Paadal Petra Sthalam


The Paadal Petra Thalam are 275 temples that are revered in the verses of Saiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE and are amongst the greatest Shiva temples of the continent. The Divya Desams by comparison are the 108 Vishnu temples glorified in the poems of the contemporary Vaishnava Alvars of Tamil Nadu, India

Thevaram

Thevaram literally means "garland of divine songs" and refers to the collection of verses sung praising Shiva, the primary god of the Shaivite sect of Hindu religion, by three Tamil poets known as Saiva Kuruvars - Thirugnana Sambanthar, Tirunavukkarasar and Sundaramoorthy Nayanar. The three are considered the primary three among the sixty three Nayanmars of the Saivite sect of Hinduism. The former two lived during the 7th century AD while the latter around 8th century AD. All songs in Thevaram are believed to be in sets of ten songs, called pathikam in Tamil. Some musical experts consider Thevaram as a divine musical form. There is a common view that Sanskritization of names of the temples are carried out in later period that superseded the names mentioned in Thevaram - some of the common examples are Chidambaram as against Tillai in Thevaram and Kumbakonam as against Kudanthai.
The 275 temples that are mentioned in Thevaram are referred as Paadal Petra Thalam, meaning the temples that were sung in the verses. On the contrary, Vaippu Thalam are temples that were mentioned casually in the songs in Thevaram and lacking a mention of those temples. In modern times, the verses of Tevaram are sung daily and during the festive occasions in most Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu by musicians called Odhuvars.

Thiruvasagam

is considered the 4th in the line of Saiva Kuravars, whose verses are classified as Thiruvasagam. There is a saying that "Thiruvasagathuku urugar, oru vasagathukum orugar" meaning the person who does not budge for thiruvasagam won't budge for anything else.

Paadal Petra Thalangal

There are around 275 temples that are revered by the verses of Saiva Nayanars and are amongst the greatest Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu there are 265 temples, 2 temples in Andhra pradesh, 1 temple in kerala, 1 temple in karnataka, 2 temples in Uttarakhand, 2 temples in Sri Lanka, 1 temple in Nepal, and Tirukayilaayam in Mount Kailash. The list is as shown below.

Pancha Bootha Thalangal

This refers to the temples that are the manifestation of the five elements - Land, water, air, sky, fire.
CategoryTempleLocation
LandEkambareswarar TempleKanchipuram
FireArunachaleshwarar TempleThiruvannamalai
WaterThiruvanaikavalTrichy
SkyChidambaram TempleChidambaram
AirSri Kalahastheeswara Swami TempleKalahasthi, Andhra Pradesh

Pancha Sabhai Thalangal

The temples where Shiva is believed to have performed the Cosmic Dance.
CategoryTempleLocationElement
RathinachabaiVada aaranyeswarar TempleThiruvalangadu, ChennaiEmerald
PorchabaiNatarajar TempleChidambaramGold
VellichabaiMeenakshi Amman TempleMaduraiSilver
ThamirachabaiNellaiappar TempleTirunelveliCopper
ChithirachabaiKutralanathar TempleThirukutralamArt

Ashta Veerattam Thalangal

The temples where Shiva is believed to have performed with fury. The eight temples are in
1. Thiruvadhikai
2. Thirukoyilur
3. Thirukkadayur
4. Vazhoovur
5. Thirukkurakaval
6. Thiruppaliyalur
7. Thirukandiyur
8. Thiruvirkudi.
TempleLocationDistrictImage
Tiruvadigai Veerattaaneswarar TempleTiruvadigai, PanrutiCuddalore district
Korukkai Veeratteswarar TempleTirukurukkaiNagapattinam district
Tirukkovilur Veerateshwarar TempleTirukoilurTiruvannamalai district
Amirtagateswarar TempleThirukadaiyurNagapattinam district
Vazhuvur Verateswarar TempleVazhuvoor, MayiladuthuraiNagapattinam district
Keelaparasalur Veerateswarar TempleTirupariyalurNagapattinam district
Kandeeswarar TempleThirukkandiyurThanjavur district
Tiruvirkudi Veerataneswarar TempleThiruvirkudiThiruvarur district

