Kasi Viswanathar temple, Tenkasi

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Kasi Viswanathar Temple
The magnificent Kasi Vishwanathat Temple Rajagopuram.jpg
Religion
Affiliation Hinduism
District Tenkasi
Deity Kasi Viswanathar(Shiva) Visalakshi (Parvathi)
Location
Location Tenkasi
State Tamil Nadu
Country India
India Tamil Nadu location map.svg
Om symbol.svg
Location in Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates 8°57′24″N77°18′27″E / 8.95667°N 77.30750°E / 8.95667; 77.30750 Coordinates: 8°57′24″N77°18′27″E / 8.95667°N 77.30750°E / 8.95667; 77.30750
Architecture
Type Tamilan architecture

Kasi Viswanathar Temple in Tenkasi, a city in Tenkasi district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Constructed in the Tamilnadu style of architecture, the temple is believed to have been built by Pandyan ruler Parakkirama Pandian during the 13th century, with later additions from Madurai Nayaks. Shiva is worshipped as Kasi Viswanathar and his consort Parvathi as Ulagamman.

Contents

A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines. The temple is open from 6 am - 12 pm and 4 - 8:30 pm on all days except during new moon days when it is open the full day. Four daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Maasi Maham festival during the Tamil month of Maasi (February - March) being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Legend

As per Hindu legend, a Pandya king Parakkirama Pandian wanted to construct a temple for Hindu god Shiva at Tenkasi and went to Kasi to bring a lingam, an iconic representation of Shiva in South India. Shiva appeared in his dream and asked him to follow the army of ants. The next day he found that there was an army of ants. The king realised that it was because of the divine intervention that he was prevented from going to Varanasi. He built the temple in the place where the anthill ended. [1] [2]

History

Temple Tower Tenkasi Gopuram.jpg
Temple Tower

Tenkasi was established during the early 13th century CE. There are inscriptions in the temple dated 1384 from the period of Vira Pandiya mentioning the gift of houses and villages to Brahmanas to recite Vedas and Purana in the temple. [3] Between 1428 and 1460, a Pandya king Parakkirama Pandian ruled the southern part of Madurai region, comprising the modern day Tenkasi and it surroundings. There was contrasting dates on the rule of Parakkirama Pandya, with some mentioning the year as 1309, while the inscription in the temple indicating as 1309. [4] Tenkasi was a part of Madurai region during the 16th century. Madurai became independent from Vijayanagar Empire in 1559 under the Nayaks and the temple started receiving gifts from the rulers of the dynasty. [5] The temple had a flat tower till 1967, when a 180-foot artistically built temple tower was initiated and completed in 1990. [6]

Architecture

Tenkasi is built around the Kasi Viswanathar temple. The temple has a seven-tiered gopuram (temple tower) and has concentric granite walls that enshrines all the shrines in the temple. The temple has a pillared hall from the entrance leading to the flagstaff hall. The sanctum is located axial to the entrance facing east. The image of Kasi Viswanathar in the form of lingam is housed in the sanctum. The images of Vinayaka and Subramanya are located on either side of the hall leading to the sanctum. The shrine of Sivakami is located parallel to the sanctum facing East. There are smaller shrines of Dakshinamurthy, Arumugar, Durga, Navagrahas and Nataraja in the precinct around the shrines of Kasi Viswanatha and Visalakshi. [6] The composite columns of Virabhadra holding sword and horn are found be additions of the Vijayanayagara kings during the early 1500s. Similar columns of Virabhadra are found in Adikesava Perumal Temple at Thiruvattaru, Meenakshi Temple at Madurai, Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli, Krishnapuram Venkatachalapathy temple, Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram, Soundararajaperumal temple at Thadikombu, Srivilliputhur Andal temple, Srivaikuntanathan Permual temple at Srivaikuntam, Avudayarkovil, Vaishnava Nambi and Thirukurungudivalli Nachiar temple at Thirukkurungudi. [7]

Festival

Another view of the temple tower Tenkasi sivan temple Tower - another view.JPG
Another view of the temple tower

The temple follows Saivite tradition. The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. The temple rituals are performed four times a day: Kalasanthi at 8:30 a.m., Uchikalam at 11:30 a.m., Sayarakshai at 5:30 p.m., and Aravanai Pooja between 8:00  - 9:00 p.m. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple. The temple is open from 6am - 12 pm and 4-9:00 pm on all days except during festival days when it is open the full day. There are various festivals celebrated in the temple. The Masi Magam festival during the Tamil month of Masi (February - march) is the most prominent festival celebrated in the temple. Tirukalyanam festival during Aipassi (October - November), Moola festival during Aavani (August - September), Navarathri, Karthikai festival, Thiruvathirai, Thaipoosam, Sivarathri, Panguni Uthiram are the other festival celebrated in the temple. [6]

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Thirumuruganatheeswar temple

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Tenkasi Pandyas Rulers of Pandya dynasty

Tenkasi Pandyas were the Pandya kings from Sadaavarman Parakrama Pandya to his successors who ruled with Tenkasi as their capital. With the invasion of the Sultanates, Vijayanagaras, and Nayakars from the fourteenth century onwards, the Pandyas lost their traditional capital of Madurai and shifted to cities like Tenkasi and Tirunelveli. Tenkasi was the last capital of the Pandyas. All the Pandyas from Sadaavarman Parakrama Pandya and his next generations were crowned in the Adheenam Mutt in Kasi Viswanathar temple. During the same period, some Pandyas ruled with Tirunelveli as their capital. Kayatharu, Vadakkuvalliyur, and Ukkirankottai are some of their major cities. Inscriptions on them are found in Tenkasi's Kasi Viswanathar temple, Brahmadesam, Cheranmadevi, Ambasamudram, Kalakkad and Pudukkottai. The last Pandyan king to be known in the history of the Pandyas was Kolakonda, who was also among the Tenkasi Pandyas.

References

  1. ↑ "Tenkasi History". Tenkasi Municipality. 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  2. ↑ "Arulmighu Kasi Viswanatha Temple, Tenkasi". Administration of Arulmighu Kasi Viswanatha Temple, Tenkasi. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  3. ↑ Ayyar, P. V. Jagadisa (1992). South Indian Shrines: Illustrated. Asian Educational Service. p. 24. ISBN   9788120601512.
  4. ↑ Caldwell, Bishop R. (2004). History of Tinnevelly. Asian Educational Services. p. 54. ISBN   9788120601611.
  5. ↑ V., Vriddhagirisan (1995) [1942], Nayaks of Tanjore, New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, p.  115, ISBN   81-206-0996-4
  6. 1 2 3 "Sri Kasi Viswanathar temple". 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  7. ↑ Branfoot, Crispin (1 June 2008). "Imperial Frontiers: Building Sacred Space in Sixteenth-Century South India". The Art Bulletin. College Art Association. 90 (2): 186. doi:10.1080/00043079.2008.10786389. JSTOR   20619601. S2CID   154135978.
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