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Tiruvotriyur’s
Location:
Tiruvotriyur is located about 10 kms from Chennai. Trains
from the Chennai Central Suburban Railway Station in the
route marked ‘Chennai – Gummidipundi’
stop at Tiruvotriyur. Tiruvotriyur is also accessible by
local Government buses.
The Thiagarajaswamy
temple in Tiruvotriyur stands majestically
in this industrial area, busy with activity and commerce.
Devotees from six sects of religion perform puja here. Saivites,
Vaishnavites, Saaktar, Uchavar, Adi Saivites and Namboodris
visit and worship the manifestations of Shiva and Shakthi
at this temple. |
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The Name
of the Town: Therein lies a story!
The etymology of the word ‘Tiruvotriyur’ is
interesting. The word originates from the Tamil infinitive
‘orutral’ which means ‘to exempt’.
Two stories center around the origin of this name and how
Tiruvotriyur had been exempted and so is special.
Stalapurana holds that during Padmagarba
(the measure to calculate the passing of an Age or yuga),
there ensued a great deluge that threatened to submerge
the whole world. Lord Brahma, the God of Creation undertook
an austere penance to appease Shiva. He wanted the power
to create the world once again. Pleased with his sincerity
and effort, Shiva rose from the Yoga-agni in a strange and
indecipherable form. Flames of fire crackled and blazed
from which emerged a chittirappalakai, a flat square drawing
board like shape that formed a Shivalinga.
Brahma prayed for the great waters to subside.
Shiva ordained that this town be exempted from destruction.
The Agni Kunta became the temple and Shiva resides here
as agni or fire with his consort Darbanayagi Ammal who embodies
chit shakthi. Tiruvotriyur (‘the town exempted’
from the deluge) was thus created. |
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Another
story holds that the Ayodhya kind Mandata levied taxes on
all townships including shivastalams. Surprisingly, when
his orders inscribed in palm manuscripts arrived at Tiruvotriyur,
an additional line appeared on them, apparently from nowhere.
This line decreed that this township be exempted from the
orders. The king enquired as to who had interpolated those
words. No one seemed to have done it. The king after examination
decided that it was not one of his own men who did it. |
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He
rubbed and removed away the words from the palm script that
sanctioned exemption and kept it locked. The next day, on
examining the manuscripts, the same words had reappeared.
King Mandata felt that Lord Shiva himself had chose Otriyur
as ‘His Own Land’.
The king exempted the township from tax payment. Tiruvotriyur
(‘the town exempted’ from tax payment) was thus
created. In consonance with this episode, the moolavar in
this temple is also called ‘Ezhuthariyum Peruman’.
(‘He who chose to write’) |
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