Manthurai Amravaneswarar Temple

Manthurai, a quaint village situated approximately 4 kilometers away from Lalgudi town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, holds significance for housing the Amravaneswarar Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. This revered temple, named Amravaneswarar or Mrukandeeswarar, occupies a notable place as the 58th among the Devara Paadal Petra Sthalams, a collection of 274 paramount Shiva temples found in the Chola region north of the Cauvery River.

Highlights:

• Sambandhar has revered the temple in his verses in Devaram.
• Arunagirinathar has revered Murugan in this temple in his verses in Tiruppugal.
• God - Amravaneeswarar a.k.a. Mrukandeeswarar
• Goddess - Balambikai a.k.a. Azhagammai
• Teerth (Holy water) - Gayatri Teerth
• Sthala Vruksha (Holy tree) - Mango 
• Considered as one of the Devara Paadal Petra Sthalams.

Legend:

The temple's mythological narrative is chronicled as "Amravaneswara Mahatmya" in the Agastya Samhita of the Skanda Purana.

Mango Forest:

Legend has it that Manthurai was once a lush mango forest, which led to the name Amravaneswarar, with "amra" signifying mango.

Surya and Sanjana:

The tale unfolds with Sanjana, the wife of Surya (the sun god), unable to endure his scorching radiance. She manifested her likeness and left it with Surya before assuming the form of a horse and embarking on intense penance in Manthurai. Upon realizing the truth, Surya joined her in devotion to Lord Shiva. Eventually, blessed by Shiva, they reunited.

Deer:

In ancient times, a Rakshasa couple assumed deer forms and roamed the forested village. Cursed, they bore a sage as their offspring. Shiva and Parvati incarnated as hunters, vanquishing the Rakshasas and nurturing the sage's deer cub. In response to the sage's plea, Shiva and Parvati stayed eternally in the village.

Brahma:

In his contest with Vishnu, Brahma falsely claimed to have seen Shiva's head and incurred a curse. To absolve himself, he arrived at Manthurai, creating the river Gayatri and worshipping Shiva. (There is no Gayatri river now; probably a portion of Cauvery in this region is called as Gayatri).

Mrikundu:

Mrikundu Rishi's devout meditation beneath a mango tree yielded the birth of his son, Markandeya. Thus, Shiva in this temple is also known as Mrikandeeswarar.

Indra:

Indra sought Shiva's forgiveness for misdeeds towards Ahalya and found redemption by venerating the Shiva Linga in Manthurai.

Surya and Chandra:

Both Surya and Chandra worshipped Shiva here to cleanse themselves of past transgressions.

Chandra prayed to Shiva in this site and as a result he became the master of the night period.

History:

Two stone inscriptions of Rajaraja Chola period are found in this temple. Based on this and the architectural style followed in this temple, we can assume that the original temple must have been expanded or rebuilt in the 11th century CE by the Cholas. 

Temple Layout:

Entrance:

The temple's east-facing entrance boasts a three-tiered tower adorned with intricate stucco images. Nandi and bali peetha are positioned outside, facing the temple tower.

Amravaneswarar:

Within, the east-facing sanctum houses the stunning Vimana and the sizable Shiv Linga called Amravaneswarar. Nandi faces the Linga in the Maha Mandapa.

Balambikai:

The Goddess Balambikai's shrine faces south within the prakara, with Nandi as her mount. Nandi images within and outside the Maha Mandapa direct their gaze toward her shrine.

Koshta Images:

Chola-period and later Koshta images of Nardana Ganapati, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu, Brahma, and Durga adorn the sanctum's outer walls.

Other Shrines and Icons:

The temples enshrines many other icons and sub-shrines.

• Nataraja - Sivakami sub-shrine in the Maha Mandapa
• Utsav Murtis such as Uma-Maheshwara, Ganesh etc. in a separate shrine in Maha Mandapa
• Ganesh shrine in the prakara
• Bala Dandayudhapani sub-shrine in the prakara
• Subramanya-Valli-Devasena sub-shrine in the prakara - sung by ArunagiriNathar in Tirupugal
• Gaja Lakshmi in a separate shrine
• Navagraha - Surya with his two consorts; all other planets face towards Surya in the middle
• Bhairava 
• Surya 
• Adi Shankara
• Chandikeshwara
• Sthala Vruksha
• Icons of Ganesh and Bala Dandayudapani at the entrance of Maha Mandapa

Happy travelling.