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{{short description|Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva in Agathiyampalli, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox temple
| name = Agastheeswarar Temple
| image = Agathiyampalli (7).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Image of the Agasthiyampalli temple gopuram
| map_type = India Tamil Nadu
| map_caption = Location in [[Tamil Nadu]]
| coordinates = {{coord|10|21|28|N|79|50|48|E|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| other_names =
| proper_name =
| country = [[India]]
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| district = [[Nagapattinam district|Nagapattinam]]
| location = Agasthiyampalli
| elevation_m =
| deity = Agastheeswarar([[Shiva]])
| primary_deity_Godess =
| utsava_deity_God =
| utsava_deity_Godess=
| Direction_posture =
| Pushakarani =
| Vimanam =
| Poets =
| Prathyaksham =
| festivals=
| architecture = [[Dravidian architecture]]
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity=
| inscriptions =
| year_completed =
| creator =
| website =
}}
'''Agastheeswarar Temple''' (அகஸ்தீஸ்வரர் கோயில்) is a [[Hindu temple]] dedicated to [[Shiva]], located in the town of Agasthiyampalli, [[Nagapattinam district]] in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]. The presiding deity is revered in the seventh century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the ''[[Tevaram]]'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the [[nayanmars]] and classified as ''[[Paadal Petra Sthalam]]''. The temple is locally called Agasthiyar Kovil.

It has several inscriptions dating back to the medieval [[Chola]] and later [[Pandya]] period. The temple has six daily rituals at various times and three yearly festivals. The temple has several shrines with that of Agastiswara and his consort Pakampiriyal Nayagi being the most prominent. The annual ''[[Brahmotsavam]]'' (prime festival) is attended by thousands of devotees from far and near.

==Etymology and legend==
The town Agasthiyanpalli is named after Agastheeswarar, the presiding deity of the Agastheeswarar Temple, a [[Hindu temple]] dedicated to [[Shiva]]. The seventh century [[Saiva]] canonical work ''[[Tevaram]]'' by Appar and Tirugnanasambandar mentions the place as "Tirumaraikadu".<ref name="Ayyar">[[#Ayyar|Ayyar]] 1991, pp. 392–402</ref><ref name="Ghose62">[[#Ghose|Ghose]] 1998, p. 62</ref><ref name="dinamalar">{{cite news|url=https://temple.dinamalar.com/new.php?id=1041|title=Sri Agastheeswarar temple|newspaper=Dinamalar|access-date=16 April 2011}}</ref>

According to legend, all the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] were assembled in [[Kailash]] to witness the sacred marriage of Shiva and [[Parvathi]] and on account of it, the earth tilted towards North. To balance it, Shiva requested sage [[Agastya|Agasthiyar]] to move over to the South. It is believed that Shiva appeared in his marriage form to Agasthiyar at this location.<ref name="dinamalar"/>

==History==
[[File:Agastianpalli4.JPG|200x190px|left|Vimana of the presiding deity|thumb]]
[[File:Agastianpalli3.JPG|200x190px|left|A shrine inside the temple|thumb]]
The recorded history of Agasthiyanpalli and the regions around it is found from the inscriptions in Agastheeswarar Temple and the [[Vedaranyeswarar Temple]]. The inscriptions date from the reign of [[Rajaraja Chola I]] (985–1014 CE), [[Rajendra Chola I]] (1012–1044 CE) and [[Kulothunga Chola I]] (1070–1120 CE) indicating various grants to the temple.<ref name="Ayyar"/><ref name="Ghose301">[[#Ghose|Ghose]] 1998, p. 301</ref>

Agasthiyanpalli continued to be a part of the Chola Empire and the Chola region emerged as a centre of Saivism during the reign of Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE).<ref>[[#Ayyar|Ayyar]] 1991, p. 215</ref> After the fall of Cholas during the reign of [[Rajendra Chola II]] in the 13th century CE, the erstwhile Chola region was caught under a power struggle between Pandyas and [[Hoysalas]].<ref name="Ghose5960">[[#Ghose|Ghose]] 1998, pp. 59-60</ref> The royal patronage continued to the temple during the rule of the [[Thanjavur Nayaks|Nayaks]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Journal of Indian History|volume=82|page=33|publisher=Department of History, University of Kerala|year=2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title= Dupleix and Clive|last=Dodwell|first=Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DGy1LpRxqFUC|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1920|page=166|isbn=978-81-206-0394-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The national encyclopædia. Libr. ed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cy2P8q3RRI0C&q=lally+%2B+Agasthiyanpalli&pg=PA287|page=287|year=1885|last=National encyclopaedia|publisher=Oxford University}}</ref> The inscriptions from the Pandya king Kulacekarn (1268 - 1309) indicates that he was cured off his ailments after praying at the temple. He constituted a festival at [[Vedaranyeswarar temple]] to commemorate the event.<ref name=R>{{cite book|title=An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.jZY9lup2kZl6TuXGlZQdjZY2lZpy.TVA_BOK_0006115|last=R.|first=Dr. Vijayalakshmy|publisher=International Institute of Tamil Studies| location=Chennai|year=2001|edition=1st|page=104}}</ref>

