Needur Somanathaswami Temple
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Somanathaswami Temple is a Hindu temple in the village of Needur in the Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
Legend[edit]
Needur is located at a distance of 5 kilometres from Mayiladuthurai. Needur is one of the many temple towns in the state which is named after the grooves, clusters or forests dominated by a particular variety of a tree or shrub and the same variety of tree or shrub sheltering the presiding deity. The region is believed to have been covered with Magila forest and hence called Magilavanam.[1]
Significance[edit]
The presiding deity is Somanathaswami. The consort is Veyurutholi Ammai. The temple has shrines to Sivalokanathar, Kailasanathar, Ananda Thandavamurthy, Ganesha, Murugan and the Seven Virgins.
According to Hindu mythology, on a visit to the earth, Indra, the king of the gods desired to do pooja for Shiva. However, he could not find a shivalinga for the purpose. He reached the banks of the Kaveri River where he collected wet mud to create a shivalinga for worship. The Somanathaswami Temple is believed to have been constructed at the spot where Indra made the shivalinga.
References[edit]
- ^ Reddy, G.Venkatramana (2013). Alayam - The Hindu temple - An epitome of Hindu Culture. Mylapore, Chennai: Sri Ramakrishna Math. p. 10. ISBN 978-81-7823-542-4.