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| Location |
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Kancheepuram. |
| Main Deity |
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Jwarahareswara. |
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Nearest Town : Kancheepuram
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District : Kancheepuram
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State : Tamil Nadu
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Siva is not an amorous person, but the potency is available only when mingled with Sakthi. These truths are found in Jwaraharesa padalam of Kanchi puranam. Besides this literature, the homily was hammered into us by an edifice too in Kanchi, called Jwaraharesam. Sage Sudha was explaining the supreme truth to the ascetics of Naimicharanya. The subject ‘was the method of realisation of the Supreme.’ “Entering the temple having a darshan of Siva, praising him with Dravida Veda (Tamil) and then should go round the sanctum not once or twice but several times and that is measured steps like the walking of a pregnant woman” – that was the preaching by the sage.
The legends declare that as the devas were rescued from fever (Juram) and as Siva destroyed the Asura Surakkan, this temple got the name Juraraharesam. Devoid of carved pillars and exquisite sculptures, possessing only bare walls, with Ghostas (niches) adorned with elephant and Bhuda (goblin) friezes, intertwined with Yalis, a superb beauty from base to crest has been created. Generally, no sanctum in any temple will have windows. But here one can see lattice worked windows in granite called Jalakam, shedding light into the dark sanctum. While speaking of excellence in carving, one is reminded of the caves of Avudiar coil and windows of Thiruvalanchuzhi. It is said that one cannot rival those carvings.
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They devised a Lingam. It has no precise shape. In the sanctum is a Linga exhibiting its formlessness. In village tanks, you would have seen lotus bud with its base petals just blooming. This temple is a copy of that flower before blooming. In puranas we read that groves where bees after drinking sweet honey start singing, is the most desired place for Siva who adorns himself with a crescent on his head. This description is not a mere figment of poetic imagination. This shrine house of Siva is located inside an expansive garden filled with trees and shrubs. At the entrance, Lord Krishna greets us. In South India temples, Kubera is not seen. Only in Nepal, he is a prominent deity. In Bagavath Gita, Kubera is praised by Lord Krishna in the following sloka.
“I am Kubera of the Yakshas”. He is the Lord of the north and has a special place in Atharva Veda. He is the master of wealth and is the brother of Ravana, Kumbakarna, Vibhisana and Supranaka. Bahur inscriptions proclaim that Fame is his father! With his spouse Badrai, sons Nalakumara and Manigrivan and daughter Mura, wielding a mighty club, he rules from his capital Amaravathi. True to that description, with a bulbous stomach, wielding riches in his hand seated in Maharaja lila pose he is seen. When Kubera himself is present should not Mahalaxmi follow? In the lintel of the threshold is Mahalaxmi as Lalata Bimba.
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