NAGANATHARTEMPLE , TIRUNAGESWARAM, THANJAVURDISTRICT- TAMILNADU
Introduction Tirunageswaram Naganathar Temple also known as Rahu Stalam isa Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in Tirunageswaram, a townin the outskirts of Kumbakonam, in Tamil Nadu, India. It is significant to the Hindu sect of Saivism as one of thetemples associated with the nine planet elements, the Navagraha Stalas, andspecifically Rahu. Shiva isworshiped as Naganathar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Piraisoodi Amman. The presiding deity is reveredin the 7th-century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamilsaint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. It houses four gateway towers known as gopurams. The templehas numerous shrines, with those of Naganathar, Rahu and Piraisoodi Amman beingthe most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls; the most notable isthe ornamental entrance hall built during the Nayak period. The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30a.m. to 10 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar. Legend Thirunageswaram is one of the many temple towns in the statewhich is named after the grooves, clusters or forests dominated by a particularvariety of a tree or shrub and the same variety of tree or shrub sheltering thepresiding deity. The regionis believed to have been covered with Chamapaka forest and hence calledChamapakavanam. Many serpents, including Adishesha, Takshaka and Karkotaka,worshipped Shiva at this place, leading to the name "Tirunageswaram".As per Hindu legend, the king of snakes, Adisesha did penance at this place,called Senbaranya Kshetram on account of the presence of large number ofSenbaga trees. Shiva was pleased by the penance and appeared to him. Since Shiva gave a boon to the kingof Serpents, he is called Naganathar. Architecture The temple is another masterpiece which exhibits the Chola style of architecture.The temple has a separate shrine for Rahu. The temple campus encompassesexclusive shrines for Naganatha Swamy (Shiva), Pirayani Amman (Parvathi),Giri-Gujambigai (Parvathi) and Rahu with his divine spouses. GoddessGirigujambal has a separate shrine inside the temple campus as it is believedthat the goddess is in thava kolam (mode of deep penance). The Vinayaka shrine,bali pitha, Nandikeshwara hall and flag post are located in the easternentrance. This Ganapathy shrine is said to have been installed by thegreat saint Sadasiva Brahmendra along with a Ganapathy yantra. An inscriptionin the temple bears testimony to this fact. The temple covers an area of 630’South-North and 800’ East-West with concentric sub lanes and four major streetsaround the four sides. There are four gateways along the four sides with entrytowers (gopuram) and a surrounding compound wall. In the broad pathway on thethird precinct, there is aflower garden on the northern side. The second precinct has agranite floor and enshrines the Rahu shrine in the north eastern corner. The pathleading to the main shrine in the second precinct has a hall decorated withNayak style pillars with yalis. The hall was constructed by Govinda Dikshitar,the minister of successive Nayak rulers, Achuthappa Nayak (1560–1614) andRaghunatha Nayak (1600–34). In the front hall on the eastern side, artisticpillar with "older and nine horses" design is found, while similarpillars are found on the southern side as well. There is a hall in the northernside with pillars decorated with yalis used for staging idols during thefestive occasions. In the path way to main shrine, there are art worksdepicting Veda nayakas, king Sambumali and penance pose of Ambal. The Dwarapalagaimages on each side at the entrance of Naganathar shrine are made of chunamclay. Sub deities A Goddess Girigujambal is believed to be worshipping Shivahere with goddesses Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Ganesha, Muruga, Nandikesa and Shasta.Maha Bhairava is still believed to be guarding and assisting the divine motherduring her prayers. The Goddess is said to be Swayambu as she is present in theform of Meru. Hence, no abhishekam (ablution) is performed for the image. As per legends, Indra wascursed by sage Gautama as he misbehaved with the latter's wife Ahalya. To obtain deliverance from thesage's curse, it is said that Indra worshipped Giri-Gujambigai with a scentedmaterial termed Punugu for 45 days. Sages like Gautama andParashara and kings likeBhagiratha and Nala are said to have worshipped Naganathar at this place. The name "Kumbakonam", roughly translated inEnglish as the "Jug's Corner", is believed to be an allusion to themythical pot (kumbha) of the Hindu god Brahma that contained the seed of allliving beings on earth. Thekumbha is believed to have been displaced by a pralaya (dissolution of theuniverse) and ultimately came to rest at the spot where the town of Kumbakonamnow stands. The drops of nectarare believed to have fallen onto five shrines around Kumbakonam, namelyMahlingeswarar temple at Tiruvidaimarudur, Tirudharasuram, Naganathar Temple at Tirunageswaram,Tiruvorgam and Tirupadalavanam. Location The temple is located in Thirunageswaram, a town located 5 kmfrom Kumbakonam and 47 km from Thanjavur on the Kumbakonam - Karaikkal highway. Temple tank The temple tank is called Sula Theertham, a dip in which,is believed to clear sins committed by human beings. The templetank is located in the southern side and has a hundred pillared hall. Worship and religiouspractises The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivalsand on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priestsbelong to the Shaivaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals areperformed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 6:00 a.m., Kalasanthi at 9:00 a.m.,Uchikalam at 1:00 p.