
Neyyadiappar Temple, Tillaistanam

Neyyadiappar Temple, Tillaistanam is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in the village of Thillaistanam also known as Tillaistanam or Thiruneithanam in Tamil Nadu, India. It is significant to the Hindu sect of Saivism as one of the Sapthastanam, the seven temples associated with Aiyarappar temple in Thiruvaiyaru. Shiva is represented by the "lingam" in the form of Neyyadiappar. His consort Parvati is depicted as Piraisoodi Amman. 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 is believed to have been built by Aditya Chola I during 9th century A.D and with significant additions from later Chola kings and by the ruling kings of Thanjavur Nayaks. It houses five-tiered gateway towers known as "gopurams". The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Neyyadiappar and Amman being the most prominent.
The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and four yearly festivals on its calendar.
Legend.
As per Hindu legend, a cow used to milk at a specific place everyday which turned to ghee. When the people around tried to catch the cow, it disappeared. The villagers reported it to the ruling king, who dug up the place to find a Lingam, an iconic representation of Shiva in the place. He is believed to have built the temple. Since "Nei" (ghee) ablution was performed, the place came to be known as Neyyadiappar temple. As per the temple legend, a devotee of the temple worshiped the presiding deity by lighting ghee lamps. He picked up palak leaves from the temple. He prayed Shiva for better living as he was ageing, for which Shiva replied that he got return with the palak leaves that he was picking from the temple.
History.
The temple has received contributions from various ruling kings from Pandyas, Pallava, Chola, Chera and from Irukkehvel family. The temple in its current form is believed to have been built during the 9th century by Chola king Aditya I based on various inscriptions in the temple. The earliest inscription in the temple is dated to AD 862 to the fourth year of Pandya king Marajadaiyan. Marajadaiyan is evidently Varaguna Pandiyan II who made extensive conquest of Chola territory. The two inscriptions in the two jambs on the temple indicating gift of 423 kasum to the presiding deity. The inscription in the opposite jamb indicates gift of 60 "kalanjus" of gold for lighting lamps in the temple by Pallava king Nandivarman III. An undated epigraph indicates hundred sheeps to the temple, possibly by Aditya I.A record of golden lamp to the temple during the 8th regnal year of Parantaka I. Some of the other inscriptions indicate gifts from Aditya's son Kannaradeva, Parantaka's son Arulkulakesari, the Chola queens Tennavan Mahadevi and Tavayur Kilaradigal. The inscriptions from Parantaka I indicates enquiries about the temple and "Tiruvisakam festival" during the Tamil month of Vaikasi. The inscriptions also indicate that they have to be placed in the southern side of the "Ardhamandapa", leading to the conclusion that the structure was built during the reign of Aditya I.
Architecture.
The temple is located 21 km away from Kumbakonam on the Kumbakonam- Tiruvaiyaru- Tanjore road. The temple is 3 km away from Thirukkandiyur. It houses five-tiered gateway towers known as "gopurams". The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Neyyadiappar and Balambigai Amman being the most prominent. The temple has two precincts with the Amman shrine located in the second precinct in a South facing shine. The Amman shrine is dated to 13th century. The shrine houses the image of Balambigai in standing posture and is sported holding "Akshamala" and "Padma" in her hands, which are usually local features.
The presiding deity is housed in the east facing central shrine located axial to the gateway tower. The sanctum ("garbhagriha") has a square plan with a dimension of and is surmounted by a "dvitala vimana" (pyramidal roof), an all stone structure. The pyramidal roof is interspersed with niches with tetragonal semi-pilasters. The corner bays have octagonal bases, while the central bays having circular ones. The two circular pilasters with circular shafts on four sides of the "vimana" indicates the antiquity of the temple. The feature is possibly termed "Vrittasputitas" in "silpa" texts like "Shilparatna". Such a feature is otherwise found only in few other temples like Tiruttalinathar Temple in Thiruputhur, central shrine in Moovar Koil in Kodumbalur, Vijayalaya Choleeswaram in Narthamalai, Anantheswara temple in Udayarkudi and Kampaheswarar Temple, Thirubuvanam. In the first level of the "vimana", there are niches of Dakshinamurthy in the south, a seated four-armed Vishnu in the west and a seated four-armed Brahma in the north. There are a number of old images like Sattanatha, "Devakosha" on the "vimana". The niches of the "karnakutas" of the first "tala" contains images of a kneeling man on the left and a kneeling lady in the right. Such a feature is otherwise found in Dandeeswarar Temple in Velachery and Vadathirthesvarar Temple, Andanallur in Tiruchendurai.
The "arthamandapa", the hall preceding the sanctum has a rectangular plan and has the same style of the sanctum. The entrance of the "arthamandapa" houses the six-foot images of two "dvarapalas", the guardian deities on either sides. The hall has four pillars, with two of them being old ones with octagonal shafts. The hall in front of the "arthamandapa" is called the "mahamandapa" and has a five-aisled structure. The "mukhamandapa", the hall in front of the "arthamandapa" is five-aisled and has plain pillars. There are two pillars in the hall with fluted shafts and sedated lions at the base, an architectural feature attributed to early period.
Saptha Stanam.
The "sapthasthanam" festival is conducted at Tiruvaiyaru during April every year. As per Hindu legend, it is the wedding festival of Nandikeswara, the sacred bull of Shiva on the Punarpoosa star during the Tamil month of "Panguni". The festival deity of Aiyarappar temple of Thiruvaiyaru is carried in a decorated glass palanquin along with the images of Nandikeswara and Suyasayambikai to the temples in Thirupazhanam, Thiruchottruthurai, Thiruvedhikudi, Thirukandiyur and Thirupoonthurthi. Each of the festival deities of the respective temples mounted in glass palanquins accompany Aiyarppar on the way to the final destiny, Thillaistanam. There is a grand display of fireworks in Cauvery riverbed outside Thillaistanam temple. The seven palanquins are carried to Aiyarappar temple in Thiruvaiyyaru. Hundreds of people witness the convergence of seven glass palanquins carrying principal deities of respective temples from seven places at Tiruvaiyaru. The devotees perform "Poochorithal"(flower festival) in which a doll offers flowers to the principal deities in the palanquins. After the "Poochorithal", the palanquins leave for their respective temples.
Worship practices and religious importance.
The temple priests perform the "puja" (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Shaiva community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed four times a day; Ushathkalam at 6:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., and Ardha Jamam at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: "abhisheka" (sacred bath), "alangaram" (decoration), "naivethanam" (food offering) and "deepa aradanai" (waving of lamps) for both Kumbeswarar and Mangalambikai. The worship is held amidst music with "nagaswaram" (pipe instrument) and "tavil" (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred texts) read by priests and prostration by worshipers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like ' (Monday) and ' (Friday), fortnightly rituals like "pradosham" and monthly festivals like "amavasai" (new moon day), "kiruthigai", "pournami" (full moon day) and "sathurthi". Mahashivaratri during February - March and Thiruvadihari during December are the major festivals celebrated in the temple.
Tirugnana Sambandar, a 7th-century Tamil "Saivite" poet, venerated Naganathar in ten verses in "Tevaram", compiled as the "First Tirumurai". Appar, a contemporary of Sambandar, also venerated Neyyadiappar in 10 verses in "Tevaram", compiled as the "Fifth Tirumurai". As the temple is revered in "Tevaram", it is classified as "Paadal Petra Sthalam", one of the 275 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon. The temple is counted as the 52nd in the list of temples in the northern banks of Cauvery. The temple is counted as one of the temples built on the northern banks of River Kaveri.