Description
Lord Shiva is revered and worshipped immensely in Hindu Mythology. Also there are numerous temples in India which are dedicated to Lord Shiva. One such very famous temple of Lord Shiva is the Vedagiriswarar Shiva Temple. Situated in Thirukazhukundram, in Tamil Nadu this temple holds great importance and is also very much admired especially among the Shaivaite cult of India. Beautifully located on a top of a mountain this temple also gives a serene and picturesque view to all. A lot of devotees throng the Vedagiriswarar Shiva Temple to visit this sacred place and get the holy blessings of Lord Shiva.
History
This is an ancient temple that has a glorious historical background. Though the exact year of the origin of the temple is unknown but it is believed it is there since ages. The story behind the inception is that a by the name of Sage Bharadwaja prayed to Lord Shiva to attain a long life to learn the four Vedas at this place. He thought he would obtain liberation after learning all the four Vedas. One day Lord Shiva came in front of Sage Bharadwaja and told him that compared to these mountains what he could learn about Vedas throughout his life was just equal to a handful of mud. Also Lord Shiva explained that in the coming Kaliyug the only way to emancipation and liberation was selfless devotion and worship to the Lord and with this moral this place was known as Vedagiriswarar Shiva Temple. Here the four mountains are seen in the form of Vedas and on the top of it Lord Shiva emerging out of it. The name of the temple "Vedagiriswarar" itself means Lord of the Vedas.
Importance/Significance
The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Shiva in the form of Lord Vedagiriswarar. Here Lord Shiva is in the form of a Swayambhu Lingam and it is located on a hilltop. At the base of the mountain is another temple which is a part of Vegagiriswarar that is dedicated to Goddess Parvathi in the form of Thirupurasundari Amman. This is beautifully carved temple with Pallava style of architecture. Also this temple is very much similar to the Thiruvannamalai Annaimalaiyar Temple as this temple is fenced by four gopurams. A very unique fact about the temple is that the Nandi is not there before the presiding deity.
Facts/Mythology
This temple is also known as Kazhugu Koil i.e. the Eagle Temple. This is followed by a very interesting story, there were eight Brahmaputras who worshipped Lord Shiva to obtain a Sarooba Padavi but when Lord Shiva came to grant them a wish they asked for a Sayujya Padavi. Lord Shiva cursed them to be born again as Eagles as he was angered by their nonconformity. The Brahmaputras pleaded for mercy and Lord Shiva blessed them to be born as Holy Eagles two in each of the Yugas. Thus out of eight six were already born as Holy Eagles and in this Yug too, two Eagles daily come to the mountain to worship Lord Shiva and have the Naivedyam.
Festivals/Events/Gatherings
There are a lot of devotees who come to visit the temple on Mondays as this day is considered to be very auspicious for Lord Shiva worship. Also other festivals like Maha Shivaratri etc. are celebrated here with great enthusiasm
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