Amritaghateswarar-Abirami Temple,Thirukkadaiyur

Amritaghateswarar Temple
Amritaghateswarar Temple Location in Tamil Nadu
Name
Proper name	Amritaghateswarar Temple
Geography
Coordinates	11°4′39″N 79°49′6″E / 11.07750°N 79.81833°E / 11.07750; 79.81833Coordinates: 11°4′39″N 79°49′6″E / 11.07750°N 79.81833°E / 11.07750; 79.81833
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Nagapattinam district
Locale	Thirukkadaiyur
Culture
Primary deity	Amritaghateswarar (Shiva), Abhirami (Parvati)
Architecture
Architectural styles	Dravidian architecture

Amritaghateswarar Abhirami Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva in his manifestation as "Destroyer of Death" and his wife Parvati as Abhirami. It is located in Thirukkadaiyur (Thirukadavur), 21 km East of Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu in India. This temple is associated with the legend of Shiva saving his young devotee, Markendeya from death, and the tale of a saint, Abirami Pattar a devotee of the presiding goddess.

The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.

The temple complex covers 10 acres and has two gateway towers known as gopurams. The tallest is the eastern tower, with 11 stories and a height of 46 metres (151 ft). The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Amrithaghateswarar and Abhirami being the most prominent.

The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar. The present masonry structure was built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to Thanjavur Nayaks. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Thirukkadaiyur derives its name from the pot, called Gatam in Tamil. Vishnu, Indra, and the other Devas needed a sublime place to consume the ambrosia that had been churned during the Samudra manthan and, therefore, brought the ambrosia pot here. Before consuming it, they forgot to worship Ganesha, who is to be worshiped before any great undertaking. Ganesha, hurt and offended at the unintentional slight by the devas, stole the pot of Amrita and hid it at Tirukkadaiyur. Ganesha created a Shiva Lingam, dedicated to his father and mother, and poured some of the Amrita over it. The Shiva Lingam at this temple is known as Amrita Ghat Eshwarar, which, translated from Sanskrit literally means "Lord that leads to immortality" ('Immortality' (Amrita) 'Step' (Ghat) 'Lord' (Eshwarar)). It is also believed that Abhirami incarnated here by the power of Vishnu.