Basic information about the temple
| Moolavar: | Brahmapureeswarar | Ambal / Thayar: | Prathyaksha Minnammai, Karaveera Nayagi |
| Deity: | Siva | Historical name: | Tirukaraveeram |
| Vriksham: | Pon Arali | Teertham: | Brahma Teertham, Anavarada Teertham |
| Agamam: | Age (years): | ||
| Timing: | 6 to 12 & 5 to 8.30 | Parikaram: | |
| Temple group: | Paadal Petra Sthalam (Kaveri Then Karai) | – | |
| Sung by: | Temple set: | ||
| Navagraham: | Nakshatram: | ||
| City / town: | Karaveeram | District: | Tiruvarur |
| Maps from (click): | Current location | Tiruvarur (7.3 km) | Kumbakonam (32.8 km) |
| Nagapattinam (36.7 km) | Mayiladuthurai (40 km) |
Location
Manakkal Ayyampet is located 7km from Tiruvarur and 33km from Kumbakonam.
Sthala puranam and temple information
The unmarried celestial women once worshipped Siva and Parvati at Kailasam, and sought a boon that they get married soon. Parvati did not reply, but looked at the Lord instead, who established a Lingam on the banks of the river Kaveri (this branch is now the river Vettaru), and advised the women to worship there. Therefore, this temple is a prarthana sthalam for girls to get married. Those devotees worship here and water the sthala vriksham, on Amavasya day.
Sage Gautama was tasked by Lord Siva Himself, to take care of the Lingam that He had established (see above). The sage carried out his duties sincerely, while at the same time performing his own penance. Pleased with this, Siva asked the sage for a boon, to which Gautama responded that after his lifetime, nobody should see his mortal remains, and that he wished to remain here as the sthala vriksham. When the sage attained jeeva samadhi here, he merged into the sthala vriksham, which is the Pon Arali (or Sevvarali), which also goes by the name Karaveeram. This gives the place its name, and Lord Siva here is also called Karaveeranathar. Sage Gautama has a separate shrine here.
The presiding deity – Brahmapureeswarar – is so named as He was worshiped by Brahma here.
There is a puranam here according to which Lord Siva has gone for a stroll in the village, and Parvati is waiting in the maha mandapam of the temple, for Siva to return. Both Siva and Parvati face east, and Parvati is on the right of the Lord – indicating that this shrine is representative of their kalyana kolam.
There is a very interesting story of a donkey, related to this place. This donkey performed severe penance to obtain a darshan of Lord Siva, but was unable to. Frustrated, it decided to end its life and went up to Nagore to drown in the sea, when the Lord called out to it and gave his darshan from here! There is no dwajasthambam at this temple, and at least in the olden days, there was no construction between this temple and Nagore, which is a distance of about 30km as the crow flies (surely much of this has changed now). There is also an interpretation that the Sanskrit word khara means donkey, and hence the Lord here is called Karaveeranathar.
Sambandar reached here late, and so stayed here for a night, and sung his pathigam on the temple the following morning. Every stanza of the pathigam talks about devotees’ sins being absolved by worshipping here. Following this, it is believed that devotees who stay for the night at Karaveeram have all their sins washed off. It is also believed that those who have worshipped at this temple no longer have any enemies.
This temple has some fascinating architecture and iconography. Both the Lord’s and Parvati’s murtis are quite tall – over 6 feet. The ardha mandapam and maha mandapam here are in the vavvaal-nethi design. Vinayakar here – called Raja Ganapathy – also has a huge murti.
Other information for your visit
On a 4km stretch of road between Kumbakonam and Tiruvarur where this temple is located, there are several large and small temples. Of these, 7 important temples (primarily Paadal Petra Sthalams, Divya Desams or Vaippu Sthalams) are:
Bhaktavatsala Perumal, Tirukannamangai, Tiruvarur
Dharmapureeswarar, Vadakandam, Tiruvarur
Brahmapureeswarar, Karaveeram, Tiruvarur
Agasteeswarar, Manakkal Ayyampet, Tiruvarur
Seshapureeswarar, Raa Patteeswaram, Tiruvarur
Vaikunta Narayana Perumal, Deepapuram, Tiruvarur
Abhimukteeswarar, Manakkal Ayyampet, Tiruvarur
Contact
Saravana Gurukkal: 97878 53460
Gallery
TN Temples Project 