| Description:
Tirumaanikkuzhi is a Shivastalam in the vicinity of Tiruppaatirippuliyur
- Cuddalore. Tiruvahindrapuram is a Vaishnava Divya Desam nearby. This
is the 17th of the 22 Tevara Stalams in the Nadu Naadu region of
Tamilnadu. Legends:
To rid himself of the sin of having manipulated Mahabali, Vamana (Maani) is said to
have worshipped Shiva here (hence Maanikkuzhi or Vaamanapuri); Shiva is also known as
Maanikkavaradar here. As Shiva desired not to be disturbed during Vaamana's worship he
installed Bhima Rudra at the entrance of the sanctum.
The Temple: The Vimanam here is known as Bhaskara Vimanam or
Aditya Vimanam. Brahma, Durvasar, Surya, Ashta Vasus, Dakshan and others are said to have
worshipped Shiva here. The first Deepaaradanai is offered to Bhimarudra (mentioned
above) whose image is portrayed in a silk curtain hung in front of the sanctum. There are
several inscriptions here from the Chola, Pandya and Vijayanagar periods, especially from
the Later Chola period (1075 - 13th century) Kulottunga Chola I, Vikrama
Chola, Kulottunga Chola II, and Rajaraja III. The assigned time for the Bhramotsavam here,
is the month of Kartikai. |
