Mundishvarar Temple

Overview

The Mundishvarar temple is located in Thirumundeeswaram village in villupuram district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one among the Thevara Padal Petra Sthalam. The presiding deities are Lord Sivaloka Nathar, Lord Mundeeswara, Goddess Soundara Nayaki and Goddess Ambal Kaanaarkuzhali. God Dakshinamurthy is sitting on his Rishaba, Bull on a slope rather than under the Kallala tree. The Rajagopuram is facing east. Lord Vinayaka and Lord Muruga have altered places at the entry.The left hand of Lord Muruga points towards the Naarasa Mudra. The temple is built according to the Somaskanda design as the shrine of Lord Muruga is in the middle of the idols of Lord and the Goddess. Pathigam was composed by Appar. It is one of the shrines worshipped in hymns by the Thiruthandaga Thiruppathigam written by Thirunavukkarasar. Lord Brahma and Lord Indra are said to have worshipped Lord Shiva in this temple.

Legend/Story

It is believed that, in Dwapara Yuga, a king named Chokkalingam set out for hunting. He found an odd lotus flower in a small pond. His men could not pluck the flower as it began to move around the pond. When the King shot an arrow towards the flower, the tank became red in colour. Later he realized that it was a Shivalinga, that he shot. The King built a temple on the banks of the pond. Due to this fact, the name of the place, as in the writings is Mouli Gramam. Mouli means Head or Crown. The lingam still has a wound on it. It is also believed that God gave King Veerapandiyan a Pokkalam bag of holy ash (Vibhudhi) and so called as Pokkalam Kodutha Nayanar.Dwarapalakas (securities) of Lord Shiva are called as Thindi and Mundi. The place where Thindi worshipped Lord Shiva is called Thindeeswaram (Thindivanam) and the place where Mundi worshipped the Lord is called Mundeeswaram.As the temple is on the bank of a river (Aaru), He is also called as Aattruthali.

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