The Paadal Petra Sthalam (Tamil: பாடல் பெற்ற தலங்கள்), also known as Tevara Sthalam, are 276[1] temples that are revered in the verses of ShaivaNayanars in the 6th-9th century CE. The Divya Desams by comparison are the 108 Vishnu temples glorified in the poems of the contemporary VaishnavaAlvars of Tamil Nadu, India.
Tevaram
The three foremost Nayanars with Manikkavacakar - collectively called the Nalvar: (from left) Sambandar, Appar, Sundarar, and Manikkavacakar.
Tevaram literally means, "garland of divine songs" and refers to the collection of verses sung in praise of Shiva, the supreme god of the Shaivite sect of Hinduism, by three Tamil poets known as Shaiva Kuruvars - Sambandar, Appar, and Sundarar.[2] The three are considered the primary three among the sixty-three Nayanars. The former two lived during the 7th century CE while the latter around the 8th century CE. All songs in Tevaram are believed to be in sets of ten songs, called patikam in Tamil. Some musical experts consider Tevaram as a divine musical form.[3] There is a common view that Sanskritisation of names of the temples are carried out in later period that superseded the names mentioned in Tevaram - some of the common examples are Chidambaram as against Tillai in Tevaram and Kumbakonam as against Kudanthai.[4]
The 275 temples that are mentioned in Tevaram are referred as the Paadal Petra Sthalam, meaning the temples that were sung in the verses. On the contrary, Vaippu Sthalam are temples that were mentioned casually in the songs of the text. In modern times, the verses of the Tevaram are sung daily and during the festive occasions in most Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu by musicians called Odhuvars.[5]
Thiruvasagam
Manikkavacakar is considered the 4th in the line of Shaiva Kuravars, whose verses are classified as Thiruvasagam. There is a saying that "Thiruvasagathuku urugar, oru vasagathukum orugar" meaning the person who does not budge for thiruvasagam won't budge for anything else.[citation needed]
Description
There are around 276 temples that are revered by the verses of ShaivaNayanmars and are amongst the greatest Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu.[1] 267 temples in Tamil Nadu, 2 temples in Andhra pradesh, 1 temple in kerala, 1 temple in karnataka, 2 temples in Uttarakhand, 2 temples in Sri Lanka, 1 temple in Nepal, and Tirukailayam in Mount Kailash. The list is as shown below.
This category includes eight temples where Shiva is believed to have vanquished his foe. The eight temples are in 1. Thiruvadhikai
2. Thirukoyilur
3. Thirukkadayur
4. Vazhoovur
5. Thirukkurakaval ( kurukkai )
6. Thiruppaliyalur
7. Thirukandiyur
8. Thiruvirkudi.
The Thyagarajar Temple at Tiruvarur is famous for the ajapa natanam (dance without chanting), that is executed by the deity itself. According to legend, a Chola king named Mucukunta obtained a boon from Indra (a celestial deity) and wished to receive an image of Thyagaraja Swamy (presiding deity, Shiva in the temple) reposing on the chest of reclining Vishnu. Indra tried to misguide the king and had six other images made, but the king chose the right image at Tiruvarur.[6] The other six images were installed in ThiruNallaaru, Nagapattinam, Tirukarayil, Tirukolili, Thiruvaaimur and Tirumaraikadu.[7] All the seven places are villages situated in the river Cauvery delta. All seven Thyagaraja images are said to dance when taken in procession (it is the bearers of the processional deity who actually dance). The temples with dance styles are regarded as Sapta Vidangam (seven dance moves)[8] and the related temples are as under:[9]
The sapthasthanam festival is conducted at Tiruvaiyaru during April every year. Hundreds of people witness the convergence of seven glass palanquins carrying principal deities of respective temples from seven places at Tiruvaiyaru. The palanquins are paraded near the car stand, the crowd witnessed the Poochorithal(flower festival) in which a doll offers flowers to the principal deities in the palanquins. After the Poochorithal, the palanquins leave for their respective places.[10]
The seven temples are
Aathara Stalam indicates the places that serve as the personifications of tantric chakras associated with the human anatomy. Annamalaiyar temple is called the Manipooraga stalam[11] associated with Manipooraga, regarded to be the human anatomical cause for spiritual ignorance, thirst, jealousy, treachery, shame, fear, disgust, delusion, foolishness, and sadness.[12] Five temples are located in Tamil Nadu, one in Andhra Pradesh, and one at Varanasi.
^Scharfe, Hartmut (1 October 1999). "The Doctrine of the Three Humors in Traditional Indian Medicine and the Alleged Antiquity of Tamil Siddha Medicine". The Journal of the American Oriental Society. 119 (4): 609–629. doi:10.2307/604837. JSTOR604837.
Kamalabaskaran, Iswari (1994). The light of Arunachaleswarar. Affiliated East-West Press Pvt. Ltd.
Spear, Heidi (2011). The Everything Guide to Chakra Healing: Use Your Body's Subtle Energies to promote Health, Healing and Happiness. USA: Adams Media. ISBN978-1-4405-2649-7.
.jpg)
