Basic information about the temple
| Moolavar: | Chozheeswaramudaiyar | Ambal / Thayar: | – |
| Deity: | Siva | Historical name: | |
| Vriksham: | Teertham: | ||
| Agamam: | Age (years): | Timing: | – to – & – to – | Parikaram: |
| Temple group: | – | ||
| Sung by: | Temple set: | ||
| Navagraham: | Nakshatram: | ||
| City / town: | Tiruneelakudi | District: | Thanjavur |
| Maps from (click): | Current location | Kumbakonam (14 km) | Mayiladuthurai (25 km) |
| Tiruvarur (35 km) | Thanjavur (55 km) |
Location
Sthala puranam and temple information
According to the sthala puranam here, a Chola king of the region accidentally shot an arrow which struck and killed the sage, Heranda maharishi, and therefore he was afflicted with Brahmahathi dosham. Fortunately, the king realised that the nearby Tiruvidaimaruthur temple had its own sthala puranam according to which Varaguna Pandyan was relieved of the same dosham that had attached to him. However, the only thing the king could readily see from this place was the gopuram of the Mahalingeswarar temple, and so the king worshipped the gopuram from the spot. A few days later, when the king was traveling to nearby Vittalur, he realised that the dosham had left him. Filled with gratitude to Lord Siva for having removed the affliction, the king later built a temple at this spot.
The temple – and the village of Tiruneelakudi – are located on the northern banks of the Nattaru river.
The temple festival in the Tamil month of Chithirai (April-May) celebrates the story of sage Markandeyar who is associated with the Tiruneelakudi Neelakanteswarar temple as the place he was blessed with his Chiranjeevi status, and therefore connected with the Tiruneelakudi sapta Sthanam temples.
The moolavar gets His name simply from the sthala puranam, as the king in question was a Chola king.
According to one version, the village of Tiruneelakudi gets its name from the presiding deity at the Paadal Petra Sthalam here – Neelakanteswarar. However, according to another version, this place was called Thennalakudi, which over time has corrupted to Tiruneelakudi.
The temple is east-facing and has an entrance arch on that side. However, the main entrance is from street on the northern side, which leads to the maha mandapam. On the right, in the north-eastern corner, is the navagraham shrine.
The maha mandapam itself has various plaster cast sculptures on the roof. In the maha mandapam are a bali peetham and Nandi, and the shrines for Chozheeswaramudaiyar and the south-facing shrine for Vedanta Nayaki Amman. The moolavar’s shrine is flanked by Vinayakar and Murugan. There is no dhwajasthambham at this temple. The moolavar lingam is extremely old, although at the time of the temple’s rebuilding in 2014, the avudai was replaced.
As we come around the prakaram, in the koshtam are nardhana Vinayakar, Dakshinamurti, Lingodhbhavar, Brahma and Durga. Of note here, is the wall behind Dakshinamurti in the koshtam, on which is carved the banyan tree under which Dakshinamurti is seated. Another new element here is that each of the koshtams is flanked by celestials on either side; however, in the case of Lingodhbhavar in the western koshtam, Brahma and Vishnu flank the koshtam. Except for Chandikeswarar, there are no other shrines for parivara deities, in the prakaram. On the eastern side are shrines for Suryan and Sani.
The broad layout of the temple, as well as the architecture of intricate carvings on the outer walls, are very reminiscent of the Tirupullamangai Alanthuraiyar temple.
The original structural temple here is dated to the 12th or 13th century CE, and could be from the time of Kulothunga Chola I, Vikrama Chola, or Kulothunga Chola II.
During the temple’s renovation in 2014, the level of the exterior path around the temple was elevated, such that there is a sort of moat between the main temple structure and the outer path. The koshtam vigrahams are also from the time of renovation.
The temple was renovated in 2014 primarily by the locals, headed by the village panchayat union president, who lives in the house opposite the temple’s northern entrance. Before that time, the temple’s lands had been encroached upon. The temple renovation included regaining the temple land, providing alternate lands / houses for the encroachers, and restoring the temple to its original look as far as possible.
Other information for your visit
Contact
Mr Mullaivendhan (Panchayat union president): 80562 20511; 94430 91965. Through his family members, he also set up a website for the temple at www.chozheeswaram.in.
Gallery
TN Temples Project 