Traditional houses, wide pathways, scenic hills, fertile fields, large trees, beautiful ponds, ancient Temples, the delight of heritage lovers, the paradise of history buffs, the holy site revered by the saintly poets and an enchanting village! My limited vocabulary does not allow me to describe this better. This article is about three ancient Shiva temples located in an extraordinarily charming hamlet called Tirukkachur.
I visited the village and wrote a detailed article about ten years ago. When I revisited the place this year, I could not find any improvement. Though the temples are well maintained, there are hardly any visitors.
Why does the site remain less explored? Why do even those who live in the nearby cities such as Chennai and Chenglepet ignore this place? After spending a few sleepless nights thinking about its plight, I decided to spend dedicated efforts to come up with a long and detailed article. I am sure this narration would reach thousands of people. At least a few among them would visit the temples and spread awareness about the same among their circles.
This article is the result of six months of hard work. To my knowledge, I have ensured no stone remains unturned and covered all aspects. Though I call it an article, it is no lesser than a book on its coverage and length.
| 16-pillared mandapa in front of Kacchapeswara Temple |
Introduction
Tirukkachur is situated at a distance of 15 km from Chenglepet and 55 km from Chennai. Google Map location (coordinates) is provided at the end of the article.
The serene locality has three ancient temples of Lord Shiva, namely Marundeeswarar, Kacchapeswarar and Irandhiteeswarar. In these temples, he is depicted in five different forms/names.
Kacchapeswarar temple, the biggest among the three temples, was built by the Cholas with notable contributions by the Vijayanagaras. It is one of 276 temples revered in Devaram, called Paadal Petra Sthalam in Tamil. Marundeeswarar temple also belongs to the Chola period with many renovations done in the latter period.
| Kacchapeswarar Temple Entrance |
Legends
The holy site has many tales and legends. I have summarized all of them, as seen below.
Shiva's Grace on Vishnu
Samudra Mathana or the Churning of the Milky Ocean is a well-known episode of Puranic texts. The Devas formed an alliance with the Asuras to jointly churn the ocean to get the nectar of immortality called Amrita. They used Mount Mandara as the churning rod and the serpent Vasuki as the churning rope. When the mount was placed in the ocean, it began to sink. Vishnu came to their rescue. He incarnated as a Kurma (Turtle) and supported the mountain on his shell.
The legend of the village is connected with the episode mentioned above. Kurma, also known as Kacchapa, came to Oushadagiri (the hillock in this village) to get the blessing of Shiva enshrined here. Thus, he became powerful enough to support the mount with his back. Hence, Shiva Linga came to be known as Kacchapeswara, meaning the Lord of Kacchapa. Also, the village is named Kacchapur or Tirukkachchur. The holy pond is also called Kurma Teertha.
| Vishnu in the form of Kacchapa worshipping Shiva |
Pond of Amrita
The milky ocean was churned to produce Amrita, the drink that drinks immortality. It is said that Amrita got mixed up with the water of Kurma Teertha. Hence, it is also known as Amrita Teertha. Tyagaraja, who is enshrined in the temple, is called Amrita Tyagesa.
Installation of Tyagaraja by Mucukunda
Mucukunda was a celebrated king of Puranic times. He was the son of Mandhata and an ancestor of Sri Rama. As the Cholas claimed to be of the Solar dynasty, Mucukunda was also considered a Chola King.
According to a legend, the King helped Indra, the King of Devas, in the battle against Asuras. As a token of recognition, the King demanded the image of Tyagraja Swami from Indra. As it was in his daily worship, Indra did not want lose it. He made six other identical images and sought the King to select the right one. As the King picked up the right icon, the overwhelmed Indra gifted all the seven images of Tyagraja to the King.
Mucukunda installed seven images of Tyagaraja in and around Tiruvarur. All those seven holy sites are known as Sapta Vidanga Sthalams.
As an extension of the well-known legend stated above, the tale of Tirukkachur claims that Mucukunda got three more images from Indra and installed them in Tiruvottriyur, Tiruvanmiyur and Tirukkachur. Thus this village got its own Tyagaraja.
| Tirukkachur Tyagaraja |
Goddess' Grace on Indra
Cursed by a sage, Indra suffered from a disease. As per the advice from Narada Rishi, he sent Ashwini Kumaras to the hillock in this village called Oushadagiri to look out for herbs. (Oushada Giri means the hill of medicinal herbs).
Even after searching for long, the Ashwini twins could not find the required herbs. Shakti, the Goddess, felt pity for Indra. She graced upon them and helped to identify the exact herbs. Thus, Shiva in the hillock temple is named Marundeeswarar, and the Goddess is known as Irul Neekki Amman.
