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{{Short description|Shiva temple in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox Hindu temple
| name = Pushpavananathar Temple
| image = Pushpaneswarar temple, Thirupanthuruthi (20).jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| map_type = India Tamil Nadu
| map_caption = Location in Tamil Nadu
| coordinates = {{coord|10|51|38|N|79|4|46|E|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| country = [[India]]
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| district = [[Thanjavur District|Thanjavur]]
| locale = Tiruppoonturutti
| deity = Pushpavananathar <br>([[Shiva]])
| architecture = [[Dravidian architecture]]
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity=
| inscriptions =
| year_completed =
| creator =
| website =
}}

'''Pushpavananathar Temple''' is a [[Hindu]] temple dedicated to [[Shiva]] located in the village of Tiruppoonturutti near [[Tiruvaiyaru]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]. Shiva is worshiped as Aiyarappar, and is represented by the ''[[lingam]]'' and his consort [[Parvati]] is depicted as Soundaranayagi. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th-century-CE Tamil Saiva canonical work, the ''[[Tevaram]]'', written by Tamil poet saints known as the [[nayanars]] and classified as ''[[Paadal Petra Sthalam]]''.

There are many inscriptions associated with the temple indicating contributions from [[Cholas]], [[Thanjavur Nayaks]] and [[Thanjavur Maratha kingdom]]. The oldest parts of the present masonry structure were built during the [[Chola dynasty]] in the 9th century, while later expansions, including the towering [[gopuram]] gatehouses, are attributed to later periods, up to the Thanjavur Nayaks during the 16th century.

The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Pushpavananathar and Soundaranayagi being the most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls and three precincts; the most notable is the second precinct built during the [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagar period]] that has many sculptures. The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar. The temple is maintained and administered by [[Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department]] of the [[Government of Tamil Nadu]].

[[Athmanatheswarar Temple|Thiruvalampozhil Shiva Temple]], another Padal petra sthalm is located nearby in the same village.

==Legend==
{{multiple images
|caption_align=center|header_align=center
|align=left
| total_width = 300
|image1=Pushpaneswarar temple, Thirupanthuruthi (12).jpg
|height1=2283
|width1=2431
|image2=Pushpaneswarar temple, Thirupanthuruthi (13).jpg
|height2=2271
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|footer=Sculptures in the temple
}}
The temple is believed to be the place where [[Appar|Thirunavukkarasar]] (also called Appar), the Saivite saint from the 7th century is believed to have performed extensive weeding work in the temple. The temple is also the place where the other Saivite saint [[Sambandar]] is believed to have stopped at the entrance and the [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]] moved a little to allow him the view of the sanctum. The place is also believed to be the place where Appar shouldered the palanquin of Sambandar.<ref name=R/> As per Hindu legend, [[Indra]] was cursed by sage Gautama to have thousand moles in his body to make him ugly for his bad desires. Indra was passing through many places for relief, but when he reached the place, he started performing worship with flowers (called ''poo'' in [[Tamil language|Tamil]]). The presiding deity thus came to be known as Pushpavananthar. As per the regional view, a holy place lying between two rivers is called Thurthi. It is one such place, with the other Thuruthi located near [[Mayiladuthurai]].<ref name=dinamalar/>

==Architecture==
The temple is located 5 km south-west of [[Tiruvaiyaru]] on the Thanjavur Tiruvayyaru road. The temple has a five-tiered ''raja[[gopuram]]'' the gateway tower. The Panchamurthi mandapa is found in the first precinct and the Vasantha Mandapa is found in the second entrance. The first precinct has paintings of the life of sage [[Appar]]. There are various unique sculptures in the temple like [[Appar]] in seated posture, Panruti Katava Nambi and [[Durga]] standing in one leg to atone the killing of [[Mahishasura]].<ref name=R>{{cite book|title=An introduction to religion and Philosophy – Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam|last=R.|first=Dr. Vijayalakshmy|publisher=International Institute of Tamil Studies| location=Chennai|year=2001|edition=1st|pages=353–5}}</ref> The temple occupies an area of around {{convert|2.5|acre|ha|abbr=on}}. The central shrine houses the image of Pushpavananthar in the form of [[Lingam]] facing east. Unlike other temples, where the [[Nandi Bull|Nandi]] is located axial to and facing the sanctum, in this temple the Nandi is located slightly out of axis. The central shrine is approached through the flagstaff and Mahamandapam, both which are located axial to the gateway. The shrine of Valambigai, the consort of Shiva facing West is located in the Mahamandapam leading to the sanctum. As in other Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu, the shrines of [[Vinayaka]], [[Murugan]], [[Navagraha]], Chandikesa and [[Durga]] are located around the precinct of the main shrine. There is a hall of [[Nataraja]] near the sanctum.<ref name=R/> In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the [[Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department]] of the [[Government of Tamil Nadu]].<ref name=HRCE>{{cite web|title=Thirukoil – Temple list of Tamil Nadu|url=https://tnhrce.gov.in/resources/docs/temple_list.pdf|publisher=Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department, Government of Tamil Nadu|page=17|access-date=11 October 2020|archive-date=9 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009010850/https://tnhrce.gov.in/resources/docs/temple_list.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Pushpaneswarar temple, Thirupanthuruthi (23).jpg|600px|thumb|center|Panorama of the temple]]

