What is a Paadal Petra Sthalam?
Lord Shiva, popularly termed as the lord of destruction, but without whom creation cannot occur, is symbolized by the Shiva Lingam. Saivism is the major faith in the Indian system of belief, that worships Shiva as its principal God. Shiva temples are spread all over India. Most important among them, glorified by the 63 Tamil Nayanmars, particularly the 3 viz, Thirunavukarasar (Appar), Sundarar and Sambandar in their Tevaram hymn, are revered as the Tevara Paadal Petra Sthalams. They are 274 Shiva temples in number and out of which 264 temples are situated in Tamilnadu. The 274 odd shrines that have at least one Pathigam composed in their honor are referred to commonly as Paadal Petra Stalangal, or more generally Shivastalams.
Thirunavukarasar
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No. of Sivasthalams
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Pathigams composed in praise of the Lord Shiva after visiting the sivasthalam and temple personally
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125
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Pathigams composed in praise of the Lord Shiva but did not visit the sivasthalam or the temple
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98
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Pathigams not composed by Thirunavukarasar
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51
|
Sambandar
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No. of Sivasthalams
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Pathigams composed in praise of the Lord Shiva after visiting the sivasthalam and temple personally
|
219
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Pathigams composed in praise of the Lord Shiva but did not visit the sivasthalam or the temple
|
12
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Pathigams not composed by Sambandar
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43
|
Sundarar
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No. of Sivasthalams
|
Pathigams composed in praise of the Lord Shiva after visiting the sivasthalam and temple personally
|
84
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Pathigams composed in praise of the Lord Shiva but did not visit the sivasthalam or the temple
|
54
|
Pathigams not composed by Sundarar
|
136
|
Thirunavukarasar, Thirugnanasambandar and Sundarar were the first Nayanmars who composed songs in the praise of Lord Shiva after visiting the temples of Lord Shiva and brought out the glory of the God by their pathigams. The 3 Nayanmars visited these temples along with their followers in spite of the inconveniences they faced while travelling the nook and corner of Tamilnadu in search of these temples. There are instances when God Shiva himself had directed them and shown the way to some of the temples so that the above Nayanmars could visit these temples and compose Pathigams. These Pathigaams (poems or songs) composed in the classical Tamil language are of immense value to the Tamil literature.
Saivite Tirumuraigal have been grouped into 12. The first 7 Tirumuraigal consists of the Pathigams composed by Thirunavukarasar, Thirugnanasambandar and Sundarar and are collectively and popularly known as Tevara Paadalgal. These Tevara Paadalgal convey one message clearly - that the temples referred in the Pathigams were in existence 1000 years before.
There is a saying that Lord Shiva himself had made a comment on the services rendered by the 3 first Nayanmars and it goes like this to quote in Tamil language.
which means that Gnanasambandan composed the songs in the praise of god bringing him also into the picutre, Thirunavukarasar composed the songs purely in the praise of god, whereas Sundarar composed his songs in the praise of god and at the same time requesting the god for wealth.
Gnanasambandan thannai paadinaan
Thirunavukarasan ennai paadinaan
Sundaran Ponnai paadinaan
which means that Gnanasambandan composed the songs in the praise of god bringing him also into the picutre, Thirunavukarasar composed the songs purely in the praise of god, whereas Sundarar composed his songs in the praise of god and at the same time requesting the god for wealth.
Index of Paadal Petra Shivashtalams in Tamilnadu.
Out of the 274 temples which were glorified in the Tevaram Hymns sung by the Nayanmars, 264 temples or Shivastalams are located in Tamilnadu (including Pondicherry). Even out of these 264 temples, a majority of them (190) are located in the erstwhile Chola Naadu and are situated on the north side (63) and south side (127) of river Cauvery. 14 Shivastalams are located in what is classified as Pandiya Naadu and 7 Shivastalams are located in Kongu Naadu. Tondai Naadu boasts of 31 Shivastalams and Nadu Naadu boasts of the remaining 22 Shivasthalams.
Temples Location Summary
The remaining 10 Sivasthalams, which are located outside the state of Tamilnadu, are as follows:
* Kerala State (Malai Naadu) - 1 - Anjaikalam [திருஅஞ்சைக்களம் (ஸ்ரீவாஞ்சிகுளம்)]
* Andhra Pradesh - (Thondai Naadu) - 1 - Thirukalahasthi (திருக்காளத்தி (ஸ்ரீ காளஹஸ்தி))
* Karnataka State (Thuluva Naadu) - 1 - Kokaranam (திருக்கோகர்ணம்)
* Sri Lanka (Eezha Naadu) - 2
1. Thirukonamalai (திருக்கோணமலை)
2. Thiruketiswaram (திருக்கேதீச்சரம்)
* North India (Vada Naadu) - 5
1.Thiruparuppadam (திருப்பருப்பதம் (ஸ்ரீசைலம்))
2.Thiruindraneelaparupadam (இந்திரநீலப்பருப்பதம் (நீலகண்டசிகரம்))
3.Anegathangavadam (அனேகதங்காவதம் (கௌரிகுண்டம்))
4.ThiruKedaram (திருக்கேதாரம்)
5.Kailash (நொடித்தான்மலை (திருக்கயிலாயம்))
Courtesy Thanks : www.shivatemples.com
