CHENNAI: Kizhvelur (Keevalur), a village near Thiruvarur, has a Siva temple, wherein the principal deity (Siva Lingam) is worshipped as Akshayalinga Svami and Kediliyappar. This temple is a Padal Petra Sthalam or shrine praised in the Tamil verses of the Nayanmars or important Siva devotees, totally numbering sixty-three. Appar and Thirugnanasambandar, the famous Nayanmars visited this temple in the 7th century CE.
The Sthala-Puranam or traditional story of this temple records that Subramanya worshipped his father Siva here and established this temple with the help of God Indra. It is said that Subramanya performed tapas (penance) here to kill Tarakasura and then had a bath in the pushkarini (temple-tank) called Saravana Poigai, which he created by piercing his vel (spear) into the ground. This pushkarini is seen near the main entrance. Since this deity was a tapasvi in Kizhvelur, his images of Balasubramanya and Arumugasvami are not flanked by consorts, Valli and Devasena. Interestingly, Balasubramanya here has the elephant vahana instead of the peacock.
This temple, which has three prakarams (enclosures), has a majestic gopuram, covered with sculptures, on the east. The main sanctum, which has a narrow open prakaram around it, houses the small Siva Lingam worshipped as Akshayalinga Svami, which is said to be Svayambhu (self-manifested). An interesting image of Nataraja dancing in Chatura Tandava on the left foot is worshipped closeby. A flight of steps leads to the main sanctum which is at an elevation, earning this temple the name ‘mada kovil’. There are several such ‘mada-kovil’ built by a Chola ruler named Kochenganan who was also a Nayanmar. Goddess Parvati is called Vanamulai Nayaki or Sundarakuchambikai in this temple.
Small sanctums for each of the Siva Lingas in the Pancha Bhuta Sthalams (Prithvi, Ap, Thejus, Vayu and Akash in Kanchipuram, Thiruvannaikka, Thiruvannamalai, Srikalahasti and Chidambaram) are in the second prakaram and also a rare shrine for Kubera, the God of wealth as this deity is said to have helped a poor devotee here. Another unique sanctum is for Anjuvattathu Amman, or Parvati, who, wanting to protect Subramanya and his penance, covered the four directions and also the sky. Interestingly, the images of the Navagrahas are in a single row just as in the Thyagaraja Svami temple in Thiruvarur.
A couple of Chola inscriptions have been found here, one unfortunately mutilated and the other mentioning a grant of land. An epigraph of the Maratha king Thulajaji Raja dated 1775 CE records the building of the prakaram wall.
Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835), the illustrious Carnatic music composer sang Akshayalingavibho in Ragam Sankarabharanam on his visit to this temple. The Sthala Vriksham (sacred tree) is the Ilandai Maram (Badari in Samskrit). The Brahmotsavam or annual festival is in the Tamil month of Chittirai.
Chithra Madhavan
The writer is a historian who focuses on temple architecture