Veerateeswarar Temple, Vazhuvur

According to Hindu mythology, once, some sages doubting the omnipotence of the god Shiva created an elephant and challenged the god to a duel. Vazhuvur is also one of the places where Siva danced his cosmic dance to crush the demon of ignorance. The place has other names like Parakayilayam, Gananbumi, Suyathapuri and Piplaraynam. During the great deluge, the village alone was not affected, leading to the Tamil name of Vazhuvur (the place which is not affected). ==Architecture==

The temple is located in Vazhuvur, a village away from manganallur in Mayiladuthurai - Thiruvarur road. The temple faces the East and has a five-tiered rajagopuram. The temple tank, the Panchamuga Theertham is located outside the main entrance. The sanctum houses the image of Veeratneeswarar in the form of lingam. The sanctum has ardhamandapa before it and a Mahamandapa, the worship hall. The Mahamandapa houses the metal image of Gajasamharamurthy sported with six hands holding six different weapons and shown emanating out of elephant with elephant skin at his foot. The image is in the form of Om. The Mahamandapam also houses other metal images of Murugan, Somaskanda and Vinayagar. The shrine of Ambal in the form of Gnangmigai faces South. The image is sported in standing posture with four hands. The temple has two precincts and all the shrines in the temple are enshrined in rectangular granite walls. The temple dates from the time of the Medieval Cholas. The Gajasamharamurti idol was sculpted in the 11th century. Most of the inscriptions in the temple are dated from the period of Medieval Cholas from 1160 to 1276 CE. The image of Parvathi holding Murugan is a notable sculpture in the temple. == Religious significance ==

As per Hindu legend, Shiva is believed to have destroyed eight different demons namely Andakasuran, Gajasuran, Jalandasuran, Thirupuradhi, Kaman, Arjunan, Dakshan and Taaragasuran. There are Ashta Veeratanam temples built signifying each of his victories in the war, and also as places where he is believed to have performed with fury. The eight temples are: Tiruvadigai Veerattaaneswarar Temple at Thiruvadigai, Tirukkovilur Veerateshwarar Temple at Tirukoilur, Veerateswarar temple at Vazhuvur or Thirukkurukkai, Amirtagateswarar Temple at Thirukadaiyur, Vazhuvur Verateswarar Temple at Vazhuvoor, Keelaparasalur Veerateswarar Temple at Tirupariyalur, Kandeeswarar Temple at Thirukkandiyur and Tiruvirkudi Veerataneswarar Temple at Thiruvirkudi. Shiva in all these temples are described to have used bow and arrow, trident and spear. It is one of the shrines of the Vaippu Sthalams sung by Tamil Saivite Nayanar Appar. ==Festival and religious practices==

The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Shaivaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed four times a day; Kalasanthi at 7:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 8:30 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: abhisheka (sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Veerateeswarar and Bala Gujambigai. 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 ' and ', fortnightly rituals like pradosham and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi. There is a festival procession during the Tamil month of Margazhi (December- January) Thiruvadhirai festival. Gajasamhara festival during Masimagam during (February - March) followed by 10-day Brahmostavam is the major festivals in the temple. == References ==