Vedaranyeswarar Temple, Vedaranyam
வேதாரண்யேஸ்வரர் கோயில், வேதாரண்யம்
Why this temple matters
At Vedaranyam, near the southern mouth of the Kaveri by the sea, Shiva stands as Vedaranyeswarar, the lord of the forest of the Vedas; the Thyagaraja of the shrine — Bhuvani Vidangar — is the last of the seven dancing Thyagarajas of the delta, whose procession is said to move in the Hamsapada Natanam.
History
Vedaranyam — the forest of the Vedas — lies near the sea at the southern edge of the Kaveri delta, where the coast turns toward Point Calimere. Its temple to Shiva as Vedaranyeswarar, with the Goddess Vedanayaki, is a Paadal Petra Sthalam of great antiquity, sung by the Nayanmar saints, its stone shrines of the Chola age. It is one of the Sapta Vidanga Sthalams, and its Thyagaraja is honoured as Bhuvani Vidangar, held to be the last of the seven Vidangas of the dancing tradition.
Architecture
Built in the Dravidian manner, the temple gathers around the sanctum of Vedaranyeswarar, with the Goddess Vedanayaki in her own shrine and the Somaskanda Thyagaraja — Shiva with Uma and the child Skanda — worshipped as the uncarved Vidanga and carried as the processional lord. Tall gopurams and pillared halls open before the sanctum, in the manner of the great delta temples of the Chola and later ages.
Legends
The name Vedaranyam recalls the legend that the four Vedas themselves worshipped Shiva here in the form of a forest, and that the temple's doors are opened and closed by their grace; the child-saint Sambandar is remembered for the hymn that opened them. As one of the Sapta Vidanga Sthalams, its Thyagaraja is Bhuvani Vidangar, whose procession is said to move in the Hamsapada Natanam, the dance likened to the gait of a swan.
Festivals
The temple keeps the festivals of Shiva and of Thyagaraja through the year, with the procession of the Vidangar and the days of the Nayanmar saints at the heart of its celebration, and the coastal Aadi and Masi observances drawing the surrounding country.
The Experience
Vedaranyam rewards the pilgrim who reaches the sea-edge of the delta with a great Shaiva temple and the last of the seven dancing Thyagarajas, near the wide salt flats and the bird sanctuary of Point Calimere. It closes the pilgrimage of the seven Vidanga shrines that begins inland at Thiruvarur.