Navaneetheswarar Temple, Sikkal – Legends
Sikkal:
As per legend, Once, the divine cow, Kamadenu
consumed meat during a drought. On knowing the unholy act of Kamadenu, Lord
Shiva cursed the Kamadenu to turn into a cow with the head of a tiger. She
begged forgiveness from Lord Shiva. On seeing her plight, Lord Shiva advised
her to visit this
temple, take a dip in the temple tank and worship him. She did as advised
and regained her original form.
During her dip in the tank, the milk from the udders filled
the temple tank. Thus, the temple tank came to be called as Ksheera Puskarini /
Parkulam. The milk eventually got frozen and became butter. During this epoch,
Sage Vasishta was having his hermitage in this
place amidst the Jasmine (Malligai) forest. Thus, the place came to be
called as Malligai
Vanam. He came to the
temple for his regular worship and saw the butter in the temple tank.
He created a Lingam using the butter and offer his
prayers to the Lingam. After completing his worship, he tried to the move the
Lingam, but it got stuck in the Jasmine plants and could not be moved. Thus,
the place came to be called as Sikkal
(to get entwined). As Lord Shiva was made of butter (Vennai), he came to be
called as Thiru Vennai Nathar / Vennai Piran / Vennai Lingeswarar.
Singaravelan:
As per legend, the Devas requested Lord Murugan to
protect them from the onslaught of demon Surapadman. Lord Murugan decided to annihilate
the demon for the welfare of the Devas. He got his spear (Vel) from his mother
Parvathy here, went to Thiruchendur
and destroyed him (Soora Samharam). As Goddess Parvathy gave spear (Vel) to
Lord Murugan, she came to be called as Velnedunkanni.
As he received Vel from her mother, Lord Murugan came to
be called as Singaravelan. During Soorasamhara festival, Lord Murugan would
obtain the spear from her mother Parvathy the day before Soora Samharam. He
would annihilate the Surapadman the next day with the spear he got from his
mother. It is said that Lord Murugan would appear disturbed and would not able
to manage the power of the Vel & would start sweating.
This phenomenon could be witnessed even today, a day
before Soora Samharam. The priests try to wipe the sweat using silk cloth, but
it won’t stop. The salts formed due to the sweat can be seen on the body. This
phenomenon was recorded by a commissioner of East India Company in his note
during British period.
Kola Vamana Perumal:
As per legend, the Devas approached Lord Vishnu and
complained about the troubles caused by the demon King Mahabali. King Mahabali
was known for his devotion towards Lord Shiva. So, Lord Vishnu came to Sikkal
and created the Gaya Theertham. He took bath in the Theertham and worshipped
Lord Shiva before taking the Vamana Avatara to kill Mahabali. Lord Shiva
blessed him with enough strength to annihilate Mahabali. Hence, Lord Vishnu
came to be called as Kola Vamana Perumal. The shrine of Kola Vamana Perumal can
be seen adjacent to the sanctum.
Muchukunda
got relief from Brahmahatya dosha here:
As per legend, Chola
Emperor Muchukunda Chakravarthy mistakenly killed a Brahmin and got afflicted
with Brahmahatya dosha. He worshipped Lord Shiva of this
temple and got relief from the dosha. In gratitude,
he built this
temple.
People worshipped Lord Shiva here:
It is believed that Lord
Vishnu, Murugan, Kamadenu, Vasishta, Narada, Agastya, Viswamitra, Gauthama, Kathyayana,
Muchukunda Chola and Devas had worshipped Lord Shiva here.
