Date: 17th October 2014
This year, on 20th of September, my husband and I had a wonderful opportunity to worship Lord Siva enshrined as Thirupaampoornathar along with His consort Goddess Vanduser Kuzhali at Thirupaampooram, which is about 30 km from the temple town of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu.
It is an ancient temple. One of the great Saivaite Saints, Thirugnanasambandar, has sung devotional hymns in praise of the presiding deity in his Thevaram. It is being said that once in Kailayam, the abode of Lord Siva, when Lord Pillaiyaar(Lord Ganesha) was worshipping Lord Siva, Adisheshan, the serpent that adorns the neck of Lord Siva felt proud that Lord Pillaiyaar was also worshipping him while praying to the Supreme Deity.
Lord Siva, immediately, wanted to put an end to the pride of the serpent. He castigated Adisheshan by cursing him that he and all other snakes in the heaven and on the Earth would lose all their venom and consequently all their powers. The curse was a bolt from the blue for Adisheshan and the other eight heavenly snakes. Some of which are Vasuki, Karkodakan and so on and so forth. By virtue of the curse, the shadow planets Rahu and Ketu also lost their powers. Adisheshan and all the other heavenly snakes pleaded to Lord Siva to set them free from His curse.
Lord Siva then instructed all of them to go down to the holy place of Thirupaampooram on the Earth, where He is enshrined as Thirupaampooranathar(Seshapurieeswarar in Sanskrit) and observe severe penance until Maha Sivarathri. He, also, told them that upon observing severe penance over there all the heavenly snakes and the snakes on the Earth would get back all their powers on the great day of Maha Sivarathri.
As per the advice of Lord Siva, the heavenly snakes descended to the Earth and performed severe penance. Rahu(which has the body of a snake) and Ketu(which is snake-headed) joined together as one serpent(the head being Ketu and the body being Rahu) and observed severe penance at Thirupaampooram by keeping Lord Siva at the point where They conjoined. Lord Siva, who was moved by the penance of the heavenly snakes, alleviated them from the curse on the mid night of Maha Sivarathri. The only place on the Earth where Rahu and Ketu are enshrined together is nothing but Thirupaampooram.
While alleviating them from the curse, He took a promise from the serpents that nobody in the village of Thirupaampooram should be attacked by a snake. Also, those devotees of Lord Siva, who worshipped Him at Thirupaampooram should not be harmed by Rahu and Ketu thereafter in their lives, immaterial of their positions and/or their transient positions in their horoscopes or even for some unforeseen reasons in their present and/or previous births.
Thus far, there has been no case of snake bite in the village of Thirupaampooram. Also, every Tuesday and every Friday night snakes roam around the temple. Those are believed to be the heavenly devotees of Lord Siva, who transmogrify themselves as snakes to worship the Supreme Deity.
Thirupaampooram is easily accessible by road from Kumbakonam and Mayiladuthurai.
This year, on 20th of September, my husband and I had a wonderful opportunity to worship Lord Siva enshrined as Thirupaampoornathar along with His consort Goddess Vanduser Kuzhali at Thirupaampooram, which is about 30 km from the temple town of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu.
It is an ancient temple. One of the great Saivaite Saints, Thirugnanasambandar, has sung devotional hymns in praise of the presiding deity in his Thevaram. It is being said that once in Kailayam, the abode of Lord Siva, when Lord Pillaiyaar(Lord Ganesha) was worshipping Lord Siva, Adisheshan, the serpent that adorns the neck of Lord Siva felt proud that Lord Pillaiyaar was also worshipping him while praying to the Supreme Deity.
Lord Siva, immediately, wanted to put an end to the pride of the serpent. He castigated Adisheshan by cursing him that he and all other snakes in the heaven and on the Earth would lose all their venom and consequently all their powers. The curse was a bolt from the blue for Adisheshan and the other eight heavenly snakes. Some of which are Vasuki, Karkodakan and so on and so forth. By virtue of the curse, the shadow planets Rahu and Ketu also lost their powers. Adisheshan and all the other heavenly snakes pleaded to Lord Siva to set them free from His curse.
Lord Siva then instructed all of them to go down to the holy place of Thirupaampooram on the Earth, where He is enshrined as Thirupaampooranathar(Seshapurieeswarar in Sanskrit) and observe severe penance until Maha Sivarathri. He, also, told them that upon observing severe penance over there all the heavenly snakes and the snakes on the Earth would get back all their powers on the great day of Maha Sivarathri.
As per the advice of Lord Siva, the heavenly snakes descended to the Earth and performed severe penance. Rahu(which has the body of a snake) and Ketu(which is snake-headed) joined together as one serpent(the head being Ketu and the body being Rahu) and observed severe penance at Thirupaampooram by keeping Lord Siva at the point where They conjoined. Lord Siva, who was moved by the penance of the heavenly snakes, alleviated them from the curse on the mid night of Maha Sivarathri. The only place on the Earth where Rahu and Ketu are enshrined together is nothing but Thirupaampooram.
While alleviating them from the curse, He took a promise from the serpents that nobody in the village of Thirupaampooram should be attacked by a snake. Also, those devotees of Lord Siva, who worshipped Him at Thirupaampooram should not be harmed by Rahu and Ketu thereafter in their lives, immaterial of their positions and/or their transient positions in their horoscopes or even for some unforeseen reasons in their present and/or previous births.
Thus far, there has been no case of snake bite in the village of Thirupaampooram. Also, every Tuesday and every Friday night snakes roam around the temple. Those are believed to be the heavenly devotees of Lord Siva, who transmogrify themselves as snakes to worship the Supreme Deity.
Thirupaampooram is easily accessible by road from Kumbakonam and Mayiladuthurai.
