Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal Temple in Thirukandiyur is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture,the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha,the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th?9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Hara Saabha Vimochana and his consort Lakshmi as Kamalavalli.
Legends Associated with This Shrine
As per Hindu legend, Brahma, the Hindu god of creation and Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, had originally five heads. Parvathi, the wife of Shiva once got confused and performed patha pooja to Brahma instead of Shiva. Shiva got enraged and cut off one of the heads of Brahma. The cut head got stuck in his hand of Shiva on account of a curse of Brahma. To get rid off the sin, Shiva worshipped Vishnu at Thirukarambanur as Bhikshadana, where a part of his sin was relieved. He got his curse fully relieved after visiting Vishnu at Thirukandiyur and taking a holy dip in the temple tank, Kamala Pushkarani.
Since Vishnu relieved the sin of Shiva , the temple is called Hara Saabha Vimochana Temple. After the incident, the tank came to be known as Kapala Theertham . Shiva was pleased and he built the Hara Sabha Vimochana temple and also built a temple for himself near it. As per another legend, Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu requested Shiva to cut off one of the heads of Brahma as she felt that Vishnu would ignore her and show all his affection towards Brahma. Sage Bhrigu, King Mahabali and Chandra all got their sins relieved worshipping Vishnu here in the temple. Sage Bhrigu, once wanted to test the superior of Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva. He kicked Vishnu in his chest in anger and got relieved of the sin here. Chandra, who sinned by seducing the preceptor’s wife, got partially relieved of it by worshipping Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal.
Architectural Relevance of This Shrine
Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal Temple is located in Thirukandiyur, a village located between Thiruvayyaru and Thanjavur, in between the rivers Cauvery and Kudamaurutti. The temple is believed to have been built by the Medieval Cholas of the late 8th century AD, with later contributions from Vijayanagar kings and Madurai Nayaks. In modern times, the recorded temple renovation was carried out in 1984 under the aegis of seer Sri Thirukudanthai Vedanta Ramanuja Mahadesikan. The renovation is 2003 was carried out by his successor Sri Rangaramanuja Mahadesikan. The works involved renovation of the gateway tower and the shrines of Hara Saabha Vimocahana and Kamalavalli. The temple has a three-tiered rajagopuram and an adjoining granite wall that surrounds the temple.
The temple occupies an area of 1 acre and is located in the between the rivers Kudamurutti and Vennar. The temple is located 2 km away from Thiruvayaru in Thanjavur district. The temple has two precincts and the main gateway faces the east. The central shrine houses the image of Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal in standing posture. The sanctum is approached through two halls, namely, the Garuda Mandapam and the Maha Mandapam. Kapala Moksha Pushkarani, located on the west side of the temple is the major water body associated with the temple, while the Mahabali Theertham is located opposite to it. The shrine of the consort of Hara Saabha Vimochana, Kamalavalli or Kamala Nachiyar, is located in the first precinct. The second precinct houses the shrines for Narasimha, Sudarsana, Andal, Azhwars and Desika.
Shrine’s Map Location and How to Go There
By Road
Thanjavur is well-connected with Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Karaikal, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Kumbakonam, Pattukkottai, Bangalore, Ernakulam, Marthandam, Nagercoil, Tirupathi, Thiruvananthapuram, Ooty and Mysore through regular bus services.
By Rail
The nearest Railway station is Thanjavur railway station
By Air
The nearest international Airport is the Tiruchirapalli International Airport which is about 50 km from the city.
Shrine Timings
7 A.M to 10 P.M
Events Celebrated at This Shrine
Panguni Brahmmotsavam March or April ,Aipasi Pavithra Utsavam October or November ,Vaikunta Ekadashi December or January ,Karthikai Deepam November or December
Extra Information About this Shrine
Nearby Temple
Andalakkum Aiyan Temple
Padikasu Nathar Temple
Gajendra Varadhan Temple
Thiru Thanjaimaamani temple
Appakudathan Temple
Adhivaraha Perumal Temple Specialty The presiding deity of this temple is Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal in standing posture. The other deities of the temple are Goddess Lakshmi worshipped as Goddess Kamalavalli, the consort of Lord Vishnu, Lord Narasimha, Goddess Andal, Lord Sudarsana and Azhwars.
The temple is respected in Nalayira Divya Prabandham and hymns were sung by the saint Thirumangai Azhwar.
And it has a speciality that the idols of Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva, and Lord Brahma are placed in the single temple and hence called as Mummoorthigal Sthalam.
It is believed by all the devotees that the sins will get relieved after visiting this temple.
And the temple is also called by the names Kandiyur, Kandana Kshetram and Pancha Kamala Kshetram.
The temple is said to be the very oldest temple which was in existence from the Treta Yuga. The Vimanam of this temple is called Kamalakkruthi Vimanam, which looks like a lotus flower.