Thirumanikuzhi Vamanapureeswarar Shiva Temple is located at Thirumanikuzhi village in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. Lord Shiva is worshipped as "Swayambhu Murti" or "Vamanapureeswarar". Kedila River symbolizes the grace of Goddess Mahalaxmi. The Shweta River represents the form of Goddess Saraswati. Both the rivers have confluence at this place. According to the history of Vamanapureeswarar temple, the temple was raised by Lord Surya. The Surya Dev used to perform pujas to Lord Shiva at this temple. This is one of the oldest temples of Lord Shiva built during the regime of Kings of Chola Dynasty. The temple inscriptions reveals that the Kings of Pandya and Vijayanagar Emperors are also have made abundance of contributions to this temple.
Legends of Thirumanikuzhi Vamanapureeswarar Shiva Temple
The legend has that Lord Vamana was born as the son of Sage Kashyapa and Aditi. The purpose of the incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Vamana (Dwarf) was to retrieve the mother Earth from the clutches of the demons. The demon King Mahabali, grandson of Prahlada was a passionate devotee of Lord Vishnu. He conducted a grand Yajna; there appeared a Brahmachari asking for a peculiar kind of alms. The Brahmachari"s request was a piece of land measured 3 times by his tiny little feet. King Mahabali was astounded at the request of the Brahmachari and was immediately ready to offer the land. As everyone was witnessing the Brahmachari took a gigantic form and covered the entire Universe with his first 2 footsteps, when he was asked for where to place his 3rd feet, the righteous King Mahabali bowed his head before him. Pleased with his Bhakti, Lord Vishnu placed him in the list of the immortals. Thus, King Mahabali attained salvation at the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu. Further, Lord Vamana arrived on this sacred land, sanctified a Linga at the foothill and worshipped Lord Shiva to get rid of the sin. As a result this place has got its name "Thirumanikuzhi" where "Thiru" refers as a respectful prefix, "Maani" is Brahmachari Vishnu and "Kuzhi" means place.
Structure of Thirumanikuzhi Vamanapureeswarar Shiva Temple
The temple is a majestic temple with a five tier Rajagopuram. There are three corridors in the temple. The inner corridor consists of sanctorum for Selva Vinayaka and Udhavi Vinayaka, 63 nayanmars, Arumugha, saptha Madhas, Pancha murthys (Five Idols), Yuga Lingas, Vishnu Linga. It also consists of Gurus of Saivite faith, Mata Gajalakshmi, Navagrahas (Nine Planets), Bhairaya, Surya (Sun) and Chandra (Moon).
Festivals at Thirumanikuzhi Vamanapureeswarar Shiva Temple
Purattasi Navaratri is celebrated at the temple with great zeal at the temple in September-October. Also, Maha Shiv Ratri and other important Shiva related festivals are celebrated in February-March. The couples who want to have child can go 11 rounds of Ambica shrine with wet clothes and offer butter on New Moon Day.
How to Reach Thirumanikuzhi Vamanapureeswarar Shiva Temple
Thirumanikuzhi is located 15 km east of Cuddalore. There are buses available to reach the temple from Panruti and Cuddalore. The nearest railway station is Cuddalore at 15 km. And the nearest airport is Chennai which is around 200 km.
