Sarguna Nathar, Idumbavanam, Tiruvarur

Basic information about the temple

Moolavar:	Sarguna Nathar	Ambal / Thayar:	Mangalavalli, Mangalanayaki
Deity:	Siva	Historical name:	TiruiDumbaavanam, Vilvaranyam, Sarguneswaram, Manakkola Nagaram, Mangalanayakipuram
Vriksham:	Vilvam	Teertham:	Brahma Teertham
Agamam:	Kamika	Age (years):
Timing:	6.30 to 12.30 & 4.30 to 8.30	Parikaram:
Temple group:	Paadal Petra Sthalam (Kaveri Then Karai)	–
Sung by:	Sambandar	Temple set:
Navagraham:		Nakshatram:
City / town:	Idumbavanam	District:	Tiruvarur
Maps from (click):	Current location	Tiruvarur (49 km)	Nagapattinam (57 km)
	Kumbakonam (79 km)	Thanjavur (80 km)

Location

Idumbavanam is located about 18km from Tiruthuraipoondi, 35km from Pattukottai, and 45k from Mannargudi.

Sthala puranam and temple information

*Temple tank with the temple in the background*

At one time, Brahma had lost a lot of his satvik gunas / traits and powers. In order to regain these, he came to bhulokam and worshipped Lord Siva at various places, including this place, which was then called Vilvaranyam. Here, Siva – along with Parvati, Vinayakar and Murugan – appeared and blessed Brahma, who regained his lost gunas. A very pleased Brahma established the massive Brahma Teertham on the eastern side of the temple. Since Lord Siva blessed Brahma with satvik gunas, He is called Sargurunathar here.

After the above incident, Idumban once worshipped here, after taking bath in the temple tank, to rid him of all his sins. Pleased with his worship, Siva granted Idumban total salvation. Therefore, this place is known as Idumbavanam. The Idumban referred to here is not the devotee of Murugan, but the demon Hidimba in the Mahabharatam, who was killed by Bhima. Hidimba’s sister Hidimbaa later married Bhima, and their son was Ghatotkachan. In fact, this place (Idumbavanam) is believed to be one of the many places the Pandavas traversed through, during their exile, and nearby Kunralur is said to be where Idumban’s fort was located.

After the incident at Tirukadaiyur, Yama’s powers started to wane. He visited this place and worshipped Lord Siva here, and his powers were restored.

As this temple is on the natural path from Kodiakarai to Rameswaram, it is also one of the places that Rama worshipped Lord Siva at, in the Ramayana, prior to His departure to Lanka.

Sage Agastyar relieved a brahmin couple (Deva Sarma and his wife) who were in the form of demons due to a curse, by having them pray at this temple and sprinkling holy water on them.

This is one of the many temples where Agastyar received a vision of Siva’s marriage to Parvati. To celebrate this, in the garbhagriham, behind the moola Lingam, there is a depiction of Siva and Parvati in kalyana kolam.

Similar to the story at Karpaganathar Kulam, a person called Gunabaran was bringing the ashes of his father for immersion at the tank here. As soon as he reached this place, the image of his father appeared in front of him and blessed him. For this reason, this temple is considered special for pitru puja.

It is believed that the Vellai Vinayakar at this temple is made of sea-foam.

When Sambandar visited this place on his way from Vedaranyam to Madurai, every grain of sand here appeared a as a Siva Lingam to him. In order not to step on them, Sambandar walked on his head and hands, and visited this temple.

This is a Chola temple, estimated to be about 1100 years old, placing it in the time of Raja Raja Chola I. The temple has some really exquisite displays of artwork (including paintings from the Nayak and Maratha periods) and some single-stone sculptures including Dakshinamurti, Gajalakshmi and Sani. There are also inscriptions of grants by the Mahratta kings to the temple.