Apatsahayeswarar Temple, Alangudi (Guru)

01Where the poison was drunk

Alam is the Tamil form of halahala, the poison that rose first when the devas and asuras churned the ocean of milk. The Puranas tell that Shiva drank it to save the worlds and held it in his throat, which turned blue. Alangudi keeps that act in its name, and the Lord here is Apatsahayeswarar, the helper in danger. Sambandar sang him under the old name Thiru Irumpoolai, and the temple is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams.

02Dakshinamurti as Guru

In most Navagraha temples the graha has his own small image. At Alangudi the devotion goes to Dakshinamurti, Shiva as the silent teacher seated under the banyan, and he is worshipped as Guru. Thursday is his day; yellow cloth, chickpeas (kondakadalai) and yellow flowers are offered, and the Guru Peyarchi day, when Brihaspati moves into a new rashi, fills the village.

The life of this place