Thanthondreeswarar Perumberkandigai

Madurantakam Saivite Temples

God

Thanthondreeswarar, facing east

Goddess

Thaduthaatkonda Nayagi, facing south

Other Deities

Kanagadurga, Ranabadrakali, Chamundeswari, Sage Agastya, Ganesha

Thanthondreeswarar Perumberkandigai is a very ancient temple and lot of stone inscriptions are found here. Sage Agastya is seen here in the form of a separate lingam with the Sanakaadhi Sages around him in the form of 4 Nandis. A very rare form of Conch, ‘Komadi Shanku’ is found in this temple. References to its antiquity and features can be found in the palm leaves at Thiru Aduthurai Adheenam. The Lingam is a Suyambu (self occurring) made of mud and sand. Goddess Kanagadurga can be seen with eight hands seated over a deer. Thanthondreeswarar Perumberkandigai has legendary connections with the shiva temple at Acharapakkam and Murgan temple on the hill nearby. The Lord Atcheeswarar of Acharapakkam spends a night here during the Chithirai month (April – May) procession before retiring to his abode. The processional deities of the three temples also meet up at a particular point during Chitra Pournami (full moon day in the Chithirai month).

Holy Water (Theertham) – Temple Pond

Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) – Thiruvaathi (Bauhinia sps)

History

Thanthondreeswarar Perumberkandigai is a very ancient temple with plenty of stone inscriptions all around. These reveal the contribution of Pallavas, Cholas in the form of contributions and development. A Kanagadurga idol was installed by the Pallavas praying that their victories should hold forever.

Legend

Chamundeswari is believed to have killed the two Asuras (Chandan and Mundan) here at Thanthondreeswarar Perumberkandigai. King Vikramaditya, an ardent devotee of Chamundeswari is said to have prayed here at Thanthondreeswarar Perumberkandigai. The goddess is believed to regularly perform Abishegam to the Lord using the Conch here at Thanthondreeswarar Perumberkandigai.

Another story is related to Lord Shiva’s destruction of the legendary city of Tripura created by Asuras. He forgot to pay obeisance to Lord Ganesha before starting and his chariot’s axle broke. The place where this is believed to have happened is Acharapakkam (Achu – Axle in tamil). The Lord who just sat down there was revived by the Goddess and brought here. She created a Lingam out of mud and worshiped. Being a Mud Lingam there are no ablutions to the Lord here at Thanthondreeswarar Perumberkandigai. The goddess is also thus named as Thaduthu Aat Konda Nayaki (the one who stopped and revived him).

Directions

Thanthondreeswarar Perumberkandigai is about 20 Kilometers from Madurantakam towards Tindivanam and before the Thozhupedu flyover. There are 3 other important temples (Kailasanadar, Perumal and Murugan) here.

Stay and Food

Ganesh Bhavan at Acharapakkam and Haritam just before Perumber Kandigai are nice places for good food.

Saivite Temples

Kancheepuram Temples

Tamilnadu Temples