திரு அரசலீசுவரர் ஆலயம், திருஅரசிலி, ஒழிந்தியாபட்டு
Situated very close to Pondicherry but in Tamil Nadu, this small beautiful temple is a Paadal Petra Sthalam venerated in Thevara Pathikam by Thirugnanasampanthar.
பாடல் வண்டறை கொன்றை பால்மதி பாய்புனற் கங்கை
கோடல் கூவிள மாலை மத்தமுஞ் செஞ்சடைக் குலாவி
வாடல் வெண்டலை மாலை மருவிட வல்லியம் தோள்மேல்
ஆடல் மாசுணம் அசைத்த அடிகளுக் கிடம்அர சிலியே.
Known as Thiruarasili in ancient times the village is called Ozhinthiyapattu or Olinthiapattu these days. Given the great antiquity of this temple, many legends and myths abound here. The story goes that a king was once worshiping a lingam here and a deer was eating the flowers that the king had offered to the Lord. The king shot an arrow at the deer and injured it only to find that the deer was indeed the Lord in disguise. The sivalingam in the sanctum still has the injury they say.
The Dakshinamurty in the south koshtam (niche) here is unique in that it has a Nataraja figure in the ananthathandavam above it. The koshta idol in the Western wall of the sanctum is Mahavishnu. In most Chola temples it is Lingothbavar.
Believed to be reconstructed by the Chalukyans (the Eastern Chalukyans of Vengi had marital relations with Chola royalty and were close allies in their conflicts with the Western Chalukyans) in the 11th century. The Tamil inscriptions here belong to the reigns of Kulothunga Cholan I and his son Vikrama Cholan. The stucco images likely belong to a later era, likely Nayakkan.
It is located about 25 km or 45 minutes to the northwest of Pondicherry. We visited in May 2023. We were based in Pondicherry.
Credits: Google Maps
Commenti