the same
posture, with his leg raised, as if to kick the sin.
There are 96 bathing
ghats in Thirumaraikkadu. Manikarnigai is the most important ghat and it
is believed that if one bathes in this ghat at noon, their wishes would
be fulfilled. According to the Puranas, the holy rivers, including the
Ganga, in order to attain absolution from the sins left by the people
who bathe in them, come to Manikarnigai.
Yazhai Pazhitha
Mozhiyal
 The Ambal in this
temple is called 'Yazhai Pazhitha Mozhiyal', one whose voice is sweeter
than the sound emanating from the veena. The idol of Saraswati does not
hold a veena but an 'ettu suvadi' (palm leaf book).
According to the
Puranas, Vedavaneshwarar was worshipped by the Vedas. The Vedas lost
their sanctity as the Brahmins misused them for their livelihood. So, to
regain their sanctity, they worshipped the Lord in human form. Lord
Shiva gave them back their sanctity and it is believed that later they
grew as 'vilvam' trees
in this place.
Viswamitra,
who wanted to be called a Brahma rishi by Vasishta,
did penance at Thirumaraikkadu. The 'vanni' tree under which he did
penance is the sacred tree of this temple. There is an idol of
Viswamitra under this tree. There is well called 'Viswamitra theertham'
and a temple for him near it.
 Tamil unlocks temple
door
The temple, which was
locked by the Vedas after they completed their prayers, could not be
opened by anyone. the devotees had to use a different entrance to
worship the Lord. During the 7th century, Saiva saints Appar and
Tirugnanasambandar, who were visiting various Shiva sthalas, came to
Thirumaraikkadu. When they came to know about the locked door, they sang
'Thirumarai', which was equivalent to the Vedas, and the door opened.
Special features of
the temple:
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The Navagrahas, who
usually look in different directions, can be seen looking in the same
direction i.e., towards the west.
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It is said worshipping
the six feet Durga in this temple will relieve one of their fear of
evil.
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I really enjoyed this article..... - Bharati, NYnam, 9/13/2006
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Thanks, well written. Enjoyed..... - T Nagendran, Opelika Al, 6/15/2005
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Can somebody help find details..... - Manju Mary George, Palakkadr, 4/1/2005
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I was looking to see this temp..... - paran, Scarborough, Canada, 2/10/2005
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Saiva
saints Sundaramurthy Nayanar and Seraman Perumal Nayanar have worshipped
the Lord here and sung songs that are part of the collection 'Thevaram',
while Arunagiri Nathar rendered 'Thiruppugazh' on Lord Muruga here.
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Paranjothi, who wrote 'Thiruvilayadal
Puranam', was born here and has also written 'Vedaranya Puranam'.
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'Ellorum inbutrirukka
ninaipadhuve
yallamal verondrariyen paraparame' - thus sang Thayumanavar Swamigal, who was also a native of
Vedaranyam.
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