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Swetharanyeswarar Temple, Thiruvenkadu
Swetharanyeswarar Temple, also known as Adi Chidambaram, is an ancient hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located at Thiruvenkadu in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Swetharanyeswarar, represented by lingam and his consort is Brahmavidyambigai. The temple also encloses the shrines of Goddess Durga and Kaali. It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams glorified in the tamil canonical work, Thevaram. Lord Shiva can be found here in three forms namely Linga, Aghoramurthy and Nataraja.
This temple is one of the nine Navagraha sthalas that predominantly houses the deity, Budhan(Mercury). The position of nine planets during one’s birth is a major factor that decides the characteristics, behavior and intellectual of an individual. The mind power and intellect of a person is highly dependent on the position of budha in his/her birth chart. People struggling in their life due to the unfavourable positioning of mercury according to their birth chart, can perform special poojas here to ward off Budha dosha that causes infertility, lack of wisdom, poor academics, joblessness, nervous disorders, etc.
The temple has three holy tanks namely Surya theertham, Chandra theertham and Agni theertham, believed to have been formed by three drops that fell from the eyes of Lord Shiva when he was dancing. Taking bath in the temple tanks and worshipping Pillai iduki amman at this temple is strongly believed to ward off infertility.
Dosha Nivarana Pooja Details:
There are four batches for Dosha Nivarana pooja : 08:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 05:30 PM. Devotees may choose one of those timings for pooja. The total cost is Rs.2000 including pooja items and neivedhya. It is recommended to offer 4 cubit green veshti for the Lord.
Performing special poojas to Budha deity on Wednesdays is considered auspicious to alleviate Budha dosha and let devotees be bestowed upon with knowledge and wisdom. The offerings presented to Mercury god are Moong dal and cloths of green color.
The major benefits of worshipping Budha deity at this temple are marriage boon, child boon, relief from pithru dosha (Munnorgal saabham in tamil), educational excellence, improvement and profitability in business, improvement in arts, music, astrology, maths and language skills, development in political status and complete relief from nervous disorders. To attain these, the devotees need to light 17 herbal oil lamps (agal vilakku in tamil) for Budhan deity and worship him by circumambulating the deity 17 times. Following this, they need to offer annadhana(free food) for 17 people.
The oil lamp, the thread (thiri) and the oil, all made up of herbs are available in the shops within the temple.
Devotees need to call and register before visiting the temple for offering pooja.
Temple Timings:
06:00 AM to 12:30 PM
04:30 PM to 09:00 PM
Temple Address:
Arulmigu Swetharanyeswarar Temple, Thiruvenkadu, Tamil Nadu 609114, Nagapattinam district.
Temple Contact Details:
Phone : +91 436 4256424, 9444388913
Email: eothiruvengadubudhan@gmail.com
How to reach:
By Air:
The nearest airport to the temple is Trichy airport at 150 km. Pondicherry and Chennai airports are 104 km and 250 km from the temple respectively.
By Rail:
Kumbakonam is 60 km from the temple. There are trains connecting the major cities of Tamil Nadu to Kumbakonam.
By Road:
The temple is 14 km and 25 km from Sirkazhi and Mayiladuthurai respectively from which adequate buses are available.