Worship of Lord Brahma, Part 10

BY: SUN STAFF

Lord Brahma at Brahmapureeswarar Temple, Thiruppathur

Aug 14, CANADA (SUN) — A serial exploration of places of Lord Brahma's worship.

Lord Brahma at Bramhapureeshwarar Temple, Thirupattur

One of the temples that is seldom mentioned on the list of India's few Brahmadev temples is Bramhapureeshwarar Temple in Thirupattur, 30 kms from Trichy, Tamil Nadu. While this is predominantly a Shiva temple, it is very closely associated with Lord Brahma, and an ancient shrine for Brahma resides within the temple complex. Regular worship of Lord Brahma is conducted here. In modern times, this temple only became a well known pilgrimage destination over the last few years, but throngs of devotees now come to offer worship to Brahmadev. Mondays and Thursdays are the most favoured days for getting darshan.

During a pastime in which Lord Brahma is said to have lost his fifth head and his potencies, he realized he had erred in carrying out his duties of creation. Being thus affected, he proceeded to go on pilgrimage to worship Lord Shiva at various holy sites. Along the way, at a place called Thirupidavur (now Thirupattur), he worshipped Shiva with a lingam under a Magizha tree, offering water from the nearby tank, so this place is known as Brahma Theertham.

A Temple Entrance

Lord Brahma installed 12 lingams around the Bramhapureeshwarar site and worshipped Shiva here for a very long time. Being moved by Brahma's affections, Shiva gave him darshan under the Magizha tree and liberated him from his punishment so that he could resume his privileged activities of creation. In honor of these pastimes, Shiva is called Brahmapureeswarar. Shiva is said to have blessed Brahmadev with the power to change the ill fate of anyone who worships Brahma here.

Brahma Theertham and the lingam (in small shrines) that Brahma worshipped

The 12 small shrines of Lord Shiva which comprise the Bramhapureeshwarar temple complex are Sri Bhramapureeswara, Sri Pazamalainathar, Sri Pathalaeswarar, Sri Sudharaneeswarar, Sri Thayumannar, Sri Sabthagereswarar, Sri Kalathinathar, Sri Jambukeswarar, Sri Kailasanathar, Sri Arunachaleeswarar, Sri Ekambreswarar, Sri Manduganathar.

Entrance to the Sanctum Sanctorum

In the temple's main sanctum sanctorum, Brahmapureeswarar resides in the form of Swayambu lingam. In a separate inner praharam beside the main sanctum is the shrine of Lord Brahma. It is an unusually open and accessible shrine, and one can get very close darshan of the Brahmadev Deity there.

Lord Brahma Brahmapureeswarar

The four-headed Deity is sitting in Padmasana pose, on a lotus. Brahmadev's magnificent form is 6 feet high, with a circumference of 6.5 feet, which is sometimes decorated in manjal (turmeric) kappu, as shown above.

Entrance of Thiruppathur Brahmapureeswarar Temple

The jeeva samdhi of the Sage Patanjali is located in an inner praharam, just opposite to Lord Brahma’s shrine. A Badhala lingam (a lingam recessed in the ground) is also found there.

Brahma Theertham Tank

Outside the temple is a beautiful tank, with steps leading down all four sides. This is known as Brahma Theertham, because Brahma came here for water with which to offer worship to Lord Shiva. A Bahula theertham is also found here.

Kailasanathar shrine (Pallava style)

The kailasanathar shrine (Pallava style)

Bramhapureeshwarar Temple Complex

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