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A Siva-Vishnu-Sakti sthala
 Thiruvakkarai
is a place where one can find shrines of Lord Siva, Lord Vishnu and
Goddess Shakti together. The sacred bathing ghat of this place is the
Varaaga river.
One can take a
Tindivanam-Pondicherry bus, alight at Perumbakkam, and travel south for
7 km to reach this place or board a Villupuram-Pondicherry bus, alight
at Thirukanur and travel north for 5 km.
Vakrasooran and
Dhunmukhi
Vakrasooran, a demon,
placed Lord Siva in his throat and worshipped him. Impressed by his
devotion, Lord Siva appeared before him and granted him his wish - an
eternal life. The demon became arrogant and cruel, tortured the Devas
and Rishis, who then went to Lord Siva to complain.
Lord Siva then asked
Lord Vishnu to kill the demon. Vishnu did so using his Chakraayudha.
Vakrasooran's sister Dhunmukhi was equally cruel and it was left to
Goddess Parvathi to destroy her. Since Dhunmukhi was carrying a child in
her womb, there was a small hitch in killing her.
According to the
sastras, it is a sin to kill a pregnant woman or a baby. So, Parvathi
tore the demoness' stomach, took the baby out and wore it as her earring
(kundalam) on her right ear. Thus, as Vakrakaali, She sits majestically
in this sacred spot. Because of Vakrasooran's vatham and Parvathi
appearing as Vakrakaali, the place is called Thiruvakkarai.
Three faces of
Lingam
Lord Siva's name is 'Pirai
Soodiya Peruman' and He is also called Chandra Mouleeswarar. The Lingam
here is the Gnanalingam and has three faces (Bhrama, Vishnu and Shiva).
The east face is known as Thatpurudam, north face is known as Vaamadevam
and the south face is known as Agoram.
Pooja is done for the
Thatpurudam with turmeric smeared on the face at dawn; at noon, sandal
is smeared on the face of Vaamadevam, and in the evening, the face of
Agoram is smeared with saffron powder (kungumam).
Unusual Lord
Nataraja
Lord Nataraja's sanctum
sanctorum is at the back of Pirai Soodiya Perumal's sanctum sanctorum.
The Lord is found dancing the 'Rudra Tandavam' where His left foot is
planted on the ground and right feet lifted up (usually He stands with
His right foot lifted and left foot on the ground).
Ten feet Dwarapalakas
stand on either side of this sanctum sanctorum.
Lord Varadaraja
Perumal
The idol of a six feet
tall Lord Varadharaja Perumal can be seen in a separate temple and it is
said He appeared before His devotees after killing the demon at this
place. Behind the Perumal's sanctum sanctorum is the Sahasralingam. The
distinctive feature of this Lingam is that it has 1,008 Lingams carved
on the main Lingam. Amirthambikai is the name of the Ambal here.
Vakrakaali
As soon as one crosses
the rajagopuram, one can see the sanctum sanctorum of Vakrakaali. She
appears with a skull on her head as crown, a dead foetus on her right
ear, and has eight hands. She blesses her devotees with one leg folded
on the peetam and the other hanging down. Full Moon days are special for
this Goddess and devotees throng here to worship Her on this day.
Kaali Utsavam
On the Full Moon day,
Kaali is adorned with 'Chandanakappu' and worshipped here. It is
believed that if one visits this temple consecutively for three Full
Moon days, their wishes would be fulfilled.
On the right side of
Kaali, is the Yogeshwara Lingam, and on Her left is Valampuri Vinayaka.
As it is the tradition
to establish one Valampuri Vinayaka for every 108 Shivalayas, if one
sees one, it is equivalent to seeing 108 Vinayakas in the Shivalayas.
Kanda lingam
To the opposite side of
the Kaali temple is the sanctum sanctorum of the Aathmalingam. As the
demon worshipped with this lingam, it is also called as vakralingam. The
lingam feels cool to touch during summer and droplets of water are found
during rainy season.
Kandaraadhithan
Thirugopuram
This gopuram lies in between the second stage of rajagopuram and in the right of the temple with lot of sculptures, called 'Kili gopuram', looks beautiful with a 100 -pillared mantap. But it is in a dilapidated condition and the devotees are warned not to go inside. It is believed to have been built 2,000 years ago.
The Chandra
Mouleeswarar temple, situated on 10 acres of land, was built by King
Aditya Chozha.
If anyone affected by
the grahaas comes and worships Vakrakaali, Vakralingam, and Vakra Sani
Bhagawan here, they will be rid of the troubles and the sorrows and lead
a happy and peaceful life.
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