Marundeeswarar means the Lord of herbs. Irul Neekki means the Goddess who removes the darkness or black evils. She is also called Andakara Nivarani, the Sanskrit equivalent of Tamil name.
Shiva's Grace on Agastya
The sage Agastya is considered the founder of Siddha medicine. It is said that he got all
the medicinal prescriptions from Marundeeswarar, the deity of the hillock temple.
| Oushada Teertha (deep well) in Marundeeswara Temple |
Sundarar served by Shiva
Sundarar was a great devotee of Shiva and a prominent Nayanar. It is believed that this great devotional poet lived in the 8th century CE. A legend closely connects the site with him, who had written ten hymns on the deity of this village.
When Sundarar reached Tirukkachur, it was noontime. Exhausted after a long journey by foot, he was resting under the mandapa near the holy tank. He was terribly hungry. An aged Brahmin priest appeared there. Observing the plight of the poet, the aged person wandered begging through the streets of the village. Then, he served that food to Sundarar. Thus satisfying the hunger, he disappeared. Later, Sundarar realized that the man who begged and served him was indeed Lord Shiva.
| Shiva begging food from villagers |
Highlights
A Devaram Sthalam or a Paadal Petra Sthalam is a holy site of Shiva, which is mentioned in the works of Appar, Sambandhar and Sundarar, the Tamil Shaivite poets. All those hymns are compiled as "Devaram" by Nambiyandar Nambi in the 12th century CE. There are 276 such divine sites. Besides, many other important Shiva temples are casually mentioned in the hymns. They are called Vaippu Sthalams.
As Sundarar has revered Kacchapeswarar of this village in his ten hymns, this site becomes a Devaram Sthalam. It is 26th Paadal Petra Sthalam in the Tondai region. Besides, Appar has casually referred to this site in one of his hymns. Hence, it is also a Vaippu Sthalam.
There are three Shiva temples, namely Marundeeswarar, Kacchapeswarar and Irandhiteeswarar. Within the Marundeeswarar temple, Shiva is also found as Virundhitteeswarar and Tyagaraja. Thus, Shiva is found in five different names on this site.
The soil of the Marundeeswara temple is considered to have medicinal value, and the devotees take it to their homes.
Somaskanda form of Shiva is referred to as Tyagarja only in three temples in the Tondai region. Kacchapeswarar temple is one of those temples. Sometimes, people even call this temple Tyagaraja temple.
| A different depiction of Lingodbhava |
History
The earliest reference to the temple is from Devaram. Sundarar and Appar have revered the site in their hymns. Without referring to the tradition and purely based on the opinions of the historians, the period of Appar is 6th or 7th century CE, and that of Sunarar is 8th century CE. As two Nayanmars sang about this site, we could clearly understand that the temple must have existed in the 7th century CE. Also, the site should have been popular for many years before the period of Appar. It is not known whether the temple was a wooden temple or only the Murtis (sculptures) were there without a proper structure. The original temple might have been built by Pallavas or the earlier Kings of other dynasties who ruled the region.
Besides this literary evidence, there is no material evidence to date the temple to the 7th century CE or before that. If we go by the inscriptions, architecture and iconography style, we can date the Kacchapeswarar temple to the 10th century CE and Marundeeswara temple to the 12th century CE. Irandhitteeswarar temple is a small temple that must have been built in the 20th century CE, but the icon of Shiva Linga is ancient. Vijayanagaras have built many shrines and extended the temples. Ganesha's shrine, studded with many relief images, is a notable contribution by Vijayanagaras.
The oldest inscription is from Parantaka Chola dated 911 CE and the latest inscription is from the Vijayanagara King, dated 15th century CE.
A total of 63 inscriptions are found in the village. Two inscriptions are found in the Marundeeswara temple and one in Ganesha's shrine near the pond. All the remaining inscriptions are located in the Kacchapeswara temple.
40 out of 63 inscriptions are from the Chola Kings. The maximum number of them, say 22, are inscribed during Kulotunga Chola III's time.
16 inscriptions are from Pandya Kings. The identification of exact Pandya Kings is debatable. There are differences of opinion on their period among the scholars.
There are four inscriptions from Vijayanagaras, one from Sambuvarayar and one from Telugu Cholas.
Banyan tree is the sthala vruksham (holy tree of the site), and it is called Aala Maram in Tamil. Hence, the inscriptions and Devaram hymns call the temple of Kacchapeswarar as Aala Kovil. Accordingly, the deity is mentioned as Tiru Aalak Koilandar, Tiru Aalak Koyil Udaiyar, or Tiruvalakkoyiludaiya Mahadevar . The village was always referred to as Tirukkachur. However, the alternate name is found as Nittavinodanallur in two inscriptions.
The number of inscriptions from each King is listed below.
Parantaka Chola I - 1
