Karkadeshwarar Temple – A Temple for Health and Wellness
We all know the importance of visiting the temples dedicated to the Navagrahas or celestial bodies. But it is equally important to visit the temples that are dedicated to Birth Stars or Nakshathira. Visiting the temples corresponding to your Birth Star at least once in a year removes obstacles and ensures health and wellness. Now, we are going to see one such temple that is dedicated to Aayilya Nakshathira that falls under Kadaka Rasi. Karkadeshwarar Temple is located in a place Thirunandudevankudi in Thanjavur district that is about 8kms from Thiruvidaimarudhur. This is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalam.
According to the Sthala Purana, once a Gandharva mocked at the Sage Dhurvasa. The angry sage cursed him to become a Crab (Nandu). When the Gandharva begged for Pardon, the sage advised him to worship Lord Shiva for relief. As per his advice, the crab started worshipping the Shiva Lingam regularly. Hence the name Karkadeshwarar (Karkada – Crab, Eshwar – Lord; Lord Shiva worshiped by the Crab).
Indra, the Lord of Devas also worshiped the Shiva Lingam with 108 Lotus flowers daily in this place in order to correct his mistakes. Hence this place is named as ‘Tirunthudevankudi’ (Thirundu – Correcting the mistakes, Devan –Indra). Varuna (the Rain God) is given the task of creating those 108 Lotus flowers in the temple tank. One day during Pooja, Indra noticed that he ran short of a flower. He enquired with Lord Varuna but he was confident that he had created 108 flowers. When this shortage of flower continued for few days, Indra decided to keep a watch on the flowers Himself. On closer scrutiny, he noticed that a crab took the flower from the water and took it to Garbagraha. Indra got angry and he was about to hit the crab. At that time, the crab dug a hole on the top of the Shiva Lingam and went inside. We can still see a hole made by the crab and the injury scar created by Indra on the Shiva Lingam. So, this temple is popularly known as Nandu Kovil. A scene depicting the history of the temple can be seen on the walls of the Temple. It is also believed that the image of a golden crab can be seen on the Shiva Lingam after performing certain rituals.
The Shiva Lingam of this temple is a Suyambu. It was said to be buried under the sand in this place due to heavy floods during the reign of Chola King who was affected with Paralysis. None of the treatments gave him results. He finally sought the blessings of Lord Shiva for his cure. An aged couple visited his court one day and gave him the sacred Ash and water. After consuming it, the king was cured completely and he stood up majestically. (Divine Miracle!!). He asked the couple to stay in the palace itself as Doctors of Royal Family. He also promised to give anything that they wished. But they took the king to this place. They found the hidden Shiva Lingam and asked him to build a temple for Lord Shiva. Then they merged into the Shiva Lingam. It is when; the king realized that the couple was none other than Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. The king then built the temple at this place and it is believed that any sort of illness can be cured by worshipping Lord Shiva here.
It is also said that the place was originally an Aushada Vanam (Forest of Medicinal Herbs) and Lord Shiva was originally called the Aushadeshwar. After curing the King’s disease, the Lord got his name as ‘Arumarundhu Devar – The Lord of Medicine and Healing’. The goddess is known as ‘Arumarundhu Nayaki’. While building the temple, the King did not find the original idol of the Goddess from the earth. So he made a new one and installed it as ‘Arumarundhu Nayaki’. Within few days, the original statue of the goddess appeared and he installed that as well as ‘Apoorva Nayaki’. Hence this temple has two Goddess Shrines.
Any shiva temple will have a separate shrine dedicated for Navagraha. But in this temple, there is no place for Navagraha. But we can see a separate shrine for the Planet Moon (Chandran) at the entrance of the temple. The Moon is found in the meditating Form and so known as ‘YogaChandran’. Those who are undergoing Moon main period in their life can visit the temple and offer White Clothes to Yoga Chandran to minimize the adverse effects of the Moon.
As mentioned above, we do have separate temples dedicated to each of the 12 Rasi (Zodiac signs) and 27 Nakshathira (Birth Stars). This temple Karkadeshwarar Temple is dedicated to Kadaka Rasi and Aayilya Nakshathira in particular. So, it is highly believed that people who are born in this Rasi and Nakshathiram should visit this temple regularly to get the blessings of Lord Shiva. It is also advised that people of Kadaka Rasi and Aayilya Nakshathiram should visit the temple on Ashtami (8th Day from Full Moon) and light deepam with Gingelly Oil (Nallennai) to get the blessings of the God for Prosperity, Peace, Happiness, Health and Wellness in Life.
