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{{Short description|Shiva temple in Tamil Nadu, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox Hindu temple
| name = Atulya Nadheswarar Temple
| image = Arkandanallur1.JPG
| alt =
| caption =
| map_type = India Tamil Nadu
| map_caption = Location in [[Tamil Nadu]]
| coordinates = {{coord|11|58|28|N|79|13|13|E|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| other_names =
| proper_name =

| country = [[India]]
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| district = [[Viluppuram district|Viluppuram]]
| locale =
| elevation_m =
| deity = Atulya Nadheswarar([[Shiva]])
| festivals=
| architecture = [[Dravidian architecture]]
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity=
| inscriptions =
| year_completed =
| creator =
| website =
}}

'''Atulya Nadheswarar Temple''' (அதுல்யநாதேஸ்வரர் கோயில்)<ref name="ta.wikipedia.org">[[:ta:அறகண்டநல்லூர் அதுல்யநாதேஸ்வரர் கோயில்]]</ref> is a [[Hindu temple]] dedicated to the deity [[Shiva]], located in [[Arakandanallur|Arakandanallur in Thirukoilur taluk]], a town panchayat in [[Viluppuram district]] in the [[South India]]n state of [[Tamil Nadu]]. Shiva is worshipped as Atulya Nadheswarar, and is represented by the ''[[lingam]]''. His consort [[Parvati]] is depicted as Azhagiya Ponnazhagi. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the ''[[Tevaram]]'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the [[Nayanars]] and classified as ''[[Paadal Petra Sthalam]]''.

The temple complex covers two acres, built on a granite hill and it houses a seven tier gateway tower known as ''[[gopurams]]''. The temple has a number of shrines, with those of Atulya Nadheswarar and his consort Azhagiya Ponnazhagi being the most prominent.

The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and four yearly festivals on its calendar. The Brahmotsavam festival celebrated during Vaikasi (May–June) is the most prominent festival.

The original complex is believed to have been built by [[Pallavas]], with later expansion by [[Cholas]], while the present masonry structure was built during the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] during the 16th century. There are three rock-cut caves from the Pallava regime during the 10th century. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the [[Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department]] of the [[Government of Tamil Nadu]].

==Legend==
[[File:Arkandanallur3.JPG|250px|left|thumb|Image of the Annamalaiyar and Amman shrine of the temple]]
As per Hindu legend, [[Vishnu]] wanted to propitiate the sins caused by slaying [[Mahabali]] during [[Vamana]] avatar. He prayed Shiva for the same at various Shiva temples. His sins were cleared while worshipping Shiva. There is an image of Vishnu in a sculpture showing the legend. As per another legend, [[Sambandar]], the 7th century Saiva saint [[Nayanmar]], visited the place and sung praises of Atulya Natheswarar. The temple was locked down earlier by Jain monks and was believed to have been brought to worship practises after Sambandar. He was planning to go to [[Tiruvannamalai]], but was stopped by a divine force. He set up Annamalaiyar as [[Lingam]] in this place and started worshiping. It is believed that Samndar's foot steps are seen at the place and the [[Annamalaiyar Temple]] at Tiruvannamali can be viewed from the point.<ref name=R>{{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|pages=155–6}}</ref> ''Arai'' indicates rock while ''ani'' indicates beauty – since Shiva appears beautifully over the rock, the presiding deity of the temple is called Araiyanitheeswarar, which is Sankritised version of Atulya Nadheswarar.<ref name=dinamalar/>

