The Healing Waters of Tamil Nadu’s Vaitheeswaran Koil

Waheeda Bi khan

The Healing Waters of Tamil Nadu’s Vaitheeswaran Koil

India is a mystic treasure, where every inch of its land is ripe with legends, mythologies, folklore, and structures with a deep history. Where each temple, masjid, church, and gurudwara is an archive of the land it stands on. Among these houses of worship are a few that become a sanctum of converging legends, mythologies, musical forms, and architectural and spiritual blends—just like the Vaitheeswaran Koil or the residence of Shiva in Tamil Nadu.

The Vaitheeswaran Koil or Kovil of Tamil Nadu. Source: Wikipedia

India is a mystic treasure, where every inch of its land is ripe with legends, mythologies, folklore, and structures with a deep history. Where each temple, masjid, church, and gurudwara is an archive of the land it stands on. Among these houses of worship are a few that become a sanctum of converging legends, mythologies, musical forms, and architectural and spiritual blends—just like the Vaitheeswaran Koil or the residence of Shiva in Tamil Nadu.

The Vaitheeswaran Koil is one of the Navagraha temples associated with Mars or the deity Angaraka. The mythology behind this distinction narrates that once Lord Shiva was meditating in penance on Mount Meru when a drop of water glided from his forehead and landed on earth to be divinely transformed into a child.

The Goddess of Earth or Bhoomidevi took up the charge of rearing the child who always wore red clothes owing to his earthly complexion. He grew up into an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and was known as Angaraha. Pleased by the devotion of the young boy, Lord Shiva turned him into a planet named Angaraka that we know as Mars. But once, Angaraka became a victim of leprosy and sought help from Lord Shiva. The temple is believed to be the site where Shiva appeared in his healer or vaidya avatar, gaining the title of Vaitheeswaran or Vaidyaswamy while the temple came to represent the planet Mars.

Another parallel mythology is that Parvati once wished to see her son Subramanya with a single face as opposed to his usual appearance of six faces. When Subramanya obeyed and fulfilled her wish, she gave him the boon of the special weapon Vel, the trident of Muruga, to defeat the demons. With the help of this sacred weapon, Subramanya defeated the demon named Surapadman. But, during the war with the demons, many of his army were injured and lay wounded. Lord Shiva then appeared in his vaidya avatar to heal the wounded army, and the site of healing till today is marked as the Residence of God in his Vatheeswara or Vaidyaswamy form. The land on which the temple stands is also known as Pullirukavelur because not only Angaraka but even Jatayu (Pul), Irrukkuvedam or Surya, and Muruga worshipped Lord Shiva at this place.

Tracing the origins of the Koil, it is found in the epic Ramayana where eRama, Lakshmana, and the Saptarishi seem to have worshipped or meditated at this place, which is referred to as Thirupullirukku Velur. Historically, the five inscriptions found in the temple prove its existence during the Kulothunga Chola I period between the late eleventh and early twelfth century. The inscriptions authenticate the additional extensions added to the ancient temple during different periods of history along with the contributions of rulers like Thulaja, the Maratha prince, Vira Rajendra Pandya, and Achuthappa Nayak.

Devotees flock to the temple throughout the year to seek cures for diseases through the vibhuti or holy ash in the healing pond called Jatayu Kundam because it is believed that Jatayu had taken a dip in its waters. The pond is also known as Siddhamrutha Theertham based on the mythological legend that when Vaidyaswamy appeared, he blessed these waters with his healing nectar. People take a dip into the holy waters of this pond with the faith that it has medicinal properties that cure all diseases. The water of this temple tank is referred to as Ikshusara for its sweet taste like sugarcane juice. Another story revolving around the healing waters is when Kamadhenu performed Abhishekham with her milk for the presiding deity, the milk flowed into the tank, increasing its holiness and getting another name—Goksheera.

The clay extracted from the pond is mixed with the essence of neem leaves and its bark along with the ash from the sacred fire of the temple. This is offered as the holy prasadam to devotees as a panacea for all diseases. The devotees who seek to neutralise the negative effects of Angaraka, in turn, offer roasted Bengal gram to the deity while wearing a red cloth.

Vaitheeswaran Koil is a perfect architectural structure representing the typical Dravidian Gopuram-styled temples. This koil features five towers that uniquely stand on a straight line—the westernmost tower hosts the shrine of the main deity in the form of Shiva Lingam facing west. It is mentioned in the ancient texts that a deity facing west in a temple gives the boon of worshipping 1000 Shiva temples at once. Yet, this tower is constructed such that the sun's rays annually fall directly on the Shiva Lingam for a few days. The entire facade also features large enclosures along with a separate shrine for Parvati in a standing image holding the medicinal oil that is supposed to cure the diseases of the devotees.

Apart from the main deities, the enclosures of precincts host other deities in different forms. The first enclosure around the innermost sanctum with the Lingam has the metal illustration of Muthukumara Swamy or Subramanya along with other images of Somaskanda, Angaraka, and Nataraja. The second enclosure faces south and has the shrine of Parvati along with Angaraka and Dhanvantari as stone sculptures. It also has the sacred steps and Tattisuri Hall, which was built in 1689 CE as per the inscriptions. The southern gateway from this precinct opens to the path leading to the temple tank or pond. The third precinct houses the shrine of Mars and the shrine of Adi temple with a small replica of the chief deity. Near the eastern gateway is the neem tree, the leaves and barks of which are used in the prasadam.

Among the many names of this sacred temple originating from the different legends or mythological stories, one more title by which it is known as is Paadal Petra Sthalam, **translated as the temple revered by the renowned Nayanars. The Nayanars were a set of sixty-three Tamil saints who were devotees of Lord Shiva during the sixth to eighth centuries and had affected the Bhakti movement along with their contemporary Vishnu devotee saints, the Alvars.

As long as the devotional poetry echoes along with the faith of the worshippers who seek a cure from the divine nectar of its pond, the legends of Vaitheeswaran Koil will stand the testament of time to forever create a mystical aura around this beguiling site.