Sri Vedapureesar Temple, Thiruvedikkudi, Thanjavur - 275 Shiva Temples

14. Sri Vedapureesar Temple, Thiruvedikkudi, Thanjavur (Chola Nadu - South of Kaveri):

Names of God : Sri Vedhapureeswarar, Sri Vaazhai Madu Nathar
Name of Goddess : Sri Mangayarkkarasi
Holy water (Theertham) : Veda Theertham
Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) : Vilvam tree.
Thevaram : Thirunavukkarasar ; Thiru Gnana Sambandhar
District : Thanjavur.
Location : Thanjavur.
Timings : 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 06:00 p.m. to 08:00 p.m

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This is the 14th sthalam on the southern side of river Cauvery. Appar and Thiruganasambandar has sung hymns in praise of Lord Shiva of this temple. Tiruvedikudi is a village near Tanjore town in South India. It is located at a distance of around 1 km from Tirukkandiyur, which in turn is located near Tiruvaiyaru. The village has an important temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is considered as the 14th among the Tevara Paadal Petra Stalams (274 most important temples of Lord Shiva) located in the Chola region south of Cauvery river.

Important Features:

Appar and Sambandar have revered the temple in their verses in Tevaram.
Considered as the fourth of Tiruchakrapalli Sapta Stana Stalams.
It was believed that moolavar came from banana madu.
The moolavar vimanam was built out of stone.
There is a separate temple for Ambal out side main temple, which has no compound wall.
Main temple is below the ground level.
This place is also known as sathurvedha mangalam.
Parikara stahalam for removing obstacles to the Marriages.

As per the legend, Surya, Vishnu, Brahma, Vedas, Vyasa and Indira worshipped Lord Shiva in this temple. As the Vedas worshipped Shiva here, it is called as Vedikudi.

As per another legend, a Chola King was worried as his daughter did not get married for long. After coming to this temple worshiping Lord Shiva, his daughter got married. Hence, he renamed his daughter as Mangayarkarasi after the Goddess of the temple.

The temple which belongs to the period of Aditya Chola has three tiered tower (Raja gopuram) and is facing towards the east direction.

The main deity Vedapureeswarar is found in the form of a Shiva Linga in sanctum sanctorum. As the site was a plantain field in those days, the deity is also called as Vazhaimadu Nathar. It is believed that he gives boon of marriage for unmarried young people and people would become scholars in Vedas by worshiping him.

Mangayarkarasi is found in a separate south facing shrine.

The other idols found in the temple include 108 Shiva Linga, Subramanya, Chevi Saitha Vinayakar, Maha Lakshmi, Nataraja, Chandikeshwarar and Sapta Stana Shiva Lingas.

Ganesha idol in the Maha mandapa is named as Veda Vinayaka.

The vimana and the wall around the sanctum sanctorum are artistically beautiful and are adorned with a lot of sculptures. Ardhanareeswara, Dakshinamurti, Brahma and Durga are found as the niche idols. Ardhanareeswara idol is unique. The right portion of the idol is female (Shakti) and the left portion is male (Shiva). Usually, it would be the other way round in other temples.

History / Legend:

Saint Tirugnanasambandar had sung the glory of Lord in all his hymns. In his pathigam (10 verses) worshiping the Lord of the temple, in the seventh verse, he mentions His mercy on those aspiring an auspicious wedding. Generally, the Arthanareeswara form of Lord Shiva has Shakti on the left. But with a view to give importance to womanhood, Lord is on the left and Mother on the right in the Arthanareeswara form in this Tiruvedhikudi temple.

An Asuran grabbed the Vedas from Lord Brahma and went deep inside the sea, Sri Maha Vishnu to the Avathar and got back the Vedas from the Asuran. All the Vedas which were along with the asuras, got the Dosham of being along with them, as a result all the Vedas performed Tapas towards Siva Perumaan of this sthalam, since all the Vedas performed tapas, this sthalam is called as "Tiru Vedhikkudi" and Siva Perumaan is called as "Vedhupureeswarar".

The legend has that Sage Shiladha underwent severe austerities and worshipped Lord Shiva for a virtuous offspring. Subsequently, Lord Nandikeshwara was born to him. Lord Nandikeshwara was chief of Ganas and the prime attendant of Lord Shiva. In due course of time, Lord arranged marriage of Nandikeshwara with the daughter of Sage Vyagrapadha. The marriage was took place in Thirumazhaipadi. The compassionate Lord accompanied the celestial couple and visited Saptha Sthana Sthalangal to perform one of the Vedhic rituals Sapthapadhi. In this way, Lord Nandikeshwara completed his marriage vow by visiting Thiruaiyarappar at Thiruvaiyaru, Thiru Abathsahayeswarar at Thirupazhanam, Thiru Uddhavaneswarar at Thiruchotruthurai, Thirukkandeswarar at Thirukkandiyur, Thiru Pushpavanathar at Thirupanthuruthi and Thiru Neyyadiappar at Thiruneithanam respectively. In order to commemorate this divine incident, every year a famous festival takes places in the Saptha Sthana Sthalangal. During this time, the idol of the presiding deity of Thiruvedhikkudi will be taken out for procession in a beautifully decorated palanquin to visit the seven shrines of Lord Shiva known for Saptha Sthana Sthalangal accompanied by the village deity.

Location: This temple is located at Tiruvedhikudi, 7 Kms from Tiruvaiyaru. Town bus facilities are available from Tiruvaiyaru. Two other paadal petra sthalams Tirukkandiyur and Tiruchottruthurai are located in the vicinity of Tiruvedhikudi. Only mini bus is available to this village, which is 3 to 4 KM from Kandiyur and the frequency is unpredictable. The best option is to take an auto from Thirukandiyur.

Temple Address & Contact Details:

Arulmighu Vedapureesar Temple
Tiruvedhikudi
Tirukandiyur Post
Tiruvaiyaru Taluk
Thanjavur district
PIN 613202
Phone: +91-93451 04187, +91-4362-262 334, 93451 04187, 98429 78302.