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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox temple
| name = Amirthakadeswarar Temple
| image = Sakkottai2.JPG
| alt =

| caption =
| map_type = India Tamil Nadu
| map_caption = Location in [[Tamil Nadu]]
| coordinates = {{coord|10|56|7.09|N|79|23|59.4|E|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| other_names =
| proper_name =

| country = [[India]]
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| district = [[Thanjavur district|Thanjavur]]
| location = [[Sakkottai]]
| elevation_m =
| deity = Amirthakadeswarar ([[Shiva]])
Amirthavalli([[Parvathi]])
| utsava_deity_God =
| utsava_deity_Godess=
| facade_direction =
| temple_tank = Nalveda Theertham
| tower =
| Poets =
| Prathyaksham =
| temple_tree = Vanni
| festivals=
| architecture = [[Dravidian architecture]]
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity=
| inscriptions =
| year_completed =
| creator =
| website =
}}

'''Amirthakadeswarar Temple''' (அமிர்தகடேஸ்வரர் கோயில், சாக்கோட்டை)<ref name="ta.wikipedia.org">[[:ta:சாக்கோட்டை அமிர்தகலேசுவரர் கோயில்]]</ref> is a [[Hindu temple]] dedicated to the deity [[Shiva]], located at [[Sakkottai, Thanjavur district|Sakkottai]] in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]. The temple is dedicated to [[Shiva]]. Shiva is worshiped as Amirthakadeswarar, and is represented by the ''[[lingam]]''. His consort [[Parvati]] is depicted as Amirthavalli Amman. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the ''[[Tevaram]]'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the [[Nayanmars]] and classified as ''[[Paadal Petra Sthalam]]''.

As per Hindu legend, the essence of creation arrived at this place in a pot (locally called ''kalayam''), the place came to be known as Kalayanallur. The temple is closely associated with [[Sakkiyar Nayanar|Sakya]] [[Nayanmar]], one of 63 saints associated with [[Saivism]]. The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 7:00 a.m. to 10 p.m., and three major yearly festivals on its calendar. [[Shivaratri|Maha Shivrathri]] and Masi Magam during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] of ''Masi'' (February - March) and Margazhi Tiruvadhirai during ''Margazhi'' (December - January) are the major festivals celebrated in the temple.

The temple complex houses a three-tier known as ''[[gopuram]]'' (gateway tower) and has moats inside and outside the surrounding walls. The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Amirthakadeswarar and Amirthavalli Amman being the most prominent. The present masonry structure was built during the [[Chola dynasty]] in the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to [[Thanjavur Nayaks]]. The image of [[Lingothbhava]] is made of emerald, while the image of [[Ardhanarishvara]] is depicted with his right leg in relaxing posture. The temple is maintained and administered by the [[Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department]] of the [[Government of Tamil Nadu]].

==Legend==
[[File:Sakkottai1.JPG|View of the temple|thumb|200x200px|left]]
As per Hindu legend, the essence of creation arrived at this place in a pot during deluge. Since the pot (locally called ''kalayam'') arrived here, it was called Kalayanallur. [[Sambandar]] in his works in ''[[Tevaram]]'' mentions that this place was originally occupied by [[Buddhist]]s (Calukkiyar) and hence it came to be known as Cakkiyarkkottai, which with time became Cakkottai.<ref name=R/>

Another legend states that [[Nayanmar]] saint Sakya was a staunch devotee of Shiva. He used to wear in Sakya style, which was not typical of Saivism. He used to worship Shiva at this place and even did [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]] for a stone he crossed. In his devotion, he used to forget that he was adorning the image of Shiva with stones instead of flowers. One day he forgot to do his austerities and started consuming food. He suddenly realised his mistake and ran to the place where he usually worships Shiva to find stones from [[Kailash]] started falling at his feet, with Shiva and Parvathy appearing before him. It is believed that as Sakya worshipped Shiva here, the place used to be called Sakkottai.<ref name="dinamalar"/>

==Architecture==
The present masonry structure was built during the [[Chola dynasty]] in the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to [[Thanjavur Nayaks]]. The temple has a three-tiered [[gopuram|rajagopuram]] (temple tower gateway) and has a moat both inside and outside its surrounding walls. There is a [[Saptamatrikas]] sculpted in a single panel and image of Tapsiviyaman. The [[Dakshinamurthy]] sculpture on the temple is unique as it is depicted with four hands - the upper right holding a bead made of [[Rudraksha]], the upper left holding [[Agni]] (fire), the lower right holding cinmudra and lower left holding palm leaves. The temple tank associated with it is called Caturveda Tirtha, while the tree associated with the temple is [[prosopis spicigera|Vanni]]. The presiding deity is Shiva in the form of Amirthakalasanathar or Amirthakadeswarar. The consort is Amirthavalli. Most of the shrines were constructed by the [[Medieval Cholas]]. There are shrines to [[Murugan]] and [[Gaṇeśa|Ganesa]]. There is also a brick halls from the [[Thanjavur Nayak]] period.<ref name=R>[[R.|R. 2001]], pp. 192-3</ref> The image of [[Lingothbhava]] is made of emerald, while the image of [[Ardhanarishvara]] is depicted with his right leg in relaxing posture. There are smaller shrines for Dhandapani Muruga in a small size and Nardana Vinayaka on the southern side. The front hall houses the Nandi Bali Peeta.<ref name="dinamalar"/>

