Vijayavidangeswarar Elangadu

Vijayavidangeswarar, Elangadu

Saivite Temples, Thanjavur District

God

Valvaneswarar, facing east

Goddess

Valambikai, facing south

Other Deities

Balaganesha, Vijayavidangeswarar, Naalvar, Navagraha, Saptha Kanniyar, Vinayaka, Muruga with consorts, Mahalakshmi, Bhairava, Chandran, Surya. Sanctum Niches – Vinayaka, Dakshinamurthy, Lingotbavar, Brahma, Durga, Chandikeswara

Vijayavidangeswarar Elangadu is an old temple that has been relocated to its present location due to the flooding of the Kaveri River that flows in the north. The original lingam is that of Vijayavidangeswarar and is installed in the front of the sanctum sanctorum of Valvaneswarar. The Lingam of Valvaneswarar is large and is about 5 feet in height. The goddess idol is also large at about 5 feet. An entrance gateway leads inside the single prakaram. The sanctum sanctorum is tall and large. The idol of Lord Muruga and Durga are also large in size.

Holy Water (Theertham) – Cauvery River

Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) – Vanni (Prosopis cineraria), Vilwam (Aegle marmelos)

History

There are inscriptions here at Vijayavidangeswarar Elangadu that indicate its ancient nature. The gate walls of the sanctum sanctorum also have inscriptions. We were told that they mention that this temple was built before the Brahadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur. The details of the inscriptions are not available as of now. Outside the temple is the old tiled roof building constructed in 1881 that served as the premises of the Tamil Sangam. The village has been visited by many famous scholars and poets including Pandithurai Devar (21 March 1867 – 2 December 1911), Bharathidasan (29 April 1891 – 21 April 1964), Kundrakudi Adigal (11 July 1925 – 15 April 1995), and others in the past. The passion of the residents of this small village towards the Tamil language is well known and in the past, many of them have become teachers.

Legend

No information

Directions

Vijayavidangeswarar Elangadu is about 30 kilometers east of Thiruchirapalli off the road going from Kallanai towards Thirukattupalli. Vijayavidangeswarar Elangadu is about 32 kilometers west of Thanjavur after Thirukattupalli on the road going towards Kallanai.

Stay and Food

None locally. Thiruchirapalli and Thanjavur are the closest.

Saivite Temples

Tamilnadu Temples