Saptha Vidangam

The Thyagarajar Temple at Tiruvarur is famous for the ajapa natanam, that is executed by the deity itself. According to legend, a Chola king named Mucukunta obtained a boon from Indra and wished to receive an image of Thyagaraja Swamy reposing on the chest of reclining Vishnu. Indra tried to misguide the king and had six other images made, but the king chose the right image at Tiruvarur. The other six images were installed in ThiruNallaaru, Nagapattinam, Tirukarayil, Tirukolili, Thiruvaaimur and Tirumaraikadu. All the seven places are villages situated in the river Cauvery delta. All seven Thyagaraja images are said to dance when taken in procession. The temples with dance styles are regarded as Saptha Vidangam and the related temples are as under:
TempleVidangar TempleDance poseMeaning
Thyagarajar Temple, TiruvarurVidhividangarAjaba NatanamDance without chanting, resembling the dance of Sri Thyagaraja resting on Vishnu's chest
Dharbaranyeswarar Temple, TirunallarNagaravidangarUnmatha natanamDance of an intoxicated person
Kayarohanaswamy Temple, NagapattinamSundaravidangarVilathi natanamDancing like waves of sea
Kannayariamudayar Temple, ThirukarayilAdhividangarKukuda natanamDancing like a cock
Brahmapureeswarar Temple, ThirukkuvalaiAvanividangarBrunga natanamDancing like a bee that hovers over a flower
Vaimoornaathar Temple, TiruvaimurNallavidangarKamala natanamDance like lotus that moves in a breeze
Vedaranyeswarar Temple, VedaranyamBhuvanivividangarHamsapatha natanamDancing with the gait of a swan

Saptha Stanam

The sapthasthanam festival is conducted at Tiruvaiyaru during April every year. Hundreds of people witness the convergence of seven glass palanquins carrying principal deities of respective temples from seven places at Tiruvaiyaru. The palanquins are paraded near the car stand, the crowd witnessed the Poochorithal in which a doll offers flowers to the principal deities in the palanquins. After the Poochorithal, the palanquins leave for their respective places.
The seven temples are
TemplePlaceDistrict
Aiyarappar templeThiruvaiyaruThanjavur
Apathsahayar TempleTirupazhanamThanjavur
Odhanavaneswarar TempleTiruchotruthuraiThanjavur
Vedapuriswarar TempleThiruvedhikudiThanjavur
Kandeeswarar TempleThirukkandiyurThanjavur
Puvananathar TempleThirupanturuthiThanjavur
Neyyadiappar TempleTiruneithaanamThanjavur

Saptha Mangai Stalangal

The seven temples are
TemplePresiding deity/consortMangaiLocation
Chakravageshwarar TempleChakravageshwarar/DevanayagiChakramangaiChakkarapalli, Thanjavur
Arimutheeswarar TempleArimutheeswarar/GnambikaiHarimangaiAriyamangai, Thanjavur
Krithivageswarar templeKrithivageswarar/AlangaravalliSoolamangaiSoolamangalam, Thanjavur
Jambugeswarar TempleJambugeswarar/AkilandeswariNandimangaiTirupullamangai, Thanjavur
Pasumangai TemplePasupatiswarar/PalvalainayagiPasumangaiThirukkandiyur, Thanjavur
Chandramouleeswarar TempleChandramouleeswarar/RajarajeswariThazhamangaiThazhamangai, Thanjavur
Tirupullamangai TempleAlandurainathar/SoundaranayagiPullamangaiPullamangai, Thanjavur

Aathara Stalam

Aathara Stalam indicates the places which are considered to be diving impersonification of Tantric chakras associated with human anatomy. Annamalaiyar temple is called the Manipooraga stalam associated with Manipooraga the human anatomical cause for spiritual ignorance, thirst, jealousy, treachery, shame, fear, disgust, delusion, foolishness and sadness. 4 temples are located in Tamil Nadu, one in Andhra Pradesh, and one at Varanasi.
Tantric ChakraDescriptionTempleLocationSymbol
Anthagam
Brain directly behind eyebrowNatarajar TempleChidambaram
Visuthi
Neck region near spineSri Kalahastheeswara Swami TempleKalahasthi
Anahata
Central channel behind spineKashi Vishwanath TempleVaranasi
Manipooragam
Spine directly behind the navelArunachaleshwarar TempleThiruvannamalai
Swathistanam
One's own abodeThiruvanaikavalTrichy
Moolatharam
Basal end of the spinalThyagaraja Swamy TempleTiruvarur

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