வேதபுரீசுவரர் திருக்கோயில், திருவோத்தூர், செய்யாறு
A 2 hour drive from Pondicherry and 3 hours from Chennai, is this very old temple with numerous legends around it and a very ancient history. The original temple has existed here at least since the 6th century. A brick structure during Pallava times, it was rebuilt in granite by the Cholas and added onto in later eras. Adityan I is supposed to have built the granite structure but the first inscriptions date back to his son Paranthakan I. Every major Chola king including Rajarajan and Rajendran I, have left inscriptions here. There are also inscriptions from later Pandian, Rashtrakuta, Kadava and Sambuvarayan kings.
Lord Siva himself is supposed to have expounded the Vedas to the sages here. Hence the name Vedapureeswarar for the Lord here. The place is also called Thiruvethipuram for the same reason. Thiruvothur also comes from Othu (ஓது) which stands for reciting the Vedas.
The Nandi here faces the opposite direction and is looking outwards towards the Rajagopuram. Usually the Nandi faces the sanctum. This is a rare exception only found in a very few temples. The explanation is that Nandi was guarding the temple while Lord Siva was explaining the meaning of the Vedas to the sages. There are other legends about the reason too.
This is a Paadal Petra Sthalam and Thirugnasampanthar sang the pathikam. Thirunavukkarasar has also been here but the pathikam has never been found.
In the early 7th century, the story goes that this place was mostly inhabited by people of the Jain faith. There was an old man who was looking after this temple who was a devotee of Lord Siva. He was poor and once planted a grove of palmyrah trees to make ends meet. But when the trees grew to maturity, they turned out to be male trees which did not bear any fruit. (The palmyrah palm has a male and female tree apparently and only the female tree bears fruit). The Jains made fun of the old man and his Lord. They swore that they would convert to Saivism if Lord Siva could turn the male trees into female ones. Thirugnanasampanthar is supposed to have come here on his wanderings and having heard the plight of the old man, sang the pathikam and all the male palmyrah trees became female in due course and bore fruit.
பூத் தேர்ந்து ஆயன கொண்டு, நின் பொன் அடி
ஏத்தாதார் இல்லை, எண்ணுங்கால்
ஓத்தூர் மேய ஒளி மழுவாள் அங்கைக்
கூத்தீர்! உம குணங்களே.
With a tall 7 tier rajagopuram and several sub-shrines, it is a beautiful temple. Recently renovated, it looks neat and nice. It is another temple that celebrates the palmyrah tree which is the temple tree here. There is an interesting sculpture of a palmyrah tree inside the temple which is half male and half female.
It is located about a 100 km southwest of Chennai and about a 100 km northwest of Pondicherry. The drive is about 3 hours from Chennai and 2 hours from Pondicherry. We visited in May 2023. We were based in Pondicherry.
Credits: Google Maps
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