हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Mattruraivaradeswarar Temple, Tiruvasi

Tiruppachilasramam of the Tevaram, where Sambandar’s hymn healed a chieftain’s daughter, and Nataraja dances on a serpent. Sambandar and Sundarar sang it.

Built: Chola-country temple on the Kaveri’s north bankWhere: Tamil Nadu (Tiruchirappalli district)Deity: Bhagwan Shiva as Mattruraivaradeswarar; Devi as Balambikai10.89° N, 78.67° E
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0

01The healed daughter

The Periya Puranam tells that Kolli Mazhavan, a chieftain of this country, had a daughter seized by fits that no physician could cure. He laid her before the Lord of Tiruppachilasramam, and when Sambandar came he sang the padigam beginning thunivalar thingal, and she rose healed. The temple’s Nataraja stands on a serpent rather than on the dwarf Muyalakan, and devotees connect this form with the healing; those with nervous illness are brought here to pray. Sambandar’s hymn is in the Tevaram.

02Gold that passed the touchstone

Mattru is the fineness of gold as tested on a touchstone. Sundarar came here asking for gold, and the temple’s katha says the Lord gave it to him and, when Sundarar doubted its purity, assured him it was fine, so he is Mattrurai Varadar, the giver who vouched for the gold. Sundarar’s hymn on the shrine is in the seventh Tirumurai. The village, now called Tiruvasi, lies on the north bank of the Kaveri a short distance from Tiruchirappalli.

Visiting

About 12 km west of Tiruchirappalli on the Salem road.

Nearby

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, SrirangamStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam

The first of the 108 Divya Desams, on an island between the Kaveri and Kollidam, with seven concentric walls and 21 gopurams. Ramanujacharya lived and taught here.

Purushottama Perumal Temple, Thirukkarambanur (Uthamar Kovil)Standing
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Purushottama Perumal Temple, Thirukkarambanur (Uthamar Kovil)

A temple near Srirangam where Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva are all worshipped inside one wall. Lakshmi filled Shiva’s begging bowl here, and so she is Poornavalli, the one who filled it.

Neelivaneswarar Temple, TiruppainjeeliStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Neelivaneswarar Temple, Tiruppainjeeli

The plantain-forest shrine north of Tiruchirappalli where Shiva fed a hungry Appar and where Yama was restored to his office. All three Tevaram singers sang it.

Jambukeswarar Temple, ThiruvanaikavalStanding
Shungas, Satavahanas, Kharavela and the Sangam Kingdoms

Jambukeswarar Temple, Thiruvanaikaval

The water sthala of the Pancha Bhuta lingas, on Srirangam island, where a spring rises in the sanctum around the linga. An elephant and a spider worshipped Shiva here.