Kottaiyur Kodeeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, located in Kottaiyur, a village in the outskirts of Kumbakonam, in Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is worshipped as Koteeswarar and his consort Parvathi as Pandhadu Nayaki. Koteeswarar is revered in the 7th centuryTamil Saiva canonical work, the 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 rajagopuram, 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 Margazhi Tiruvathirai during the Tamil month of Margazhi, Shivaratri in February–March, Panguni Uthiram during Panguni and Arrow festival during Purattasi being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Legend
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 is believed to have worshipped Shiva at this place. 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 forms of Vinayaga, Parvathi and Muruga and hence got Koteeswarar as his name.
Architecture
The temple is located north-west of Kumbakonam on the Kumbakonam–Swamimalai road. Kodeeswarar temple has a rectangular plan with two prakarams covering an area of and a five-tiered rajagopuram facing East. The central shrine faces east and houses the image of Kodeeswarar 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, 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, Durga and Chandikeswarar. 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.
Worship and religious practises
The temple priests perform the puja 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, alangaram, naivethanam and deepa aradanai for Koteeswarar and Pandadu Nayagi. There are weekly rituals like somavaram and sukravaram, fortnightly rituals like pradosham, and monthly festivals like amavasai, kiruthigai, pournami and sathurthi. Margazhi Tiruvathirai during the Tamil month of Margazhi, Shivaratri in February–March, Panguni Uthiram during Panguni and Arrow festival during Purattasi are the four festivals celebrated in the temple.
