Thirupaigneeli Gneelivaneswarar Temple

Among the 274 Padal Petra Sthalams, only 44 temples are mentioned by all three Saints (Moovar – Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar). Thiruppaigneeli Gneelivaneswarar temple, which is celebrated as “Then Kailayam” (Kailash of South) is one of them. This temple is located 20 kms from Trichy. The stone inscriptions available in this temple date back to the periods of Chola kings Rajaraja I, Rajendra I, Rajathirajan and Konerinmai Kondaan. As the Sthala Viruksham of this temple is the “Gneeli” plant, this place gets the name “Thiru Paingneeli” (Pain means lush green and Gneeli is a variety of plantain). Other historical names of this place are – Kathalivanam, Arambaivanam, Vimalaaranyam, Muthumalai, Swethagiri and Viyakrapuri.

Lord Shiva in this temple has many names – it is believed that the lord has 43 names – few of them are Kathalivasanthar, Sakrathiyagar, Aaranyavidankar, Neelakandar and Gneelivananathar. His consort Goddess Parvathi is called as Visalakshi, Neelnedunkanni. 

As per the sthala puranam, Lord Shiva gave rebirth to Yamadharma here, after he was vanquished in order to save Markendaya’s life in Thirukadaiyur. The legend is that after Lord Yama’s death, his work had stopped and there was no one to take care of the cycle of life and death. Lord Mahavishnu, Bramha, Bhoomadevi, and Devas came to this temple and urged Lord Shiva to give rebirth to Yama. Lord Shiva gave rebirth to Yama on the day of Thai Poosam and reinstated his powers to restart the work. Hence the lord here is praised as “Adhikara Vallavar” (Athikaram means power). Inside Lord Adhikaravallavar’s shrine, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi can be seen along with Murugan in between them as Somaskantha. Lord Yama can be seen in the form of a child under Lord Shiva’s feet. Near the ceiling, on either side of Lord Shiva’s idol, Suryan and Chandran can be seen fanning the lord with a “Samaram”. There is a separate Shrine for Lord Yamadharma in this temple. It is in the form of a cave (“Gunabaram”) and is said to have been constructed by King Mahendra Varma Pallava in 640 AD.

In Chidambaram, it is believed that the Lord gave his Nataraja dharisanam on the day of “Thai Poosam”. The place where he performed his dance is known as Rathina Sabha. Legend says that, when sage Vashistar came to know of this incident, he reached Mount Kailash and requested Lord Shiva to give him the opportunity to watch his dance. Lord Shiva advised him to go to “Gneelivanamakiya Thiruppaigneeli”. When he reached this place, Sage Vashistar was blessed with Lord Shiva’s dance performance in this temple. There is a Rathina Sabha like Chidambaram in this temple also. This temple is also known as “Melai Chidambaram”. It is believed that Lord Ram visited this temple on the advice of Sage Vashistar to worship Lord Shiva before going to Lanka.

As per mythology, Adhisheshan (the serpent on whom Sri Mahavishnu rests) and Vayu (lord of the winds) fought among themselves frequently to test their superiority. During one such struggle, Adhiseshan encircled Mount Kailash and Vayu tried to break his hold by creating a “Santamarutham” (Tornado). Because of this tornado, 8 parts (Kodumudigal) fell from Mount Kailash in 8 different places on the earth. These places are – Thirugonamalai (SriLanka), Thirukalahasthi, Thiruchiramalai, Thiruenkoimalai, Rajathagiri, Neerthagiri, Ratnagiri, and Swethagiri. Swethagiri is known as Thiruppaigneeli. As this place is believed to have originated from Mount Kailash, it is called “Then Kailasam” (“then” means South).

Devotees perform poojas in Lord Yama’s shrine on their 60th and 80th birthdays for a long and prosperous life. Since Lord Yama’s position was reinstated here, devotees believe that worshiping Lord Gneelivaneswarar and Athikaravallavar here would give them back their lost positions in professional career.