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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 temple
| name = Kodeeswarar Temple
| image = Koteeswarar1.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Image of the Kodeeswarar temple gopuram
| map_type = India Tamil Nadu
| map_caption = Location in [[Tamil Nadu]]
| coordinates = {{coord|10.966845|N|79.358225|E|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| other_names =
| proper_name =
| country = [[India]]
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| district = [[Tanjore district|Thanjavur]]
| location = Kottaiyur
| elevation_m = 51.58
| deity = [[Shiva|Kodeeswarar]]<br />
[[Parvathi|Pandhadu Nayagi]]
| Direction_posture =
| Pushakarani =
| Vimanam =
| Poets =
| Prathyaksham =
| festivals = [[Maha Shivaratri]]
| architecture = [[Dravidian architecture]]
| temple_quantity = One
| monument_quantity=
| inscriptions =
| year_completed =
| creator =
| website =
}}

'''Kodeeswarar Temple''' ({{langx|ta|:}} கொட்டையூர் கோடீஸ்வரர் கோயில்)<ref name="ta.wikipedia.org">[[:ta:கொட்டையூர் கோடீஸ்வரர் கோயில்]]</ref> is a [[Hindu temple]] dedicated to Lord [[Shiva]], located in Kottaiyur, a village on the western outskirts of [[Kumbakonam]], in [[Thanjavur district]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]. Shiva is worshipped as Koteeswarar and His consort [[Parvathi]] as Pandhadu Nayaki. Lord Koteeswarar is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical and greatest work, [[Tevaram]], written by Tamil saint poets known as the [[Nayanmars]] and classified as ''[[Paadal Petra Sthalam]]'', the 275 temples revered in the canon.

The temple has a five-tiered ''Raja [[Gopuram]]'', the entrance tower and all the shrines are enclosed in rectangular walls. The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 8 p.m., and three yearly festivals on its calendar, namely Margaḻi Tiruvathirai during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] of ''Margaḻi'' (December–January), Shivaratri in February–March, Panguni Uthiram during ''Panguni'' (March–April) and Arrow festival during ''Purattasi'' (September–October) being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.<ref name=dinamalar>{{cite web|title=Sri Koteeswarar, Kailasanathar temple temple|url=https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=1064|publisher=[[Dinamalar]]|year=2014|access-date=24 November 2015}}</ref>

==Legend==
[[File:Koteeswarar2.jpg|left|thumb|Image of entrance of the Shiva shrine]]
As per Hindu legend, Suruchi, the son of Sathyarthi, the ruler of Trihartha kingdom, took the form of a devil on account of a curse. On account of disfigure, people ran away on seeing him. He prayed to Shiva and was advised to take a holy dip in the spring in the temple. He got his original form and the belief is followed in modern times, where ladies take a holy dip to get a better appearance. As per another legend, sage Herandar (Athreya) is believed to have worshipped Shiva at this place.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ayyar |first=P. V. Jagadisa |title=South Indian shrines: illustrated |year=1991 |publisher=Asian Educational Services|page=246 |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-206-0151-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NLSGFW1uZboC&q=innambur&pg=PA321}}</ref> Pandhadu Nayagi, meaning Goddess playing with a ball, got her name as she is believed to toss the curses of devotees off their suffering. Shiva is believed to have appeared in ten million (called ''kodi'' in [[Tamil language|Tamil]]) forms of [[Ganesha|Vinayaga]], [[Parvathi]] and [[Muruga]] and hence got Koteeswarar as his name.<ref name=dinamalar/>

==Architecture==
[[File:Koteeswarar6.jpg|thumb|Image of [[Navagraha]], which is unique in the temple|left]]
The temple is located {{convert|5|km|mi|abbr=on}} north-west of [[Kumbakonam]] on the Kumbakonam–Swamimalai road. Kodeeswarar temple has a rectangular plan with two ''[[prakaram]]s'' (outer courtyard) covering an area of {{convert|1|acre|ha|abbr=on}} and a five-tiered ''raja[[gopuram]]'' (gateway tower) facing East. The central shrine faces east and houses the image of Kodeeswarar (Shiva) in the form of ''[[lingam]]'' made of granite. There is a separate shrine for Vinayagar and Murugan on both sides of the entrance to the sanctum. The granite images of [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]] (the bull and vehicle of Shiva), a tall flag staff and a ''Balipeeta'', the place of offering, axial to the sanctum. As in other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the first precinct or the walls around the sanctum of Kodeeswarar has images of [[Dakshinamurthy]] (Shiva as the Teacher), [[Durga]] (warrior-goddess) and [[Chandeshvara Nayanar|Chandikeswarar]] (a saint and devotee of Shiva). The temple precinct is surrounded by granite walls. The images of [[Navagraha]], the planetary deities is unique that they are depicted with all their chariots.<ref name="dinamalar"/>

==Worship and religious practises==
[[File:Koteeswarar3.jpg|200x200px|thumb|Image of sage Athreya in the precinct of the temple]]
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 7:30 a.m., ''Uchikalam'' at 11:30 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 Koteeswarar and Pandadu Nayagi. 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''. Margaḻi Tiruvathirai during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] of ''Margaḻi'' (December–January), Shivaratri in February–March, Panguni Uthiram during ''Panguni'' (March–April) and Arrow festival during ''Purattasi'' (September–October) are the four festivals celebrated in the temple.<ref name=dinamalar/>

