Adi Kumbeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the
deity Shiva, located in the town of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is
worshiped as Adi Kumbeswarar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort
Parvati is depicted as Mangalambigai Amman. The presiding deity is revered in
the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint
poets known as the Nayanmars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.
The temple complex covers an area of 30,181 sq ft (2,803.9
m2) and houses four gateway towers known as gopurams. The tallest is the
eastern tower, with 11 stories and a height of 128 feet (39 m) The temple has
numerous shrines, with those of Kumbeswarar and Mangalambigai Amman being the
most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls; the most notable is the
sixteen-pillared hall built during the Vijayanagar period that has all the 27
stars and 12 zodiacs sculpted in a single stone.
The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30
a.m. to 9 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar, with the Masi
Magam festival celebrated during the Tamil month of Maasi (February - March)
being the most prominent.
The present masonry structure was built during the Chola
dynasty in the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to
Vijayanagar rulers of the Thanjavur Nayaks of the 16th century. The temple is
maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments
Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu
The temple is in existence from Chola times of 7th century
and has been widely expanded by Nayaks during the 15-17th century.
Kumbeswarar temple complex covers an area of 30,181 sq ft
(2,803.9 m2) and houses four gateway towers known as gopurams.The
tallest is the eastern tower, with 11 stories and a height of 128 feet (39 m)
The temple is approached by a corridor 330 ft (100 m) long and 15 ft (4.6 m)
wide. There are five silver plated chariots in the temple used to carry the
temple deities during festive occasions.The temple is the largest Shiva
temple of Kumbakonam and has a 9-storeyed rajagopuram (gateway tower) 125 ft
tall It is spread over 4 acres in the centre of the town. The temple
has 3 concentric compounds, elongated along an east-west axis has triple set of
gopurams.
Adi Kumbeswarar is the presiding deity of the temple and the
shrine is located in the centre. Kumbeswarar is in the form a lingam believed
to have been made by Shiva himself when he mixed nectar of immortality and
sand. Manthrapeeteswari Mangalambika is his consort and her shrine is
present parallel to the left of Kumbeswarar shrine. The temple has a colonnaded
hall and a good collection of silver vahanas (sacred vehicles used to carry
deities during festival processions)Beyond the flagstaff, a hallway whose
columns feature painted brackets representing yali (a mythological creature)
leads to the gopuram. The Navarathiri Mandapam (Hall of Navrathri
celebration) has 27 stars and 12 rasis (constellations) carved in a single
block. The idol of Subramanya having six hands
instead of 12, stone nagaswarams (pipe instrument) and
Kiratamurti are main attractions of the temple.
The central shrine of the temple houses the image of Adi
Kumbheswarar in the form of lingam The shrine of Mangala Nayaki is located
parallel to the of left of Kumbeswarar and Somaskanda is located to the right.
The images of Nalvars (Appar, Sambanthar, Sundarar and Manickavasagar), images
of the sixty three Nayanmars, Virabhadra, Saptakannikas, Visalakshi,
Visvanatha, Valam Chuzhi Vinayaka, Bhikshatana, Karthikeya, Annapurani,
Gajalakshmi, Mahalakshmi, Saraswathi, Jasta Devi, Durga, Chandikesa,
Kuratirtha, Arukala Vinayakar, Nandi, Bali peetham, Sabha Vinayaka, Kasi
Visvanatha, Nataraja are located in the first precinct around the sanctum. The
temple also has images of Navaneetha Vinayaka, Kiratamurti, Bhairava,
Jvarahareswara, Chaota Sri Govinda Dikshits-Nagammal, Chandra, Surya, Adikara
Nandhi (the sacred bull of Shiva), Vallabha Ganapathi, Shanmukha, Navagraha
(nine planetary deities), Nandhi, Lakshmi Narayana Perumal, Mutra Veli
Vinayaka, Bala Dandayutapani, Nandhi, Vanni Vinayakar, Kumbha Munisiddhar,
Kumarappar, Adilinga and Sattananthar. Chamber of repose, decoration hall,
Sacrificial hall, grand kitchen, marriage hall, elephant shed, Vasantamandapam,
cattle shed, garden and four-pillared hall are other notable parts in the
temple. The flag mast is located in the second precinct, directly on the axis
of the presiding deity.
The Mahamaham tank, Potramarai Tirtha, Varuna Tirtha,
Kasyapa Tirtha, Chakkara Tirtha, Matanga Tirtha and Bhagavad Tirtha (bathing
ghats along the river Cauvery) are the seven outlying water bodies associated
with the temple. Mangala Kupam Asva, Naga tirtha, Kura tirtha are the three
wells, while Chandra tirtha, Surya tirtha, Gautama tirtha and Varaha tirtha are
the four tanks located inside the temple.
Festivals
Festival procession of Kumbeswarar
The Mahamaham festival takes place once every twelve years
during the Tamil Month of Masi (February - March), when lakhs of pilgrims from
various parts of India visit Kumbakonam to take a holy bath in the sacred
Mahamaham tank which is located in the heart of the town. The festival has
archaeological and epigrahical evidence. Tulapurushadaram, the practise of
weighing oneself against gold and donating to the temple was effected by
Govinda Dikshitar and the funds were utilised for funding the construction of
the 16 mandapas around the tank. Krishnadeva Raya (1509–1529 CE) is
believed to have witnessed the Mahamaham festival during this time. He made
donations to the temple on this occasion is found in another inscription.
Worship practises
View of the temple from the Potramarai tank
The temple priests perform the puja (rituals) during
festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the
priests belong to the Shaiva community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals
are performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00
a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00
p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: abhisheka
(sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), naivethanam (food offering) and deepa
aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Kumbeswarar and Mangalambikai. The worship
is held amidst music with nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion
instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred texts) read by priests
and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly
rituals like somavaram (Monday) and sukravaram (Friday), fortnightly rituals
like pradosham and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai,
pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi.
Literary Mention and religious importance
Appar, the 7th century Tamil saivite saint poet and nayanar
has revered Erumbeeswarar and the temple in his verses in Tevaram, compiled as
the Fifth Tirumurai. As the temple is revered in Tevaram, it is classified as
Paadal Petra Sthalam, one of the 276 temples that find mention in the Saiva
canon. The temple is counted as the seventh in the list of temples in the
southern banks of Cauvery. Appar has glorified the temple in nine poems
referring the place as Kudamuku and the deity as "Kumbesar".The mention is found in the 59th poem in the Third Tirumurai by Sambandar and
22nd poem in the Fifth Tirumurai by Appar. The temple is one of the Shakti
Peethas where Parvathi, the consort of Shiva is consecrated as a major deity.
Mangalambigai is known as Mantira Piteswari