==History==
{{Multiple image|caption_align=center|header_align=center
|align=right
| total_width = 300
| width1 = 1860 | height1 = 3250
| width2 = 2002 | height2 = 3236
|direction=horizontal
|image1=Arkandanallur15.jpg
|image2=Arkandanallur16.jpg
|footer=Sculptures on the temple walls
}}
The original complex is believed to have been built by [[Pallavas]], with later expansion by [[Cholas]], while the present masonry structure was built during the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] during the 16th century. There are three rock-cut caves from the Pallava regime during the 10th century. The current Draupadi Amman shrine is believed to have been a Murugan temple.<ref name=R/> There are inscriptions from lot of medieval and later [[Chola]] emperors like [[Rajaraja Chola I]] (985–1014), [[Kulothunga Chola I]] (1070–1120), [[Vikrama Chola]] (1118–1135), [[Kulothunga Chola II]] (1133–1150), [[Rajadhiraja Chola II]] (1166–1178), [[Kulothunga Chola III]] (1178–1218), [[Rajaraja Chola III]] (1216–1256) and [[Rajendra Chola III]] (1246–1279). There are inscriptions from [[Pandya]] kings like [[Maravarman Sundara Pandyan]] (1216–1238) and Maarvarman Vikrama Pandiyan. The contributions of the kings of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] like [[Krishna Deva Raya]] (1509–1529), [[Sadasiva Raya]] (1542–1570) and Kampanna Udayar are also found in the inscriptions. There are also inscriptions from the [[Sambuvaraya]] period, during the regime of Sagaloga Chadravarathi Rajanarayana Sambuvarayar. In all, there are a total of 96 inscriptions in the temple compiled in the Annual Reports on South Indian Epigraphy for the year 1902 in numbers 386–391, year 1905 number 26 and year 1935 number 111–195.<ref name=T/><ref>{{cite book|title=Later Chola Temples: Kulottunga I to Rajendra III (A.D. 1070–1280), Parts 1070–1280|publisher=Mudgula Trust|page=95|last3=Ramachandran|first3= Balasubrahmanyan|first1= Balasubrahmanyan|last1=S.R.|last2=B.|first2=Natarjan|year=1979}}</ref> Rajanarayana Sambuvaraya was a chieftain of [[Medieval Chola]]s whose contributions are documented in his inscriptions across various temples in modern-day [[Villupuram district|Villupuram]], [[Cuddalore district|Cuddalore]], [[Tiruvannamalai district|Tiruvannamalai]] and [[Kanchipuram district|Kanchipuram]] districts and also in his [[Sanskrit]] work ''Madhuravijayam''. He repaired, revived the services and inaugurated festivals of the temple.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Sambuvarayas of Padaividu their roles in South|last=A.|first=Krishnaswami|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=20|year=1957|pages=190–1|jstor=44304461}}</ref> In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the [[Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department]] of the [[Government of Tamil Nadu]].<ref name=R/>

==Architecture==
[[File:Arkandanallur6.JPG|200x200px|left|thumb|Shrine of [[vimana]] in the temple]]
This temple is situated in [[Arakandanallur]], a town panchayat in [[Viluppuram district]], located 2 km from [[Tirukoilur]] on the Tirukoilur – Viluppuram highway. The temple is located on the northern banks of [[Then Pennar River]]. The nearest railway station is at Tirukoyilur and the nearest airport is [[Chennai International Airport]]. The Shiva temple at Arkandanallur is spread over an area of {{convert|2|acre|m2}}. The main rajagopuram is on the West side with seven tiers and pierces the large rectangular granite walls. The [[Pushkarni|temple tank]], Indra Theertha, is located {{convert|1|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the temple. The temple is built on a granite hill and there are two corridors inside the temple. The main shrine accommodates the image of Shiva known as Atulya Nadheswarar in the form of [[Lingam]]. There is a separate shrine for Azhagiya Ponnazhagi to the right of Atulya Nadheswarar's shrine in the second precinct. The first precinct on the four sides of the sanctum sanctorum are decorated with the images of [[Nayanmars]], [[Navagraha]]s, [[Bhairava]], [[Murugan]] Sannadhi in the northwest and [[Durga]] Sannadhi on the northeast.<ref name=R/> The two Nandis in the temple are called Pradosha Nandi and Adigara Nandi – there are placed slightly off axis to the sanctum. The [[Shani|Saniswarar]] image in the temple is depicted with him having a foot over his vehicle mount crow. The Murugan image is depicted with a single head and six hands. The Shrine of Annamalaiyar is located South East of the central shrine in the second precinct.<ref name=dinamalar/> The rock-cut temples from the [[Pallava]] period are centred to border around the Pennar river, forming the southern extremity of the series.<ref>{{cite book|title=Temple Imagery from Early Mediaeval Peninsular India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HOc9RG6MSzgC&q=arakandanallur&pg=PA32|page=32|last=Verma|first=Archana|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|year=2012|isbn=9781409430292}}</ref> The [[Matrikas|Sapthamatrika]] images are present in the first precinct and are depicted flanking on the sides of [[Shiva]] or [[Vinayaga]], attributing to their male counterparts.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Identity and Divinity: Boundary-Crossing Goddesses in Medieval South India|page=24|last=Orr|first=Leslie C.|journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion|volume=73|issue=1|date=March 2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/jaarel/lfi003}}</ref>

