Kannayiramudayar Temple, Thirukaravasal
கண்ணாயிரமுடையார் கோயில், திருக்காறாயில்
Why this temple matters
At Thirukaravasal in the heart of the Kaveri delta, Shiva stands as Kannayiramudayar, and the Thyagaraja of the shrine — Adhi Vidangar, the first of the Vidangas — is one of the seven dancing Thyagarajas of the delta, whose procession is said to move in the Kukkuta Natanam.
History
Thirukaravasal lies among the wet fields of the Kaveri delta, near the delta's southern channels. Its temple to Shiva as Kannayiramudayar is a Paadal Petra Sthalam of Tevaram antiquity, its stone shrines carried forward under the Cholas. The temple is one of the Sapta Vidanga Sthalams, and its Thyagaraja is honoured as Adhi Vidangar, the first of the seven Vidangas of the dancing tradition.
Architecture
The temple is built in the Dravidian manner, its sanctum holding Shiva as Kannayiramudayar, with the Somaskanda Thyagaraja — Shiva with Uma and the child Skanda — worshipped as the uncarved Vidanga image and carried as the processional lord. Pillared halls open before the sanctum in the quiet delta manner of the Chola and later ages.
Legends
The Sapta Vidanga temples share the legend of the uncarved Thyagaraja images, given by the lord and worshipped in the Somaskanda form, each dancing its own dance in procession. At Thirukaravasal the Thyagaraja is Adhi Vidangar, held to be the first of the seven, and his procession is said to move in the Kukkuta Natanam, the dance likened to the strutting of a cockerel.
Festivals
The temple keeps the festivals of Shiva and the processions of the Vidangar through the year, with the days of the Nayanmar saints and the delta's festival calendar observed in the village shrine. The procession of the dancing Thyagaraja is the heart of its celebration.
The Experience
Thirukaravasal is a quiet delta shrine off the main pilgrim roads, rewarding for the devotee who follows the seven dancing Thyagarajas from one delta town to the next. It lies within the cluster of Vidanga temples between Thiruvarur and the coast, and joins them into the single pilgrimage of the seven dances.