Nilathingal Thundam | Sri Nilathingal Thundathan Temple | Kanchipuram | Divya Desams - 049

About the Temple & Location:

This Divyadesam is situated as a small sannadhi inside Ekambareshwarar temple in Big Kanchipuram.

Nilthingal Thundam Perumal temple (also called Chandrasoodeswarar Perumal temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, located in Kanchipuram in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is located in a shrine in Ekambareswarar Temple, the largest temple in the town of Kanchipuram, located in the northern part of the town. The temple gopuram (gateway tower) is 59 m tall, which is one of the tallest gopurams in India.

The temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshiped as Nilathingal Thunda Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Nilathingal Thunda Nayagi.

Six daily rituals and two major yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Margazhi (December - January), is the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Unlike other Vaishnavite temples where a Vaishnavite priest officiates, the temple has a Saiva priest as it is inside a Shiva temple.

Sthalapuranam:

When Paarvathi was doing Tapas beneath a mango tree, Lord Shiva wanted to test the strength of her tapas. So, he fired the Mango tree. At that time, Paarvathi seeked the help of Vaamanar. After hearing the help voice of Paarvathi, Sri Vaamanar with four hands with Sangu in one hand and Chakram on the other, took out the Chandran (Moon) from the head of Lord Shiva and with the cool rays out of it he made the fire cool and made the Mango tree grow once again.

After this, Paarvathi went back to do the Tapas. But, Lord Shiva wanted once again to test her and sent Ganga, the river. When she came very fast to destroy the tapas of Paarvathi, Paarvathi explained to her that both of them are sisters. Despite hearing this, Ganga river doesn't want to stop and tries to destroy her and her tapas. At that time, Parvathi made a Shiva Lingam out of sand and hugged it towards her. At that time, both Shiva and Paarvathi got mixed up with each other. This is the Sthala puranam of this temple.

Since, to help Paarvathi, Sriman Narayanan took the Chandran (Moon) from Lord Shiva’s head to prevent the Lingam done by sand from Ganga river, the Perumal is called as “Nila thingal thundathan” and so the sthalam is called as “Thiru Nilathingal Thundam”.

This Divyadesam is found inside Ekambareswarar temple. Since, this temple is taken care of by Siva Aacharyas, the poojas for Sri Vishnu is done by a Sivaachariyar only.

As per Hindu legend, Parvathi was doing penance at this place to attain the blessings of her husband Shiva. She sought the help of Vishnu to help her in the cause. Vishnu appeared as Vamana with a conch and disc and radiated light as the moon. It is believed that Vishnu appeared for Chandra (moon) and Shiva.

As per another legend, when Devas (celestial deities) and Asuras (demons) were churning the Ocean of Milk, Vishnu helped them as a tortoise Kurma held the mount. The snake Vasuki used as a rope for churning emanated poison that turned the skin colour of the tortoise from blue to black. Vishnu reached out to Brahma for resolution, who advised him to worship Shiva. It is believed that Sun and moon are the two eyes of Shiva. He opened his left moon eye to ease the pain of Vishnu with the cold lunar rays. On account of it, the presiding deity came to be known as Nilathingal Thunda Perumal.

Architecture

The temple is located on the first precinct around the Ekambareswarar Temple, located to the South West of the sanctum. Nilathingal Thundam Perumal is seen in a standing posture facing West in the shrine under Purusha Suktam Vimana. There is no separate shrine for the consort Nilanthingal Nayagi, neither there is any separate festival image.[5] The shrine faces West, while the Ekambareswarar shrine faces the East.

The Ekambareswarar temple covers an area of over 23 acres (93,000 m2). Reaching a height of 59 m (194 ft), the temple's Raja gopuram (the entrance tower to the temple) is one of the tallest in South India. One notable feature of the temple is the Aayiram Kaal Mandapam, or the "hallway with a thousand pillars", which was built by the Vijayanagar Kings. The temple's inner walls are decorated with an array of 1,008 Siva lingams. The temple has five prakarams (or courtyards) and has a thousand-pillared hall. Kampai Tirtha, the temple tank is believed to have an underground holy river. The fourth courtyard contains a small Ganesha temple and a pond. The third courtyard contains a lot of smaller shrines. The sanctum sanctorum contains the lingam along with the image of Shiva.

Religious importance

Unlike other Vishnu temples that have Vaishnavite priests, this temple has only Saivite priests as the temple is located on the premises of a Shiva temple. There are no separate festivals celebrated for the presiding deity. The temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Thirumangai Azhwar in one hymn. The temple is classified as a Divyadesam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book.

The consort of Nilathingal Thundam Perumal (also called Chandrasoodeswarar Perumal) is called Nilathingal Thunda Nayagi (also called Ver Oruvar Illa Valli). The temple is one of the three rare Divyadesams, with the other being Govindaraja Perumal Temple and Thirukalvanur, that are housed in a Shiva temple. Only Saivite priests perform rituals in the temple.

Festivals and religious practice

The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Being inside the premises of a Shiva temple, the priests belong to the Saivite community. The temple rituals are performed six times a day: Ushathkalam at 7:00 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 p.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 10:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Govindarajan and Pundarikavalli. During the last step of worship, nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument) are played, religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred text) are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of the temple mast. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple. The 10-day Vaikunta Ekadasi festival celebrated during the Tamil month of Margazhi (December - January) is the most prominent festival celebrated in the temple. There are special poojas performed during every new moon day.

Moolavar and Thaayar:

The Moolavar of this Sthalam is Nilathingal Thundathan. He is also known as “Chandirra Chuda Perumal“.

Moolavar in Standing position facing West direction. Pratyaksham for Lord Shiva.

Thaayar :

Ner Oruvar Illa valli (Nilathingal Thundam thaayar).

Mangalasasanam:
ThiruMangai Alwar – 1 Pasuram.
Total – 1 Paasuram.

Pushkarani:
Chandra Pushkarani.

Vimanam:
Purusha Sukthi Vimanam (Soorya Vimaanam).