Sri Erumbeeswarar temple

About the Temple

The Erumbeeswarar Temple is located at Thiruverumbur and is dedicated to God Shiva.

About the Temple

This temple consists of two prakarams and a Rajagopuram which has 2 floors. At the foot of the hill one can see a big mandapam. The chief deity i.e. God Shiva is in the form of a swayambhurthy here. God’s shivlingam in the main sanctum sanctorum is unevenly shaped anthill. It is very impressive and has a crevice which makes it look as if it is 2 lingams. Popular belief says that the left sided lingam is Shakti while that on the right side is Shiva itself. Because of this very reason, the lingam is also called shivasakthi linga.Due to the fact that this shivlingam is of sand, devotees do not perform any kind of abhishekam or ablution on it. There is a navagraha shrine too in the temple which is dedicated to Sun God. He is with his two consorts: Usha and Pradyusha who face each other. To the left of this temple is a separate temple in which God Kailasanatha is worshipped. Erumeeswarar Temple has a total of 4 tanks or theerthas: Brahma, Madhu, Kumara and Padma.

God Shiva’s sons have special separate shrines dedicated to them. There is a God Shanmugha Subramanya shrine too in this temple it is just behind the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. God Subramanya can be seen with his two consorts: Valli and Deivayanai. The special attraction of His shrine is the six-sided shatkona chaktra which is placed just below his dais. It is believed that when devotees pray to the God with this chakra it becomes very beneficial for them. God Shiva’s vahana or vehicle i.e. Nandi, the cow can be seen sitting in his own mandapam.

About the Deity

The chief or the presiding deity of this temple is God Erumeeswarar who can be seen with his consort Saurabhya Kudalaambal.

Legend and Stories

This temple is quite an ancient one and is known to have been built 1300 years back. The unique feature of this temple is that the shivlingam is in the form of an anthill. Rathi who is the wife of God of love Manmada is known to have worshipped here to God Erumeeswarar. She requested God to make his husband humble and less proud of her beauty.

Another legend mentions that the Devas used to fear the demon or rakshasa Tharakasuran. All the devas then assumed the form of ants and worshipped to God Shiva here. The Shivlingam was very slippery and the devas, as a result, could not climb it. God Shiva then transformed the lingam into an anthill so that they can climb and worship properly. This temple hill is understood to be a part of the legendary Mount Meru. According to the Hindu mythology once the God of Wind and the divine serpent Adishesham had a competition to decide on the fact that who had greater physical strength. God of Wind i.e. Vayu broke the piece of the holy Mountain Mount Meru and then this piece is known to have landed at the part where now the temple exists.

The present structure is known to have been built by the Chola King, Aditya 1. This temple contains a lot of inscriptions from that time. This temple is also known as Kailash of the South India and is the 7th shrine present on the southern bank of the River Cauvery.

This temple is hugely praised in the Tevaram hymns which was written by the 7th century Tamil saint poets, Saiva Nayanars.

Festivals

The main festivals organized and celebrated in this temple include Vaikasi Brahammotsavam, Shivrathri, Aipasi Annabishekam, and Tirukarthikai.

Prasad & offering

Ants intake a lot of food stuff like sweet rice which is offered to the God in this temple. Offering ants sweet rice is understood to be very auspicious. It is also considered as God Shiva’s acknowledgement of the nivedhyam.

Significance

Whoever prays here to God Shiva is relieved of laziness. If devotees offer clothing and sweet pudding, all their hardships in life will end.

Nearby Place To Visit

Some of the nearby places to visit include: Malaikottai Uchipillayar, Adhimooleswarar, Paraithurainathar, Mattrurai Varadeswarar, Nallandavar and Aamra Vaneswarar.

Accessibility

Road

This temple is around 10 km away from the Tiruchi city. People coming from afar can easily take a bus from Tiruchi bus stand.

Railways

The nearest railway station is the Tiruverumbur railway station

Airport

The closest airport to this temple is the Trichy airport.

Temple Address

Sri Erumbeeswarar Temple
Thiruverumbur
Thiruverumbur(P.O)
Tiruchirapalli (Dist)
Tamil Nadu
India.