Perur...

Perur Temple Gopuram

Pattieswarar Pachai Nayagiamman

The Garba graha of this temple was built by Karikala Chola in the early Christian era. It is a Shiva shrine with a Swayambumoorthy. The Sthalapuranam states that when the calf of Kamadhenu was playing in the forest of arasu trees its legs got plunged into a hard object from which blood gushed out. It was then discovered that the object was nothing but a sacred Siva Lingam. Later on a temple came to built over the Moolasthanam which attracted large concourse of people throughout the land. The place became a Vaipu Sthalam in Saivalore. Since it was sung by Saint Appar and by Saint Sundarar in their Devaram.

Spare its entry tower, the bulk of the temple ishidden by the multitude of small commercialestablishments that surround its presence. The towerpainted with modern paint stands out proclaiming theexistence of the temple, the very appearance of thetower conceals the antiquity of this temple datingback to the Sangam period of Tamill history.

For its historical and religious significance, thetemple is relatively moderate in size, especially whencompared to the Saivite temples of the Chola region. The five tiered gopuram mentioned above marks the entrance to the temple. The mandapam encountered as soon as one enters the temple, bears murals representing the life of the Saivaite saints on its ceiling. The Nataraja shrine itself is a work of art. In front of the shrine is a mandapam constructed bythe royal patron Alagadri Nayakar of Madurai, withseveral pillars with life sized images depicting thevarious manifestations of Shiva. Also painted on the ceiling of this mandapam are images depicting scenesfrom Saivite mythology.

Visitors to the temple are confronted with the grandeur of the Kanakasabha hall on their right as they enter the temple. Straight ahead is the main sanctum dedicated to Patteeswarar - Shiva.The sanctum enshrines Shiva in the form of a Shivalingam. Against the rear of the wall is an imageof Kamadhenu. The image of Kamadhenu is movable, anduntil a while ago, the traditional abhshekams to theShivalingam used to be performed with the Kamadhenu positioned above the Shivalingam. Kamadhenu's presenceis in conformity with the legend that Shiva here was worshipped by Patti the daughter of the celestial cow Kamadhenu. An image of Bhoga Shakti is also enshrined in the sanctum.Surrounding the sanctum is the inner circumambulatory passage, with images of the 63 Saivite saints, SahasraLingam, Bhairavar, Surya and Chandra. The nichesaround the sanctum bear shrines to Durga, Dakshinamurthy and other parivara devatas.The outer circumambulatory path leads one to the Ambalshrine, housing an image of Maragathaambaal or Pachainayagiamman. Proceeding further around the externalcircumambulatory path, one reaches the mandapamhousing the processional deities of the Pancha murthis(Ganesha, Subramanya, Somaskanda, Parvati,Chandikeswara) and others. Proceeding further down the circumambulatory path, onereaches the Kanakasabha mandapam, housing an ornate shrine to Nataraja & Sivagami. Keeping with the legend that Shiva here was worshipped by Bhrahma and Vishnu in the forms of the sages Gomuni and Patti muni, there are two additional temples to Shiva on the banks of the temple tank. One of these temples is known as the Arasambalavaanar temple, wherelegend has it that Shiva revealed a vision of his cosmic dance to the two sages. This is also a fullfledged Saivite temple with shrines toArasambalavaanar, Ambaal and others. There are alsoshrines to Bhairavar and Nataraja.

Worship: Five worship services are carried out eachday and this temple resonates with the singing of the Tevaram hymns.

Particular significance is the Arudra Darisanam festival in the month of Maargazhi where thousands of people congregate to celebrate.

The annual festival is celebrated in the Tamil month ofPankuni.

Mondays in the tamil month of Kaartikai areconsidered special and are marked by Shankhabhishekam in the morning and by annabhishekam in the evening.

The Perur Natyanjali dance festival is celebrated inthe month of September where dance programs by leadingartistes are hosted within the precincts of thetemple.