Lalithambika temple, Thirumeeyachur

Goddess Lalithambika is known as the Supreme Mother of the entire universe. The Lalitha Sahasranamam has some interesting features. (Sahasranamam, literally meaning a thousand names, are hymns that extol the virtues of a God or Goddess.) According to knowledgeable people, it is the only Sahasranamam where not a single name of the deity is repeated. It is also a grammatically perfect meter. It does not include words like ‘cha’, ‘tu’, ‘api’ etc.; words which act as fillers to complete the meter (a common feature in other Sahasranamas). This feature of the Lalitha Sahasranamam sets it apart from the others.  

I have the good fortune of visiting the benevolent Mother who presides at Thirumeeyachur, Tamil Nadu. The famed Lalithambika temple has several interesting legends associated with it. Located in Thiruvarur district, this temple is believed to be the place where the Lalitha Sahasranamam was composed.

As we enter the main gates, Goddess Lalitha sits to the right in a shrine. Resplendent in a green sari, the Goddess sits with her right leg folded on her lap, and her left leg resting on the ground. One of the ladies in our group, Deepa aunty tells us that her left toe rests on a Sri Chakram. She says Devi is seated on a swing! Lord Shiva as Meghanadaswamy is also present in the sannidhi, but is not visible to us. A pair of thick silver anklets adorns Devi’s feet.

Aunty tells us about how the practise of offering anklets to the Goddess came about. A devout lady kept getting recurrent dreams about Lalitha Devi, who kept asking her to make a pair of anklets and offer it to Devi. The lady was confused, as she was not even aware of the existence of such a temple. Eventually, she made anklets in silver, located the temple and reached there with the anklets. Now the temple authorities were stumped. The Goddess is a murthi made of stone, and obviously no provisions had been made to accommodate anklets, which go around the ankles. To everybody’s surprise, upon close inspection, they found a small parting in the space between Devi’s feet and the stone seat through which they slipped the anklets on! Since then, it is common to offer anklets to Devi here. 

Unmarried women offer Devi bangle garlands for a happy married life. This explains the stocks of bangle garlands with vendors at the temple gates. We enter the main temple of Lord Shiva who is worshipped here as Meghanadaswamy. A stone Nandi guards the Lord’s sannidhi. After paying our respects to Lord Meghanada, we eagerly learn some more interesting legends about this temple. 

It is believed that Kadru and Vinutha, the wives of Kashyapa prayed here to absolve themselves of sins. They both were then blessed with two sons, Aruna (Surya’s charioteer) and Garuda the eagle (Lord Vishnu’s vehicle). 

Lord Surya was once cursed for violating Aruna; lost his brilliance and turned dark. Despite performing severe penance, the curse was not lifted. In despair, he is said to have shouted out to Lord Shiva to forgive him. This annoyed Devi who was in the Lord’s company. The Lord pacified her and stopped her from cursing Surya. He explained to her that the Sun God was calling out of desperation. This scene is immortalised in stone in the Thirumeeyachur temple walls. Lord Shiva is trying to mollify the upset Devi with one hand on her chin and the other over her shoulders. Interestingly, Lord Shiva is dressed in a soman (veshti) and Lalitha Devi is dressed in a madisar (nine yard) sari, typical of a Brahmin couple. 

The temple also has the presence of Goddess Durga. She holds a parrot in her hands. The devout believe that this parrot will communicate prayers to Lalitha Devi. 

Deepa aunty tells us how Kumbakonam and surrounding areas were hit by a draught. After the Lalithambika temple was consecrated, the district started to slowly prosper. Today, it is a lush green rice belt, and is said to supply rice to majority of Tamil Nadu.

The grace and blessings of the Lord will lead the way to prosperity! Readers, I hope you have enjoyed the visit to Lalitha Devi’s temple on a Friday. I will be back next week to take you to a different devalayam. Till then, take care, and stay devout!