Panchavarna lingam?

Question

Hi does anyone have any info about the 'panchavarneswarar temple' in Nallur? I heard that the temple is abt 10km from Kumbakonam and that the lingam changes colour every 2.5 hours. Can anyone pls share their experience visiting this unique temple? Thank you.

Answer 1

I presume you are referring to Tirunallur Temple.

Tirunallu Temple is built at an elevation and the hillock is called Sundaragiri. The Shivalingam is manifests itself in five different colors in a day hence it is called Panchavarneswarar. This temple is the 20th in the series of Tevara Stalams located south of the river Kaveri.

Legends: Agasthyar was blessed with a vision of the marriage of Shiva here. Bhringi Muni and Narasimhar worshipped here. Tirunallur is also called Dakshina Kailasam; and it is related to the legend of trial of strength between Vayu and Adisesha where a peak of Mt. Meru (Sundaragiri) fell at Nallur and formed a Shivalingam. Kunti the mother of the Pandavas bathed at the Saptasagara theertham and so there is an image of Kunti in the temple. It is believed that Mucukunda Chola placed the image of Tiruvarur Tyagaraja at this shrine for a three-day period and offered worship here.

Temple: Kalyanasundareswarar and his consort occupy the sanctum behind the Shivalingam. During the annual festival, festival images of deities from nearby towns converge here. The practice of placing an icon containing the imprint of the deity`s feet on the heads of devotees is carried out here. Inscriptions from the period of Rajaraja I and from the period of Uttama Chola are seen here.