LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE: Thingalur is on the way from Thiruvaiyaru to Kumbakonam in Thanjavur District of Tamilnadu State, India. It is around 15 km away from Thanjavur.
It is believed that Lord Shiva helped Lord Chandra to get over the curse of Daksha Prajapathi and asked Chandra to remain in Thingalur and help those people who suffer from the ill effects due to the placement of the moon in their horoscopes.
As Chandra was very much handsome and legible, Daksha Prajapathi gave all his 27 daughters to him. Instead of treating all of them alike, he neglected all the other 26 wives and spent most of the time with Rohini, Prajapathi advised Chandran to treat all his 27 wives equally. But Chandran ignored him. Daksha Prajapathi got cursed Chandran that he should suffer from 'Kshay'- deterioration of body within a short period of time. . Then, Chandran prayed to Lord Shiva in Thingalur to save him from the curse. Saving him Lord Shiva ordered that Chandran should remain in the temple in Thingalur and should give relief to those, suffering from all the aspects of Chandra's adverse placement in their horoscopes and offering prayers to him. So, such people who are affected by the adverse positions of Chandra in their horoscopes offer prayers to Lord Katharina, Goddess Sri Periyanayaki, and Chandra Baghavam by offering prayers.
Chandra is one of the biggest planets illuminating the sky. It is the second planet among the Navagrahas and controls our human mind. Sage Atri was ordained by Brahma to construct the worlds and the Maharshi went into a deep meditation. Divine light emanated from the eyes of Atri. The Dikpaalakaas could not bear the light and through it into the sea of milk, Chandra and Lakshmi were born out of the sea. Thus Chandra is the brother of Lakshmi. He is also described as the left eye of Lord Vishnu. During the churning of the seamilk, an elixir was produced. Lord Vishnu, in disguise as Jaganmohini, distributed the elixir among the gods. Two daanavas by the name Rahu and Ketu by stealth tried to drink the elixir. At that time Chandra hinted to Lord Vishnu about the cheating of Rahu and Ketu. Vishnu beheaded both with his Sudarshana Chakram. That is why Rahu and Ketu entertain a grudge of Chandra on some days by eclipsing him.
It is believed that Chandra was born from the intelligence of the almighty. Silver is the favorite metal. Fasting on Mondays and worshiping of Lord Shiva, adorning pearls on the body, donating rice, white cloths, sandal, sugar, etc., should be done to beseech Chandra. The natives who were afflicted with the planets can get some relief by performing pujas and offering Lord Shiva, Goddess Periyanayaki, and Chandra Bhagavan. In the Tamil Month of Panguni on the Poornima, the day before and on the succeeding three days, the rays of the rising moon fall of Lord Shiva. The rare phenomenon occurs only in Thingalur and not anywhere else. Pujas performed on full moon days and every Monday and very special in the temple. Chandra Bhagavan whose dress is white and his grains were paddy and raw rice. He has to be offered raw rice pudding mixed with jaggery, white flowers, and white clothing is believed that this puja will remove obstacles in the native's life.
History
Thingalur Thingalur is one of the Saiva Tirupatis in Tamil Nadu. This place's name finds a place in 'Thevaram'. Thingal means 'Chandran' and as this place is dedicated to God Chandran (Moon), it is named after him. It is closely associated with two of the 64 Nayanmars mentioned in the Periya Puranam or Thiruthondar Puranam: Thirunavukkarasar and Appudhiyadigal. Appudhiyadigal hailed from Thingalur, which finds mention in Sekkizhar's Periya Puranam.
Even though Appudhiyadigal was one of the Nayanmars, he never pursued the path of other nayanmars. When the other Nayanmars were devotees of Lord Shiva and worshipped him, Appudhiyadigal worshipped a devotee of Lord Shiva. Instead of worshipping the Lord and seeking His blessings, Appudhi started worshipping Thirunavukkarasar, whom he had never even seen. He had only heard about his greatness and how the Lord made a stone float on the sea for the sake of Thirunavukkarasar. He chanted Thirunavukkararsar's name often with a devotion. He named all things after him so that whenever he saw the item he could utter his Lord's name and he dedicated all his noble deeds to him. Once, when Thirunavukkarasar visited Thingalur, he saw a thaneerpandal (where water is supplied free to everyone) called 'Thirunavukkarasar Thiruppani Dharmam'. He was surprised to see his name on the board as it was the first time he was visiting the place. He saw Appudhi sitting there and asked him the reason for writing someone else's name for the noble deed that he was doing. Appudhi shut his ears as soon as he heard this statement and angrily asked if the man was really a devotee of Lord Shiva. He was enraged by his reference to Thrunavukkarasar, who had communicated to the world the greatness of Saivism, and who, by his devoted worship of Lord Shiva, had won over the people from other religious sects, as 'someone'. He asked for the visitor's name and the place he belonged to. Thirunavukkarasar was touched by the love and devotion of Appudhiyadigal and told him that he was that 'Thirunavukkarasar'. A surprised, scared, and nervous Appudhi fell at his feet in reverence. He wanted to serve food to his lord and so invited him home. Thirunavukkarasar accepted his invitation. Appudhi asked his wife to prepare a meal consisting of six different tastes. After the food was ready to be served, Appudhi sent his elder son to bring a banana leaf from the backyard. But unfortunately, his son got bitten by a snake. But he managed to return home and hand over the leaf to his father. After fulfilling his duty, he fell down and died as the poison took its toll. Appudhiadigal and his wife were distressed but, hiding their emotions, they rolled their son in a mat and hid it outside their house. Without informing Thirunavukkarasar about the tragedy, they served him food. But by the grace of Lord Shiva, Thirunavukkarasar understood the situation and asked them to bring the dead son. He went to Thingalur temple and laid the body in front of the temple. He sang 10 'Thirupadhigams' and as soon as he finished singing, the boy got up as though he was waking up from his sleep, and fell at his feet. Thirunavukkarasar offered the sacred ash to the boy to apply on his forehead. More than being glad to see his son rise up, Appudhi was worried that his lord could not eat food on time. He invited him to finish his lunch and Thirunavukkarasar happily followed him home to do so. He stayed with his devotee for many days. As Thirunavukkarasar sang a 'Thirupadhigam' beginning 'Onrukolaam' in front of Lord Shiva at this place, which became an antidote for the poison, it is claimed that if one sings it with true devotion, they will be strong enough to break the effect of poison. Such is the greatness of this temple, where Chandran (Moon) offered worship to Lord Shiva and obtained His blessings, as the Puranas say. It is believed that if one visits this place and worships the Lord here, they will be rid of diseases.
How to reach
Thingalur is on the way from Thiruvaiyaru to Kumbakonam. You can also take an auto from Thiruvaiyaru.
Chandra Gayatri: Om nisakaraya vidmahae kala nadhaya dheemahi tanno chandra: prachodayaath.
Temple Timings: 7 AM – 1 PM & 4 PM – 9 PM.
Temple Phone Numbers: 04362-262 499