Burning the lamps with Water !!

Thiruvarur Temple with Kamalalayam tank 

Thiruvarur is one of the oldest and Holiest shrines of Tamilnadu. Appar's Thevaram supports this view. Vanmeeka natha of Thiruvarur Temple is praised in all the Saivaite Thirumurais. It has been the abode of some Nayanmars like Sundarar, Viranmindar,Naminandi and Dhadiyadigal. According to Appar's Thiruvadhirai Padhigam, devotees from different parts of the land used to assemble for the festival. The Chariot, usually called as "Aazhi Ther " is mentioned in ancient literature.

Thiru neiper Temple

It was Naminandhi Adigal, a brahmin devotee hailed from Thiruneiper , some 10 KM from Thiruvarur ( on the  way to Thiruthuraipoondi) performed a miracle with the Divine Grace of Lord Shiva. He used to walk all the way from his place everyday to reach Thiruvarur temple for serving  The Almighty. He wanted to light ghee lamps at Achaleswara Shrine , located inside the Temple. As he required more ghee for the purpose, he went outside and approached some houses which were close to the Temple. Without knowing that  those houses belonged to Jains, he made the request to them. They laughed at him and refused to give ghee to light the lamps. They even insulted him to go back and  light the lamps by using water drawn from the Temple Tank. Highly wounded by their words, Naminandhi Adigal went back to the Temple and prayed at the feet of The Lord. At that time he heard The Divine Voice asking him to bring water from the tank and light the lamps.

Nayanar lighting lamps before Thyagaraja- A painting at Thiruneiper  

 He obeyed the Lord's advice and brought water from the tank and lighted numerous lamps. It was indeed a miracle that all lamps burned throughout the night to the surprise of everybody. He continued to serve The Lord by shifting his residence from Thiruneiper to Thiruvarur. The Lord even made him realise all people of Thiruvarur are Shiva ganas. The Nayanar's remarkable service is praised by Appar in his Thevaram Hymns.

The damaged portion of the front Mandapam-Thiruneiper

The birthplace of such a great Nayanar at Thiruneiper has an old Shiva Temple. Left uncared for several decades, devotees from outside have  built a small shrine close to the road by facing the main Temple. It was consecrated recently. Efforts are being made to renovate the main Temple  The front mandapam is in a bad shape . It carries some paintings pertaining to the life of Naminandhi Adigal Nayanar. We may lose these paintings if the mandapam is allowed to collapse.

Renovation under progress_Thiruneiper 

The moola murthi of the Nayanar in standing posture with folded hands is seen facing the Sanctum. Plans are there to build a small shrine for him in the outer prakaram. It looks that the whole work will get completed by the end of the year. For more details the archaka may be contacted at 9444812040

It will be a great service if such dilapidated temples are brought back to their original glory. It will also help the archakas of rural temples who struggle to meet their basic needs.