Lord Saptapureeswarar - The One Who Gifted Musical Instruments To His Devotee!



The next temple in the list of Paadal Petra Sthalam is the Sapthapureeswarar temple located in Mayiladuthrai district of Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva in the form of Sapthapureeswarar and His consort is referred to as Osai Kudutha Naayaki. (Osai meaning sound, kudutha meaning 'gave' and Naayaki refers to the Goddess). 

There is a very interesting legend associated with this temple. We already read about the child-saint Gyana Sambhandar receiving the milk of wisdom from the Devi Herself. It is said that after that incident, in a state of happiness, the child-saint wandered from one temple to another and often clapped in sheer happiness at seeing the divine deities. To relieve his hands from the pain of constant clapping, Lord Shiva gifted a set of cymbals to the saint. However, the cymbals did not produce any sound. It was the Devi who infused sound in the cymbals and thereby got Her name. This incident is said to have happened in this temple. 

This temple is also believed to be the place where Maha Lakshmi undertook penance to obtain Maha Vishnu as Her husband and where ultimately their wedding took place. Ladies of marriageable age perform special offerings of turmeric on Mondays and Fridays for six continous weeks to obtain good partners in marriage. 

People also pray here to get rid of speech-difficulties and to gain talents in singing. 

There are shrines for Lord Vinayaka, Lord Karthikeya, Lord Somaskanda, Devi Lakshmi, Lord Bhairavar as well as Surya and Shani Bhagwan inside the temple. There is a separate shrine for Gyana Sambhandar holding the cymbals gifted by Lord Shiva. 

Om Namaha Shivaaya! Om Devyai Namaha!

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stories From The Bhagavatham - Narasimha Avatar (Part 1)

Image
In the previous chapters of Bhagavatham, we read about how the doorkeepers of Vaikuntha, the abode of Maha Vishnu, had been cursed to take three births as the enemies of the lord. One of their births was as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, two Asuras who wreaked untold damage upon the earth and made life miserable for all the devotees of the Lord. Hiranyaksha was killed by Maha Vishnu in His form as Varaha. Angered by the killing of his brother, Hiranyakashipu issued a command to his followers. “My brother has been killed by Narayana. I must destroy him. Go to the earth and wherever you see people performing Tapas, Yajna and other spiritual activities, kill them. Narayana is said to be present at the places where people worship him. I do not want him to be worshipped! Destroy anyone who utters his name!” Eagerly following his orders, the asuras went on a rampage, destroying places of worship, obstructing spiritual activities and harming every one who proclaimed themselves to be a de...
Read more

Stories From The Bhagawatham - Prelude To An Avatar (Part 1)

Image
  While the Devas and Asuras were always rivals, once it so happened that the Devas lost all their strength and the Asuras began to conquer them. Worried about the future of the universe, the Devas approached Lord Brahma, the Creator to seek His help. Lord Brahma advised the Devas to seek Lord Narayana. The Devas, along with Lord Brahma approached Maha Vishnu and asked for His guidance. “I know what you need to win over the Asuras.” Maha Vishnu said. “First and foremost, you need to make peace with them. You need time to recover your strength and should avoid any fights. You need to obtain Amritha, the nectar of life which will grant immortality to you. To get this nectar, you need to churn the ocean using Mount Mandara as the churning staff and the serpent Vasuki as the rope. This churning will require powerful hands and you will need the assistance of the Asuras for the same.” Maha Vishnu also gave some advice to the Devas. “Whatever happens, agree with the Asuras for every...
Read more

Stories From The Bhagawatham - Gajendra Moksham

Image
  In a hill named Trikuta, there was a garden named Rituman which was a paradise in itself. One could find every kind of tree, flower, fruit and animal there. In this hill, lived an elephant with his herd. The elephant was the leader of the herd and is referred to by devotees as Gajendra, and this leela of Maha Vishnu is named as Gajendra Moksham. This story is very special. I grew up listening to this story and simply love it because for me, it stands as a validation that no cry or prayer goes unheard in the Universe. Once, feeling thirsty, Gajendra entered a lake with his herd. After drinking water, the herd bathed in the lake. Unaware to the elephants, a crocodile stealthily swam up to the herd and clutched the leg of Gajendra. The elephant trumpeted loudly in pain. But try as he might, he could not lift his leg from the jaws of the crocodile. Seeing their leader in trouble, the other elephants tried to help him, but all their efforts went in vain. The crocodile kept tryin...
Read more