8 Amazing Facts about Thiruvarur temple that we do not know
1. The Thyagaraja temple in Thiruvarur is one of the Pancha Bootha Sthalams representing Prithivi (Land).
2. The temple covers a huge area, having in its fold 9 Rajagopurams, 80 domes (vimanam), 12 high raised walls, 13 mandapams, 15 holy water wells, three flower gardens, three big prakaras and more than 100 shrines! This temple holds the record of having maximum shrines in India. It will take at least one full day to see all the important features and shrines of the temple.
3. Birth place of Muthuswamy Deekshithar, Thyagarajar and Shyama Sastri, the great trinity of the Carnatic Music of the 17th/18th century
4. Thiruvar is the place where Manuneethi Chola, an epic King ruled once. His son killed a calf inadvertently under his chariot.The mother of the calf rang the bell kept for seeking justice and the King punished his son in the very same way the calf was killed. The stone chariot demonstrating the event is present in the temple with a lively expression of the calf.
5. This is the sthalam that grants salvation to those people who are born here and also longing for it. It is considered that Shiva bootha ganas are born as people in Thiruvarur. Sundarar mentions “I am the slave of all those born in Tiruvarur” in his works in Thevaram.
6. The temple chariot is said to be the biggest one of its type in size and height. It is 96 feet (29 m) tall and weights more than 300 tons.Apart from this grand big chariot there are 4 more cars for the lord’s consort, Subramanya, Ganapathi and Sandikaswerar respectively.
7. It is believed that Goddess Kamalambal ambigai used to listen in a stylish posture by putting her one leg over the other whenever Muthuswamy Dikshithar sang Navavarna krithis. This kind of Ambal posture is never seen in any other temple.
8. Temple pond, Kamalalayam, got its name since Mahalakshmi did penance to Moolattaneswarar here to marry Lord Vishnu. The temple tank is as big as the temple itself and measures an area of 33 acres making it as one of the largest in the country (the other theertham Sengazhuneer odai is also of the same size) and has a separate temple at the centre. The small temple of Sri Naduvana nathar Temple with a small gopuram is located in the middle of the Kamalalayam temple tank.We have to go in boat and pradhosha abhishegam is very special here. There are 64 bathing ghats here and each one gives us a specific benefit by bathing and donating specific articles. The detils of these are displayed at every ghat. The most sacred of them is considered to be Devaneertha Kattam, opposite the West gopuram of the temple.