==Saptha Stanam==
{{main|Saptha Stana Temples}}
[[File:Pushpaneswarar temple, Thirupanthuruthi (22).jpg|200px|thumb|left|The decorated palanquin used during the festival]]

{| class="toccolours" style="clear:right; float:right; background:#ffffff; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; width:275"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;text-align:center;" colspan="2"|[[File:Hinduism symbol.png|25px|Om symbol|left]] '''Sapthastanam''' [[File:Hinduism symbol.png|25px|Om symbol|right]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" | The seven important temples in and around [[Thiruvaiyaru]]
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#A8BDEC"|'''Temple'''||style="text-align:center;background:#A8BDEC"|'''Location'''
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | [[Aiyarappar temple]]||[[Thiruvaiyaru]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | [[Apathsahayar Temple, Thirupazhanam|Apathsahayar Temple]] ||Thirupazhanam
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | [[Odhanavaneswarar Temple, Tiruchotruturai|Odhanavaneswarar Temple]]||[[Tiruchotruturai]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | [[Vedapuriswarar Temple, Thiruvedhikudi|Vedapuriswarar Temple]] ||[[Thiruvedhikudi]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | [[Kandeeswarar Temple]] ||[[Kandiyur|Thirukkandiyur]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Puvananathar Temple ||Thirupanturuthi
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | [[Neyyadiappar Temple, Tillaistanam|Neyyadiappar Temple]] ||[[Tillaistanam]]
|-
|}
The ''sapthasthanam'' festival is conducted at [[Tiruvaiyaru]] during April every year. As per Hindu legend, it is the wedding festival of [[Nandi (bull)|Nandikeswara]], the sacred bull of Shiva on the Punarpoosa star during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] of ''Panguni''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Madras District Gazetteers: Tiruchirappalli (pt. 1–2)|page=1601|publisher=Government Press|volume=10|issue=2|year=1999|editor-last=B. S. |editor-first=Baliga}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/sapthasthanam-festival-begins/article26904458.ece|title='Sapthasthanam' festival begins|date=21 April 2019|work=The Hindu|accessdate=19 April 2020}}</ref><ref>[[#Venkataraman|Venkatraman]] 2019, p. 205</ref>

==Religious imporanct and worship practices==
{{multiple images
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|align=right
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|image1=Pushpaneswarar temple, Thirupanthuruthi (6).jpg
|height1=3299
|width1=2289
|image2=Pushpaneswarar temple, Thirupanthuruthi (9).jpg
|height2=2771
|width2=2078
|footer=Sculptures on the walls of the temple
}}

The temple is one of the shrines of the 275 [[Paadal Petra Sthalams]] – [[Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu#Sthalams|Shiva Sthalams]] glorified in the early medieval ''[[Tevaram]]'' poems by Tamil Saivite [[Nayanars]] [[Sundarar]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Thirupanthuruthi|url=http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/koil_view.php?koil_idField=213|publisher=Thevaaram.org|year=2011|accessdate=14 March 2016}}</ref> The temple houses the samadhi of Sanakar, the disciple of [[Dakshinamoorthy]] in front of the image of Shiva. The temple is also the place where Sivananda Mouna Guru Swamigal was doing penance.<ref name=dinamalar/> 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 242nd in the list of 276 temples.<ref name=R/> The temple is counted as one of the temples built on the banks of [[River Kaveri]]. [[Narayana Teertha]] (c. 1650 – 1745 CE) has composed many songs on the presiding deity.<ref name=Ka>{{cite book|title=River cauvery the most battl(r)ed|last=Ka. Vi.|first=Kannan|page=30|publisher=Notion Press|year=2019|isbn=9781684666041|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CGFDwAAQBAJ&q=thiruvavaduthurai}}</ref>

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 five 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), ''[[Naivedhya|naivethanam]]'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for both Pushpavananthar and Soundaranayagi. 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 ''{{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''. Mahashivaratri during February – March is the major festivals celebrated in the temple. The major festival in the region and the temple is the Sapthastanam festival. Paarivettai is another major festival celebrated in the temple.<ref name=dinamalar>{{cite web|title=Sri Pushpavananthar temple|publisher=Dinamalar|url=https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=961|year=2019|accessdate=25 April 2020}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|title=Temples of Forgotten Glory: A Wide Angle Exposition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ItClDwAAQBAJ&q=aiyarappar+temple&pg=PT172|page=182|first=Sekar|last=Venkatraman|isbn=9781645876250|publisher=Notion Press|year=2019|ref=Venkatraman}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Pushpaneswarar temple, Thirupanthuruthi}}
{{Famous Shiva temples|state=collapsed}}
{{Saptha Stana Temples}}
[[Category:Padal Petra Stalam| ]]
[[Category:Shiva temples in Thanjavur district]]

Pushpavananathar Temple, Tiruppoonturutti - Revision history

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