Bhaktikalpa

Sthalam

Tiruvanaikovil Arulmigu Jambukeswarar Akilandeswari Temple

The Jambukeswarar temple in Tiruchirapalli of Tamil Nadu is one of the Pancha Bhoota Stala. The presiding deity is the Appu Lingam – the water element. It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, where all the Nayanars (Saivite Saints) have sung glories of the deity.Another famous temple in the Pancha Bhoota Stalas is the Arunachalam Temple located in Tiruvannamalai.

Puranam

Once Parvati mocked Shiva's penance for betterment of the world. Shiva wanted to condemn her act and directed her to go to the earth from Kailasam (Shiva's abode) to do penance. Parvathi in the form of Akilandeswari as per Shiva's wish found Jambu forest (Thiruvanaikoil) to conduct her penance. She made a lingam out of water of river Cauvery (also called as river Ponni) under the Venn Naaval tree (the Venn Naaval tree on top of the saint Jambu) and commenced her worship.

The lingam is known as Appu Lingam (Water Lingam).Siva at last gave darshan to Akilandeswari and taught her Siva Gnana. Akilandeswari took Upadesa (lessons) facing East from Shiva, who stood facing west.

There were two Siva Ganas (Siva's disciples who live in Kailash): 'Malyavan' and 'Pushpadanta'. Though they are Siva Ganas they always quarrel with each other and fight for one thing or other. In one fight 'Malyavan' cursed 'Pushpadanta' to become an elephant on earth and the latter cursed the former to become a spider on earth. The elephant and the spider came to Jambukeswaram and continued their Siva worship.

The elephant collected water from river Cauvery and conducted ablution to the lingam under the Jambu tree (Eugenia jambolana, the java plum tree) daily.The spider constructed his web over the lingam to prevent dry leaves from dropping on it and prevent sunlight directly falling on it. When the elephant saw the web and thought it was dust on lingam.

The elephant tore them and cleaned the lingam by pouring water and the practice continued daily. The spider became angry one day and crawled into the trunk of the elephant and bit the elephant to death,killing itself. Siva, in the form of Jambukeswara, moved by the deep devotion of the two, relieved them from the curse. As an elephant worshipped Siva here, this place came to be known as Thiru Aanai Kaa (thiru means holy, aanai is elephant, kaa (kaadu) means forest).Later the name 'Thiruaanaikaa' become 'Thiruvanaikaval' and 'Thiruvanaikoil'.

As an outcome of having committed a sin by killing the elephant, in the next birth, the spider was born as the King Kochengot Chola (kotchengannan cholan meaning red-eyed king) and built 70 temples and this temple is the one among them.The account of the Chola building seventy temples along with this temple is mentioned in Nalayira Divya Prabandham.Remembering his enmity with the elephant in his previous birth, he built the Siva Sannathi (sanctorum) such that not even a small elephant can enter.The entrance on the sanctorum of Jambukeswara is only 4 foot high and 2.5 foot wide.

There was a story behind the king's red eyes - When he was in his mother's womb the palace astrologer predicted a sacred time to give birth to enable the newborn's well-being. The queen went into labor early, before the time predicted by the astrologer. The queen hence told the servant to hang her upside down for the time to come so that she could have a wise and virtuous son who could head the kingdom righteously. This waiting time inside the womb made the baby's eyes red.

After becoming the king, he built the temple for Siva and Goddess Akilandeswari in the name of Aanaikka (elephant protected) later days it changed to Thiruvanaikovil.

Varnam

The Jambukeswarar temple in Tiruchirapalli of Tamil Nadu is one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalas.The presiding deity is the Appu Lingam the water element. It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, where all the Nayanars have sung glories of the deity. Shiva in the form of Jambukeswara moved by the deep devotion of the two Siva Ganas Malyavan and Pushpadanta relieved them from the curse.The entrance on the sanctorum of Jambukeswara is only 4 foot high and 2.5 foot wide.The sannathy of the goddess Akilandeshwari and the sannathy of Prasanna Vinayaka are in the shape of the pranava manthra called "Aum". It is believed that the Amman in the temple was in deep anger hence during one of Adi Sankara's visit he installed the Prasanna Ganapathy idol right opposite to her Sannathy and installed a pair of Sri Chakra thaatankas (ear rings) to reduce her anger

Comments

Meera Subramanian says,
The temple architecture and spiritual energy are amazing. Felt deeply connected.

Lakshmi Narayan says,
Every visit brings inner peace and strength. Jai Shri Ram ????

Suresh Kumar says,
The divine presence here is very powerful. A truly holy Swayambhu temple

Kavya Nair says,
Such a serene and spiritually uplifting temple. Felt calm and blessed.

Arjun Patel says,
A sacred place filled with devotion and history. Highly recommend visiting with family

Ananya Reddy says,
Blessed to have darshan here. The vibrations and positivity are beyond words.

Priya Iyer says,
An unforgettable spiritual experience. The atmosphere is so pure and peaceful.

Rahul Sharma says,
Felt divine energy as soon as I entered the temple. Truly a powerful Swayambhu kshetra. ????

Timings	From	To
Morning Darshan	6AM	12 PM
Evening Darshan	5 PM	9 PM
Ushakkala Pooja	6:30 AM	7:30AM
Kaalashandhi Pooja	8 AM	8:45 AM
Uchikkala Pooja	11 AM	12 PM
Saayaraksha Pooja	5 PM	5:45 AM
Ardhajama Pooja	9 PM