== Religious significance ==
The temple is counted as one of the temples built on the northern banks of [[River Kaveri]].<ref name=Ka>{{cite book|title=River cauvery the most battl(r)ed|last=Ka. Vi.|first=Kannan|page=43|publisher=Notion Press|year=2019|isbn=9781684666041|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CGFDwAAQBAJ&q=thiruvavaduthurai}}</ref> 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]] [[Tirunavukkarasar]]. Tirunavukkarasar describes the feature of the deity of Kottaiyur and [[Tiruvalanchuzhi Valanchuzhinathar Temple|Tiruvalanchuzhi]] as:<ref>Tirunavukkarasar Tevaram, VI: 73:4</ref>
{{cquote|பொடியாடு மேனிப் புனிதன் கண்டாய் புட்பாகற் காழி கொடுத்தான் கண்டாய்<br>
இடியார் கடுமுழக்கே றூர்ந்தான் கண்டாய் எண்டிசைக்கும் விக்காகி நின்றான் கண்டாய்<br>
மடலார் திரைபுரளுங் காவிரி வாய் வலஞ்சுழியின் மேவிய மைந்தன் கண்டாய்<br>
கொடியாடு நெடுமாடக் கொட்டை யூரிற் கோடீச் சரத்துறையுங் கோமான் தானே.}}

The Mahasamprokshanam also known as [[Kumbhabhishekham|Kumbabishegam]] (consecration) of the temple was held on 26 October 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title=Vedaranyeswarar temple 'kumbhabhishekam' draws thousands|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/vedaranyeswarar-temple-kumbhabhishekam-draws-thousands/article7807944.ece|work=The Hindu|date=2015-10-27|access-date=2015-10-28}}</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 Visanathar Temple]],
*[[Adi Kumbeswarar Temple, Kumbakonam|Adi Kumbeswarar Temple]],
*[[Someswarar Temple]],
*[[Nageswaraswamy Temple]],
*[[Kalahasteeswarar Temple, Kumbakonam|Kalahasteeswarar Temple]],
*[[Gauthameswarar Temple, Kumbakonam|Gowthameswarar Temple]],
*Kodeeswarar Temple,
*[[Amirthakadeswarar Temple]],
*[[Banapuriswarar Temple]],
*[[Abimukeswarar Temple]],
*[[Kambatta Viswanathar 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>

==Kumbakonam Sapta Stana Temple==
This is one of the [[Saptha Stana Temples]] of Kumbakonam. During the [[2016 Mahamaham|Mahahaman of 2016]] the palanquin festival was held on 7 February 2016.<ref>கும்பகோணம் ஆதிகும்பேஸ்வரசுவாமி கோயிலில் சப்தஸ்தான பல்லக்கு வெள்ளோட்டம், தினமணி, 8 பிப்ரவரி 2016</ref> Following the tirttavari held at Mahamaham tank on 21 April 2016, the palanquin festival of the Sapta Stana Temples were held on 23 April 2016.<ref>[http://www.dinamani.com/edition_trichy/tanjore/2016/04/22/%E0%AE%8F%E0%AE%B4%E0%AF%82%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D-%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%B2%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%81-%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%86%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B4%E0%AE%BE-%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%BE/article3393484.ece ஆதி கும்பேஸ்வரர் கோயிலில் ஏழூர் பல்லக்கு பெருவிழா, மகாமகக்குளத்தில் தீர்த்தவாரி, தினமணி, 22 ஏப்ரல் 2016]</ref> The festival which started from [[Adi Kumbeswarar Temple, Kumbakonam|Kumbesvara Temple]] at the 7.30 p.m. of 23 April 2016 completed on the morning of 25 April 2016 after going to the following temples.

* [[Adi Kumbeswarar Temple, Kumbakonam]]
* [[Amirthakadeswarar Temple, Sakkottai]]
* [[Avudainathar Temple, Darasuram]]
* [[Kabartheeswarar Temple]]
* Kottaiyur Kodeeswarar Temple
* [[Kailasanathar Temple, Melakaveri]]
* [[Swaminatha Swamy Temple]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web|title= Kodeeswarar Temple, Tirukkottaiyur
|url= http://www.shivatemples.com/nofc/nc44.php |publisher=Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu, Paadal Petra Sivasthalangal}}
{{commons category|Kodeeswarar Temple}}

== Photogallery ==
<gallery>
File: Kottayurkotiswarar2.JPG|Vimana
File: Kottayurkotiswarar1.JPG|Inner prakara
File: Kottayurkotiswarar3.JPG|Nandhi and Balipeeta
File: Kottayurkotiswarar4.JPG|Inner prakara
File: Kottayurkotiswarar5.JPG|Sculpture in kosta
File: Kottayurkotiswarar6.JPG|Sculpture in kosta
File: Kottayurkotiswarar7.JPG|Main entrance
</gallery>

{{Saptha Stana Temples}}

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

Kodeeswarar Temple - Revision history

Associatedin21 at 04:30, 14 February 2025