Paliswarar Tirupalaivanam

Saivite Temples, Thiruvallur District

God

Sri Paliswarar – facing east (also called Amurtheswarar)

Goddess

Logambigai, facing east (also called Balambigai)

Other Deities

Sanctum Niches – Ganesha, Dakshinamurthy, Maha Vishnu, Brahma, Chandikeswara, Durga. Nritya Ganapati, Muruga with consorts, Bikshadanar, Hanuman, Naalvar, Markandeya, Veerabadhra, Naagar, Vinai theerkum Vinayakar, Nataraja, Sivakami, Bhairava, Saneeswara, Navagraha, Arunachaleswara

Paliswarar Tirupalaivanam is a large and beautiful east facing temple with a 5 tier Rajagopuram and a temple tank in front. The Temple tank does not have fish or frogs in it – see legend below. The temple has 2 Prakarams. The Gajaprasta Vimaanam houses the main deity which is a Wwayambu Lingam and whitish in color. There are about 25 processional deities here of different gods and goddesses.

Holy water (Theertham) – Amirtha Theertham, Temple Tank

Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) – Palai Tree (Wrightia tinctoria)

Mythology

A chola king’s elephant which was tethered to a tree died suddenly and angered by this the king ordered the tree to be cut down, Blood spurted from the ground below the tree and on checking the Shiva Lingam was found with a cut on the top. The Chola king then built this temple.

The Devas, after consuming the Amirtham washed their hands at the temple tank here. Demons wanted to drink the water mixed with Amirtham by taking the form of frogs. Realising this, the Devas made the temple tank such that it is not livable for frogs and other insects. So even today, frogs and other water living animals cannot be seen in the tank. Sages Agasthiar and Markandeyar are believed to have worshipped here

History

Paliswarar Tirupalaivanam Temple is a 1000 year old temple built by the Chola Kings. Stone inscriptions of the Chola period indicate the age and construction of the temple. Out of the 71 inscriptions found here 65 are from the Chola period in Tamil, 3 in Telugu, 2 in Sanskrit and 1 in Kanarese. Though the text of the inscriptions are not available to us as of now it is supposed to mentioned that Rajendra Chola I constructed this temple.

Legend

A Chola king’s elephant which was tethered to a tree here died suddenly and angered by this the king ordered the tree to be cut down, Blood spurted from the ground below the tree and on checking a Shiva Lingam was found with a cut on the top. The Chola King then built Paliswarar Tirupalaivanam, installing the Shiva Lingam.

The Devas, after consuming the Amrut, that came through the churning of the ocean, washed their hands at the temple tank here. The Asuras who were competing with them wanted to drink the water mixed with Amrut by taking the form of frogs. Realizing this, the Devas made the temple tank’s condition such that it was not livable for frogs. So even today, frogs and other water living animals cannot be seen in this tank here at Paliswarar Tirupalaivanam.

Sages Agasthiar and Markandeyar are believed to have worshiped here at Paliswarar Tirupalaivanam.

Directions

Ponneri to Pulicat road passes through Tirupalaivanam. Paliswarar Tirupalaivanam temple is adjoining the main road. Combine temples on the route as there are many and is a rewarding experience. Carry a picnic basket to enjoy the trip more as there are no major restaurants in the route.

Stay and Food

None locally. Closest for food is Ponneri.

Saivite Temples