Tiruttavatturai at
Lalgudi near Tiruchirappalli is an
ancient shrine dating back to the period of the Nayanmars.
Although a formal patikam of ten poems penned by the
Nayanmars has not been discovered yet, this shrine has been
regarded as one of
the Tevara vaippu talangal (referenceed by the Tevaram) as the
Saivite canon Periya Puraanam narrates that Sambandar had visited
this shrine in the course of his travels.
Tiruttavatturai
is
located about 20 km east of Tiruchirappalli. It is an interesting
observation that the red towers adorning this town caused
the newly arrived muslim rulers to refer to this place as
Lalgudi. This west facing temple covers an area of about 2 acres
and is adorned with a five tiered Raja Gopuram at its entrance.
The
presiding deities here are Shiva, worshipped as
Saptarishiswarar and his consort Srimathi. There are also shrines
to Ganesha, Murugan and the seven sapta rishis. Other iconic forms
of Shiva such as Bhikshaadanar, Ardhanaareeswarar, Veena
Dakshinamurthy are also enshrined here.
Legend has
it that the sapta rishis were relieved of a curse upon worshipping
Shiva at this shrine and hence the name Sapta Rishiswara. There
are also legends associated with the worship of Shiva by Lakshmi,
Vishnu and Murugan here. Legend also has it that Kali (Bhairavi)
was defeated in a dance duel with Shiva (as in Tiruvalangadu).
In a legend similar to that at Tiruttalaichangaadu, there is a
legend here that Vishnu obtained his discus (chakram) upon
worshipping Shiva here at Tiruttavatturai.
The sacred
grove associated with this temple centers around the stala
vriksham of arasamaram. The sacred water sources (theertham) are
known by the names Sivaganga and Chakra Theertham.
The annual
festival is celebrated in the Tamil month of Vaikashi. The annual
Arudra Darisanam festival is celebrated in grandeur here.