==Religious importance==
It is one of the shrines of the 275 [[Paadal Petra Sthalams]] – [[Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu#Sthalams|Shiva Sthalams]] glorified in the early medieval ''[[Tevaram]]'' poems by Tamil Saivite [[Nayanars|Nayanar]] [[Thirugnana Sambanthar]]. As the temple is revered in ''Tevaram'', it is classified as ''[[Paadal Petra Sthalam]]'', one of the 275 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon. Sambandar refers this place as Araiyinallur, which later went on to become Arkandanallur.<ref>{{cite book|title=A handbook of Tamil Nadu|publisher=International School of Dravidian Linguistics|year=1996|last1=K.M.|first1=Venkataramaiah|last2=International School of Dravidian Linguistics|isbn=9788185692203|page=367}}</ref> To ease the worship of Sambandar, the [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]], the sacred bull of Shiva, tilted a little. The two Nandis in the temple are placed slightly off axis to the sanctum to indicate the legend. [[Ramalinga Swamigal]] has stayed in this place and sung praises of Atulya Nadeswarar. The Hindu saint [[Ramana Maharishi]] is believed to have stayed in the caves in the temple and was led to Tiruvannamalai.<ref name=dinamalar/><ref>{{cite book|title=Sages, Saints, and Arunachala Ramana|publisher=Orient Longmans|last=Taleyarkhan|first=Feroza|year=1970|page=88}}</ref> As per ''[[Periya Puranam]]'', the hagiography depicting the life of the 63 Nayanmars, Sambandar visited the place before moving to Tiruvannamalai.<ref name=T>{{cite web|title=Arayaninallur|url=http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/koil_view.php?koil_idField=14|publisher=Thevaaram.org|year=2011|accessdate=14 March 2016}}</ref>

==Festivals==
[[File:Arkandanallur9.JPG|200px|thumb|Images of [[Nalvar]]s, the famous four Nayanmars.]]
The temple priests perform the ''[[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]]'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. The temple rituals are performed four times a day; ''Kalasanthi'' at 7:00 a.m., ''Irandam Kalm'' at 9:00 a.m., ''Sayarakshai'' at 6:00 p.m, and ''Arthajamam'' at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: ''[[abhisheka]]'' (sacred bath), ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''[[Naivedhya|naivethanam]]'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for Atulya Nadheswarar and Azhagiya Ponnazhagi. There are weekly rituals like ''{{lang|te-Latn|somavaram}}'' (Monday) and ''{{lang|te-Latn|sukravaram}}'' (Friday), fortnightly rituals like ''[[pradosha]]m'', and monthly festivals like ''[[amavasya|amavasai]]'' (new moon day), ''kiruthigai'', ''[[pournami (festival)|pournami]]'' (full moon day) and ''sathurthi''. Other festivals include Vinayaka Chaturthi, Aadi Pooram, Navaratri, Aippasi Pournami, Skanda Sashti, Kartikai Deepam, Arudra Darisanam, Tai Poosam, Maasi Magam, Panguni Uththiram and Vaikasi Visakam. The major festival of the temple is the Brahmotsavam celebrated during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] of ''Vaikasi'' (May–June), when special worship practises are followed.<ref name=R/><ref name=dinamalar>{{cite web|title=Sri Atulya Nadeswarar temple|url=https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=158|publisher=[[Dinamalar]]|year=2014|access-date=24 November 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Atulya Nadheswarar Temple}}

{{Famous Shiva temples|state=collapsed}}

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

Atulya Nadheswarar Temple - Revision history

2fa at 01:51, 17 March 2025