==Architecture==
[[File:Agastianpalli5.JPG|200px|A shrine inside the temple|thumb]]
The Agastheeswarar temple complex has three ''[[prakaram]]s'' and a three-tiered ''[[gopuram|rajagopuram]]''. The central shrine faces east and holds the image of Agastheeswarar (Shiva) in the form of a [[lingam]] made of granite and the shrine of Parvathi in the form of Pakampiriyal faces west. There are granite images of the deities [[Ganesha]], [[Murugan]], [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]] and [[Navagraha]] located in the hall leading to the sanctum and as in other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the first precinct of the sanctum of Agastheeswarar has images of [[Dakshinamurthy]], [[Durga]] and [[Chandeshvara Nayanar|Chandikeswarar]]. There is also a shrine with the image of [[Agastya|Agasthiyar]] enshrined in it. The second precinct is surrounded by granite walls and the temple tank inside the temple is called Agni Theertham.<ref name="dinamalar"/>

==Worship and religious practises==
The presiding deity is revered in the seventh century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the ''[[Tevaram]]'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the [[nayanmars]] and classified as ''[[Paadal Petra Sthalam]]''. [[Sambandar]] has revered the Agatheeswarar in ten verses classified in second ''[[Tirumurai]]''.<ref name=R/> The temple priests perform the ''[[Puja (Hinduism)|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 six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: ''[[abhisheka]]'' (sacred bath), ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''[[Naivedhya|naivethanam]]'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for both Agastheeswarar and Amman. 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 worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like ''{{lang|te-Latn|somavaram}}'' (Monday) and ''{{lang|te-Latn|sukravaram}}'' (Friday), fortnightly rituals like ''[[pradosha]]m'' and monthly festivals like ''[[amavasya|amavasai]]'' (new moon day), ''kiruthigai'', ''[[pournami (festival)|pournami]]'' (full moon day) and ''sathurthi''.<ref name="dinamalar"/> The twin festivals celebrated during the full moon days of Tamil month Adi (July – August) and Thai (January – February) attract large number of pilgrims from whole of Tamil Nadu. Pilgrims take a holy dip in the seashore round the year and the holy dip is considered similar to the worship practises at [[Rameswaram]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=South Indian Railway guide illustrated|title=South Indian Railway guide illustrated|year=1926|publisher=Asian Educational Services |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-206-1889-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SzWvq8EYBwUC&q=vedaranniyam&pg=PA171|page=171}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist|3}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{Cite book |last=Ayyar |first=P. V. Jagadisa |title=South Indian shrines: illustrated |year=1991 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-206-0151-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NLSGFW1uZboC&q=Agasthiyanpalli+temple&pg=PA392|ref=Ayyar}}
*{{Cite book |last=Ghose |first=Rajeshwari |authorlink= |title= The Tyāgarāja cult in Tamilnāḍu: a study in conflict and accommodation|year=1998|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited |location=Delhi |isbn=81-208-1391-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ORwNmkDswqwC&q=Agasthiyanpalli&pg=PA61|ref=Ghose}}
*{{Cite book |last=Singh|first=Upinder |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the|year=2008 |publisher=Dorling Kindersly (India) Pvt. Ltd. |location=Delhi |isbn=978-81-317-1120-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&q=Agasthiyanpalli+temple&pg=PA622|ref=Singh}}
* {{cite book|title=Tourist Guide to Tamil Nadu|year=2010|publisher=Sura Books|isbn= 978-81-7478-177-2|page=74}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{Famous Shiva temples|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Shiva temples in Nagapattinam district]]
[[Category:Padal Petra Stalam]]

Agastheeswarar Temple - Revision history

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