Description
Konerirajapuram is a Shiva temple which is located at a distance of 10 kilometers from the city of Tiruvidaimarudur in Tamil Nadu. The way to the temple is in between the road of Karaikkal and Kumbhakonam. The Koneri Rajapuram Tirunallam temple ranks, 34th amongst all the religious places in the Chola kingdom of Tamil Nadu. The temple is quite close to the river Kaveri. Many devotees come to the temple on Fridays and Tuesdays. The Nataraja form of Shiva is considered powerful and special here.
History
The history of the temple dates back to thousands of years. The metallic sculpture here is one of the oldest idols around the world. Many people with various skin disorders have been healed here at Konerirajapuram.
Facts/Mythology
King Kadaraditya and his wife Mahadevi asked a sculptor to sculpt Nataraja's statue and the king and his wife also instructed him to use five special metals in making the statue. The five metals are also known as panchaloha i.e. a statue which stands long and tall. The sculptor was a sincere devotee of Lord Shiva and happily followed the king's order. The statue was made from metal, brass, lead and copper. These were used in 82%, 3% and 15%. The metals were heated and were transformed in liquid form. The sculptor presented the Nataraja idol to the king but the king was not pleased with the Nataraja idol and he asked him to prepare the idol again. The sculptor showed the king 3 different idols which were about 3 feet high but the king was again not pleased with the figures and ordered the sculptor to sculpt the idol again and said that if he failed this time his head would be chopped. The sculptor was quite sad and disheartened and he had only one day left for sculpting the idol. He was home and started praying to Lord Shiva for a miracle, when an old couple arrived and asked for some water. The sculptor said he did not have any water to offer. On further persuasion by the old couple, the sculptor angrily told them that they can drink the molted metal if they wanted to quench their thirst. The old man and his wife drank the molten metal and before the sculptor could understand what was going on, there appeared two idols, one of Lord Shiva i.e. Nataraja and other one of Parvathi. At the same time the king came there and was pleased to see the idols. The sculptor was quite stunned by Lords' mercy and was thankful to god who saved his life. The sculptor narrated the whole story to the king but the king did not believe the story and attacked the idol with the sword. Suddenly blood gushed out of the idol and the king got leprosy. The Lord then appeared again and told the king that he is here in the form of Nataraja.
Festivals/Events/Gatherings
There are six different types of worshipping rituals carried out here every day. Bhrammotsavam is an annual function celebrated in the temple on a grand scale.
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