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. andArdha Jamam at 9:00 p.m. There is a separate calendar for the Rahu Abhishekam (sacredablution): it isperformed twice in a day at 11:30 a.m and 5:30 p.m. and additionallytwice at various times in the day. There are weekly rituals like somavaram and sukravaram,fortnightly rituals like pradosham and monthly festivals like amavasai (newmoon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi. Annual festivals The Brahmotsvam or primefestival is celebrated for ten days in the Tamil month of Karthigai (November–December). Thereis a procession in silver vehicle, marriage festival of the presiding deity,another procession around the streets of Tirunageswarm in temple chariot,sanctification in temple tank and concludes with Vidayathri (farewell function)when a flower palanquin takes the images of the temple deities around thetemple. The festival is celebrated amidst music with nagaswaram (pipeinstrument) and tavil (percussion instrument) and religious instructions in theVedas (sacred text) and Tevaram read by priests. Kandasashti festival is celebratedfor six during October or November every year when Murugan, the son ofShiva, symbolically kills the demon Surapadma. The scene is enacted in theSouth street of the temple during the festival. As per local legend, Rahugot relieved of his pains praying to Naganathar during a Shivaratri day and theday is celebrated in the temple. Navarathri festival iscelebrated for nine days for Girigujambigai and the images of Naganathar and Girigujambigai is takenin horse chariot on Vijayadasami, the concluding day of the festival. Sekkizhar Vaikasi Pooja iscelebrated from 1969 on the birth date of Sekkizhar, the author of Periya Puranam, the epicdescribing the life history of the 63 nayanars. Rahu Peyarchi is afestival celebrated once every 1.5 years on the star when Rahu switches its planetary positionfrom one raasi (galaxy) to the other. Religious significance The ablution of the image of Rahu during Rahukaalam withmilk turning to blue colour in this temple is considered to be a miracle andattracts devotees from distant places. My note- I have perfumedmilk ablution and has witnessed the change of colour to very light blue As per Hindu belief, people troubled by Sarpa-dosha orMalefic effects Rahu-Kethu seek a relief by offering prayers in the noon atthis temple. Saints who sang aboutthis temple Tirugnana Sambandar, a7th-century Tamil Saivite poet, venerated Naganathar in ten verses in Tevaram, compiled as the FirstTirumurai. Appar, a contemporary ofSambandar, also veneratedAnnamalaiyar in 10 verses in Tevaram, compiled as the Fifth Tirumurai. As thetemple is revered in Tevaram, it is classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam, one ofthe 275 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon. The temple is one of themost visited temples in the district. The temple is counted as one of thetemples built on the banks of River Kaveri. What is special inThirunageswaram Temple? The ablution of theimage of Rahu during Rahukaalam with milk turning to blue colour in this templeis considered to be a miracle and attracts devotees from distant places. Thepresiding deity is believed to have been worshipped by many serpent deitieslike Adiseshan, Dakshan and Karkotaka. Offering Type Cost (INR) Urad Dal and Blue Cloth are the main offerings of SriNaganathaswamy Temple. Also, Mantharai Flower is a good offering Milk Abhishekam ₹150 Milkabhishekam (Special) ₹250 Hommam Kattanam ₹3,000 Kattalai Archanai Prasatham ₹600 Kattalai Abhishegam Prasatham ₹1,200 Swami Ambal Abishegam ₹3,000 SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCEOF SRI NAGANATHASWAMY TEMPLE: Sri Naganathaswamy Templeis believed to be the place where Nandi attained the status of Nandeeshwaraafter worshipping Lord Shiva. Also, this is the placewhere Vinayakar attained the status of Ganapathi or the Head of the Ganas. The Naganathaswamy temple iswhere lord Shiva was worshipped by Rahu and got relieved of a curse. A unique feature of the temple isthat Rahu is seen with a human face, whereas in other places, Rahu is seen witha serpent face. Lord Rahu Rahu Bhagavan isworshipped at this temple along with his two consorts Nagakanni and Nagavalli.Usually, in other temples, Rahu Bhagavan is seen with a serpent face but here,at Sri Naganathaswamy Temple, Lord Rahu is seen with a humanface which is its unique feature., Visiting Rahu Sthalam, Sri Naganathaswamy Temple,Thirunageswaram in Tamilnadu, dedicated to Rahu Bhagavan is considered veryauspicious to diminish the malefic effect of Rahu. Rahu Bhagwan is believed tobe the cause for one's good position, business, status, winning over opposition,faithfulness, to travel overseas, and for mantra power. As per the ancient science of Astrology,Rahu is considered a shadow planet which means it has no real physicalexistence. Anyhow, its malefic influence is very powerful, and its presence issaid to make the lives of natives burdensome. It is believed that the presenceof Rahu in one's horoscope signifies karma bondage coming down from theirprevious births. Puthira Dosham, Kalathra Dosham, Sarpa Dosham, mentaldisorders, communicable diseases, leprosy, delay in getting married,childlessness, troublesome married life, fall in grace are caused by RahuDosham. Praying to Rahu Bhagavan at this Rahu Stalam helps to rid aperson from these Doshams and also saves the person from all poisonous lifeforms. Hence, devotees who are badly affected by Rahu can be seen flocking SriNaganathaswamy Temple to offer prayers and seek the blessings of Rahu Bhagavan. Astrologers suggest that doing Milk Abhishekam for RahuBhagavan during Rahu Kalam, especially on Sundays at Sri Naganathaswamy Templecan neutralize the malefic effect of Rahu like marriage obstacles, troubledmarital life, lack of progeny, Puthira Dosham, Kaalasarpa Dosham, KalathraDosham, and Sarpa Dosham. It is also suggested that reciting Rahu Moola Manthraand Rahu Gayatri Manthra also helps alleviate the malefic effect of Rahu. It isa miracle that during Milk Abhishekam, the milk poured over the idol of LordRahu turns Blue. Location The temple is located in Thirunageswaram, a town located 5 kmfrom Kumbakonam and 47 km from Thanjavur on the Kumbakonam - Karaikkal highway. Address: Naganathar temple, Thirunageswaram, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu612204.Phone: 0435 246 3354 Temple timings 6 am to 1 pm ⋅Reopens 5 pm closes at 9PM Administration The temple is under HR and CE Government of Tamilnadu. Compiled and posted by R.Gopalakrishnan on 04-11-2025 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1106800156.2472293.1762239048156%40mail.yahoo.com.
