Thirukoshtiyur
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Thirukoshtiyur
Thirukoshtiyur is a village located near TirupathurTirupathur, Sivaganga
Tirupathur is a Taluk panchayat town in Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-Geography:Tiruppattur is located at...
(on Tirupathur-Sivaganga road) on the way to Sivaganga
Sivaganga
Sivaganga, also known as Sivagangai, is a town and a municipality in Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Sivaganga district.-Geography:...
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. It is 9 km from Thirupathur.
This place has an importance among Vaishnavites. The Village is notable for the great temple, which is one of the 108 divya desams
Divya Desams
Divya Desams refer to 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the works of the Tamil Azhvars . 105 of these are located in India, 1 in Nepal, while 2 are located outside of the Earthly realms. 'Divya' in Tamil language indicates premium and 'Desam' indicates place or temple.The two major deities...
.The holy shrines for the Vaishnavites. It comes under paandya naatu thiruthalangal (region once ruled by pandyas).
Etmology, names and significance
Thirukoshtiyur, derived from its native name Thirukotiyur.During Kritha yuga, Rishis, devas
Deva (Hinduism)
' is the Sanskrit word for god or deity, its related feminine term is devi. In modern Hinduism, it can be loosely interpreted as any benevolent supernatural beings. The devs in Hinduism, also called Suras, are often juxtaposed to the Asuras, their half brothers. Devs are also the maintainers of...
and people were tortured, anguished by the asura Hiranyakashipu as the vengeance for hiranyaksha's death in hands of Lord Vishnu in the form of Varaha
Varaha
Varaha is the third Avatar of the Hindu Godhead Vishnu, in the form of a Boar. He appeared in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the Earth and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean in the story. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to...
Avatar. Devas, Rishis approached Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
and Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
for the solution. In response Brahma, Shiva, all devas, Saptha Rishis decided to meet at one place to discuss regarding. Finally all chose Thirukotiyur as the spot. Together they came like a group and so the name came as Thirukoshtiyur, koshti means in group or as a team.
Thirukoshtiyur is known for its great temple, Sri Sowmya Narayana Perumal Thirukovil ( Thirukovil means temple ). One of the 108 divya desams in India.
Sri Sowmya Narayana Perumal Thirukovil
Sri Sowmya Narayana Perumal Thirukovil, surrounded by a high walls on its four sides, with a Raja Gopuram (Main tower) at the entrance which shows the gigantism. The inner infrastructure, mainly sanathis( separate shrines) are unlike other temples. Inside the temple complex, The shrine for narayana is constructed in form of three stages, similar to that of three floors in a building. This interprets as Boologam (earth), ThiruparkadalThiruparkadal
Thiruparkadal has a rarest among the rare, temple in the country, where Thirumal stands on God Siva to show the world, the amalgamation of Vaishnavism with Saivism and to enlight both of them are one and the same.-Salient Features:...
, Vaikundham. Narayana appears in three stages in three forms. In Ground floor as Krishna in dancing posture. Next level he is sayana thirukolam (sayana = sliding, thirukolam = posture), a posture resting on Athisesha. And top most level in standing posture as Sri Sowmya Narayana Perumal. This form of appearances of Narayana is been poetically described as Nindran (means Standing posture), Kidanthan (means sleeping posture), Aadinan (means dancing posture) by Alwars.
Ramanujar
There exist an important relationship between Sri RamanujaRamanuja
Ramanuja ; traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar , Emperumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete...
and Thirukoshtiyur. Ramanuja was advisec by thirukachi Nambigal (thirukachi is place and nambigal means sage) to visit thirukoshtiyur and learn the ' sacred 8 letter hymn ', Astachara manthra from thirukoshtiyur nambigal(i.e. thirukoshtiyur sage). Accordingly Ramanunja travelled 18 times all the way from Srirangam
Srirangam
Srirangam , Old name is Vellithirumutha gramam and Tamil name is Thiruvarangam , is an island and a part of the city of Tiruchirapalli , in South India....
to Thirukoshtiyur for learning the "Ashtachara Manthram" ("Ohm Namo Narayanaya!!") from the Thirukoshtiyur nambigal. Each time ramanuja tried to meet the nambigal but was ultimately rejected by nambigal. This continued for 17 times and at last 18th time when ramanuja arrived and knoced the doors of nambigal ashram saying "Adiyen Sri Ramanujan vanthurukiran..!" ( which means "beloved student sri ramnuja here!!") on which he was allowed to enter. The reason why ramanuja was denied 17 times and allowed during his 18th time is that as ramanujar introduced himself as "adiyen ramanujan" (means Beloved student ramanuja ) in 18th time unlike his past visits blindly introducing himself as "Im Ramanuja arrived..". The word " Im " shows his egotism for which he was rejected. Whereas his ego vanished in this 18th visit and made him eligible for the learning of Astachara manthram.
Thirukoshtiyur nambigal blessed ramanuja with the 'sacred 8 letter hymn' Astachara manthram ("Ohm Namo Narayanaya!!") and warned not to preach to anyone if so u will reside to hell!!. Ramanuja rushed climbing to the top of temple, summoned the whole village people and delivered the Astachara manthram. The act enkindled nambigal who on questioning, ramanuja replied "Its my great fortune in showing the path and guiding people to heaven, I'm glad in going to hell for the act.." these words affected nambigal to extent he just prostrated towards ramanuja. It is said the event happened in front of Sri Lakshmi Narasimar Swami sanathi, small shrine like present on the way towards the Sowmya Narayana Perumal sanathi, third stage.
We can climb through stairs of temple shrine and reach the top most layer from which Ramanuja preached the sacred words. We can have a view of whole thirukoshtiyur, every streets nook and corners. May be for this coverage ramanuja opted this top of the temple tower.