வாசீசுவரர் திருக்கோயில், திருப்பாசூர்
This Paadal Petra Sivasthalam is found about 50 km west of Chennai. Thirugnanasampanthar and Thirunavukkarasar have composed pathikams in praise of the Lord here. Gnanasampanthar sang thus:
சிந்தை யிடையார் தலையின் மிசையார் செஞ்சொல்லார்
வந்து மாலை வைகும் போழ்தென் மனத்துள்ளார்
மைந்தர் மணாள ரென்ன மகிழ்வாரூர்போலும்
பைந்தண் மாதவி சோலை சூழ்ந்த பாசூரே
Legends say that in the time of Karikal Valavan, the 3rd century CE Chola king, a group of men were clearing a bamboo forest with adzes (an axe like tool) when they struck the Sivalingam that is consecrated here. Vasi - வாசி - means an adze and Paasu- பாசு- is another word for bamboo in Tamil. Thus the Lord here is named Vaseeswarar and the temple became Thirupaasur.
It is believed that the Lord fell in love with the Goddess here. That is why she is called Thankathali Amman- தங்காதலி- தன் காதலி. Young couples come here to be blessed with a happy married life.
There are 16 sets of inscriptions here and 5 of them are in good condition and are very important. There are inscriptions of Rajarajan, Kulothunga I and Rajendra Chola III. A Pallava temple converted to a granite Chola temple, it retains a lot of the Pallava imprints in the inner core. The columns in the 2nd prakaram are circular in shape, simple in form and are from late Pallava or early Chola times. Very different from the later Chola, Vijayanagar and Nayakkan columns that are much more ornate. Much of the masonry including the 5 tier rajagopuram and the gopuram-shaped vimanam of the Amman Sannithy are from Vijayanagar times in the 16th century. The vimanam over the Sivan Sannithy is of the Gajaprishta or Thoonganai Maadam (தூங்கானை மாடம்) type. It is supposed to be shaped like an elephant’s back. Gaja is elephant and Prishta is back in Sanskrit. This feature was very popular in the Thondai Mandalam temples in the 10th to 12th centuries and were built by the Cholas.
Long neglected and in a condition of decay until recently, it has now been renovated and looked nice when we visited. It is under the control of the HR and CE department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
It is located about 1 hour or 50 km west of Chennai. We visited in May 2023. We were based in Chennai.
Credits: Google Maps
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