== Religious Significance ==
[[File:Sakkottai3.JPG|Sakottai temple view|200x200px|thumb|left]]
Sakkottai is associated with the life of the [[Nayanmar]], [[Sakya Nayanar]] who resided here. It is also the place where [[Brahma]] worshipped Shiva. Hymns in praise of the temple have been written by [[Sundarar]].<ref name="Sridhar">[[#Sharma|Sharma 2007]], p. 34</ref> Sundarar venerated Amirtakateswarar in ten verses in ''[[Tevaram]]'', compiled as the ''[[Tirumurai|Seventh Tirumurai]]''. As the temple is revered in ''Tevaram'', it is classified as ''[[Paadal Petra Sthalam]]'', one of the 276 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon.<ref name="dinamalar">{{cite web|title=Amirthakadeswarar Temple|url=http://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=379|publisher=[[Dinamalar]]|accessdate=5 October 2014|year=2011}}</ref>

== Specialty ==
12 Shiva temples are connected with [[Mahamaham]] festival which happens once in 12 years in Kumbakonam. They are :
*[[Kasi Viswanathar Temple, Kumbakonam|Kasi Viswanathar Temple]],
*[[Adi Kumbeswarar Temple|Kumbeswarar Temple]],
*[[Someswaran Temple|Someswarar Temple]],
*[[Nageswaraswamy Temple, Kumbakonam|Nageswara Temple]],
*[[Kalahasteeswarar Temple, Kumbakonam|Kalahasteeswarar Temple]],
*[[Gauthameswarar Temple, Kumbakonam|Gowthameswarar Temple]],
*[[Kottaiyur Kodeeswarar temple]]
*[[Amirthakadeswarar Temple, Sakkottai|Amirthakalasanathar Temple]],
*[[Banapuriswarar Temple]],
*[[Abimukeswarar Temple, Kumbakonam]],
*[[Kambatta Viswanathar Temple, Kumbakonam|Kambatta Visvanathar Temple]] and
*[[Ekambeswarar Temple, Kumbakonam|Ekambareswarar Temple]].
This temple is one among them.<ref>Mahamaham Festival 2004 (in Tamil), Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Administration Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, 2004</ref>

==Religious practises and festivals==
The temple priests perform the ''[[puja (Hinduism)|pooja]]'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the [[Shaivism|Shaivaite]] community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed four times a day; Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 10:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: ''abhisheka'' (sacred bath), ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''neivethanam'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for both Annamalaiyar and Unnamulai Amman. The worship is held amidst music with ''[[nagaswaram]]'' (pipe instrument) and ''[[tavil]]'' (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the [[Vedas]] read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like ''{{lang|te-Latn|somavaram}}'' and ''{{lang|te-Latn|sukravaram}}'', fortnightly rituals like ''[[pradosha]]m'' and monthly festivals like ''[[amavasya|amavasai]]'' (new moon day), ''kiruthigai'', ''[[pournami (festival)|pournami]]'' (full moon day) and ''sathurthi''. [[Shivaratri|Maha Shivrathri]] and Masi Magam during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] of ''Masi'' (February - March) and Margazhi Tiruvadhirai during ''Margazhi'' (December - January) are the major festivals celebrated in the temple.<ref name="dinamalar"/>

==Kumbabishegam==
The Kumbabishegam of the temple was held on 22 October 2015.<ref>[http://www.dinamani.com/edition_trichy/tanjore/2015/10/17/%E0%AE%85%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D.-22-%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D-%E0%AE%85%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B2%E0%AE%9A%E0%AE%A8%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D-%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8B%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%BF/article3084234.ece அக்.22-ல் அமிர்தகலசநாதர் கோயிலில் கும்பாபிஷேகம், Dinamani, Tamil Daily, 17 October 2015]</ref><ref>[http://www.dinamani.com/edition_trichy/tanjore/2015/10/23/%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8B%E0%AE%A3%E0%AE%A4%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D%C2%A0-%E0%AE%8F%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%87%E0%AE%B8/article3093169.ece கும்பகோணத்தில் ஏகாம்பரேஸ்வரர், அமிர்தகலசநாதர் கோயில்களில் குடமுழுக்கு விழா, Dinamani, Tamil Daily, 23 October 2015]</ref>

== Kumbabishegam 22 October 2015 ==
<gallery>
File: Sakkottai7.jpg|
File: Sakkottai8.jpg|
File: Sakkottai16.jpg|
File: Sakkottai13.jpg|
File: Sakkottai14.jpg|
File: Sakkottai19.jpg|
File: Sakkottai11.jpg|
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite book|title=An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.jZY9lup2kZl6TuXGlZQdjZY2lZpy.TVA_BOK_0006115|last=R.|first=Dr. Vijayalakshmy|publisher=International Institute of Tamil Studies| location=Chennai|year=2001|edition=1st|ref=R.}}
* {{cite book|title=Kumbakonam Azhaikkirathu|isbn=9788183682244|publisher=New Horizon Media|year=2007|last=Sharma|first=Sridhara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D0HOpzd4-cwC&q=kumbakonam+azhaikkirathu|ref=Sharma}}
{{ref end}}

==External links==
{{Hindu temples in Thanjavur District|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Shiva temples in Thanjavur district]]
[[Category:Padal Petra Stalam]]

Amirthakadeswarar Temple Sakkottai - Revision history

>Citation bot at 15:54, 5 January 2021