Thakkolam - The Historic Town

Thakkolam is a small town close to Arakkonam near Chennai. This site, which is also called Tiruvooral, has historical significance. It is where the great Chola prince Aditya Chola was killed in the battle. The town has an important Shiva temple named Jalanatheswarar Temple. It is considered the 12th among the Devara Paadal Petra Sthalams (274 most important temples of Lord Shiva) in the Tondai region. 

Highlights:

• Sambandhar revered the temple in his verses in Devaram.
• Arunagirinathar revered Lord Murugan in this temple in his verses in Tiruppugazh.
• In the olden days, water would come out of a Nandi image near this temple and flow around the Shiva Linga. Then, it would reach another place and stand designed to go out of another Nandi sculpture; ultimately, it would reach the river 'Kallaru'. The site is also called 'Tiruvooral' due to this reason.
• The God is in the form of sand (Prithvi Linga) - cannot be touched even by the priest - called 'Theendaa Thirumeni'.
• It is believed that the Goddess Parvati hugged the Shiva Linga, and the marks (slight hollow) are still found in the icon.
• Shiva Linga appears in white color during the drought period, and it turns into red color during the fertile period. It changes its color automatically as per the season.
• An ancient battlefield and historically significant site.
• Dakshinamurti in a rare posture; the temple is considered an important Guru sthalam.
• God - Jalanatheswarar aka Umapatheeswarar aka Gangadheeswarar
• Goddess - Giriraja Kanni aka Mohanavalli
• Teerth (Holy water) - Nandi Teerth

History:

The history of Thakkolam is more interesting than the temple located in this town. Rajaditya Chola was an army general and son of the Chola king Parantaka Chola I. There were multiple invasions from Rashtrakutas under Krishna III between 940 CE and 950 CE. To ward off such attacks, Rajaditya stationed himself in Thakkolam. In 949 CE, the Cholas and the Rashtrakutas met on the Thakkolam battlefield. The Cheras supported the Cholas, whereas the Rashtrakutas got the support of the Ganga king Butuga II. In the battle, the Chola prince was killed by Butuga. It ultimately resulted in the defeat of the Chola army in the war.

Legend:

As per the legend, Kamadhenu, the divine cow, worshiped the Lord in this temple. Hence, the prayers offered here bring 100-fold benefits to the devotees.

It is believed that Kamadhenu, Chandra, Indira, Yama, Sapta Kannikas, and the sage Uttandi offered prayers in this temple.

At the behest of sage Uttandi, Nandi brought the river Ganges to this place. In the olden days, it was designed so that water would come out of the Nandi icon and flow around Shiva Linga; it would reach another Nandi and come out of its mouth to ultimately reach the river 'Kallaru'. 

Temple Layout:

The temple has a small three-tiered tower facing the western direction. As the main shrine faces the eastern direction, the tower is actually located at the back side of the temple. Two small shrines dedicated to Ganesha and Murugan are at the tower's entrance.

The main shrine has a slightly bigger Shiva Linga named Jalanatheswarar. It is made up of sand. It changes its color to white or red depending upon the season. As the Goddess Parvati embraced the icon, a small hollow is still found. Even the priest cannot touch the icon - it's 'theenda thirumeni'. 

As usual, the flag post, bali peetha, and Nandi are found facing the main shrine.

The big relief images of dwarapalas are attractive. A few sculptures are found in the Ardha mandapa. Maha mandapa has the modern day stone images of Nataraja and Sivakami. Three small shrines - Ganesha, Murugan, and Shasta are located in this area. Navagraha is also seen nearby.

The Goddess Giriraja Kanni is found in a separate shrine with a mandapa at its front. The shrine faces the north direction and is located in the outer prakara.

The temple has two prakaras. The outer prakara is vast. Apart from the Goddess shrine, two shrines - one dedicated to Ganesha and another (big one) devoted to Skanda with his consorts are found. This icon of Skanda was revered by Arunagirinathar.

The inner prakara has five Shiva Lingas, Sapta matas, Bhairava, Surya and Chandra.

The koshta icons are the highlights of this temple. All of them - Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu, Brahma, Durga, and also the Chandikeshwarar in a tiny sub-shrine are lovely and big in size. Especially the sculpture of Dakshinamurti is unique. He has an earring on just one ear; he has a deer and serpent in his footstep. He has Japa mala in his one arm and is seated under the banyan tree. He is found slightly slanting his head towards the left side. It's a unique and rare posture. It is considered the third Guru sthalam.

Happy travelling.

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