Madhunatha Swamy Thirukoil at Elathur in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelvelli district is the only shrine in the state to have a separate sannathi (hall) for Saturn. It is firmly believed that propitiating Saniswarar here would definitely nullify the malefic effects of the most dreaded planet in one’s native chart. It is a Sani parihara sthala. The Saniswarar sannathi, facing south, has been designed in such a way that the devotees could go around and worship—an aspect in which the shrine does sharply and distinctly differ from the famous Thirunallaru. And the shrine is an ancient one, more than 1,000 years old, as per the Sthala Puranam entitled Elavai Puranam or Madhunadhar Sthala Mahatmyam by Narayana Bagawathar and Muruga Dasa Kavirayar. The Sthala Puranam is based on Skandha Puranam written by none other than Saint Vyasa Himself.
The shrine is nestled in a sylvan setting, surrounded on all sides by lush green paddy fields and dense coconut grooves. The Western Ghats with its peculiar twists and turns forms a beautiful backdrop. Copious flow of water from the river Adavi (then the Hanuman) circumnutates the shrine, fulfilling the famous trinity of the Hinduism, namely Moorthi, Theertam and Sthalam.
There is an interesting legend behind the presiding deity of the temple, Madhunadha Swamy. Saint Agasthya, during his visit to the south, fashioned a lingam out of sand and the sand lingam chanced to be under the shade of a tamarind tree. The saint did intense penance under the tree and as days passed by, an interesting and spontaneous event took place. Honey started trickling down drop by drop from the treetop on to the Siva linga, devotedly worshipped by the Tamil saint as well as a savant. As honey trickled from the trunk to the root, where Siva is situated, the lord assumed the name Madhunadha, meaning the deity is immersed in nectar (madhu means nectar), and as the nectar dropped from the leaf (elai in Tamil) to the root (thur in Tamil), the place assumed the name Elathur. Tamarind is the sthala viruksha of the shrine.
It has been mentioned in the scriptures that those who worshipped Siva with the anointment of honey in their previous births are endowed with sweet, soft, musical and mellifluous voice in this birth. Siva is fond of samagana priyatharan. Hence it has become customary for the musicians to visit the shrine and perform thenabishegam and thereby enriching their divine voice so that the audience gets mesmerised and spiritually elevated.
The consort of Lord Siva, Aram Valartha Nayaghi who is present on the left of Lord Siva, bestows the devotees with their legitimate desires. A Varaprasathi, she readily grants boons. Anna Poorani—a southern equivalent of Her northern counterpart in Kasi—also figures quite prominently in the shrine making the village virtually a bowl of rice and other cereals. Lord Muruga as Arumuga Nainar adorns the sannathi. One must visit the spot to believe His beauty and grandeur. The divine presence of Valampuri vinayakar, Sandekeswarar as Sandekeswari and Dharma Sastha with 18 steps are some of the significant features that merit special mention here.
A visit to the shrine and darshan of deities here would make one’s life sanctified, spiritualised and a successful one. Elathur is some nine kms from Tenkasi. There are frequent bus services from Tenkasi and Shencottah as well. For further information please contact: 09488664091.