Parijata Vaneswarar, Tirukalar, Tiruvarur

Basic information about the temple

Moolavar:	Parijata Vaneswarar	Ambal / Thayar:	Amudhavalli
Deity:	Siva	Historical name:	TirukkaLar
Vriksham:	Parijatham	Teertham:	Durvasa Teertham
Agamam:		Age (years):
Timing:	7 to 11.30 & 6 to 8.30	Parikaram:
Temple group:	Paadal Petra Sthalam (Kaveri Then Karai)	–
Sung by:	Sambandar	Temple set:
Navagraham:		Nakshatram:
City / town:	Tirukalar	District:	Tiruvarur
Maps from (click):	Current location	Tiruvarur (30 km)	Nagapattinam (47 km)
	Kumbakonam (59 km)	Thanjavur (66 km)

Location

Tirukalar is located 22km from Mannargudi and 13km from Tiruthuraipoondi.

Sthala puranam and temple information

When Sage Durvasa came to know of Siva’s cosmic dance at Chidambaram which was witnessed by Patanjali and Vyaghrapada, he too wanted to see it. So he brought the parijata flower from devaloka and planted it here, created a tank, installed a Lingam. He also constructed a temple with the help of Vishwakarma. Pleased with his efforts, Lord Siva came down and performed the Brahma Tandavam here (other tandavams and place are: Ananda Tandavam at Chidambaram, Ajapa Tandavam at Tiruvarur, Gnana Sundara Tandavam at Madurai, Urdhva Tandavam at Avinashi, and Brahma Tandavam at Tiruthuraipoondi and here). There is a separate shrine for Durvasa with hands folded in worship, opposite the Natarajar murti in Brahma Tandavam.

Tirukalar gets its name from the Tamil word Kalar, which means a type of land. The place is also called Parijata Vanam.

It is believed that Murugan taught the panchakshara mantram to 60,000 sages, and also Sage Durvasa, here. He is therefore considered as Guru here, appearing alone (without consorts Valli and Deivanai), and devotees worship him here for success in education.

It is also regarded that performing panchakshara mantra japam here at this temple ensures moksham for oneself and one’s family.

Siva and Parvati are housed in separate shrines, but both facing east – this is typically an indicator of kalyana kolam.

This is quite a large temple, dating back to the Chola period. There is fabulous architecture on the pillars and walls inside the temple, as well as very intricate suthai (plaster) work depicting various puranams, in the 7-tiered Gopuram.