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Amirthakadeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located at Sakkottai in Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is dedicated to Shiva. Shiva is worshiped as Amirthakadeswarar, and is represented by the ''lingam''. His consort Parvati is depicted as Amirthavalli Amman. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the ''Tevaram'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the Nayanmars and classified as ''Paadal Petra Sthalam''. As per Hindu legend, the essence of creation arrived at this place in a pot (locally called ''kalayam''), the place came to be known as Kalayanallur. The temple is closely associated with Sakya Nayanmar, one of 63 saints associated with Saivism. The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 7:00 a.m. to 10 p.m., and three major yearly festivals on its calendar. Maha Shivrathri and Masi Magam during the Tamil month of ''Masi'' (February - March) and Margazhi Tiruvadhirai during ''Margazhi'' (December - January) are the major festivals celebrated in the temple. The temple complex houses a three-tier known as ''gopuram'' (gateway tower) and has moats inside and outside the surrounding walls. The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Amirthakadeswarar and Amirthavalli Amman being the most prominent. The present masonry structure was built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to Thanjavur Nayaks. The image of Lingothbhava is made of emerald, while the image of Ardhanarishvara is depicted with his right leg in relaxing posture. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. ==Legend== As per Hindu legend, the essence of creation arrived at this place in a pot during deluge. Since the pot (locally called ''kalayam'') arrived here, it was called Kalayanallur. Sambandar in his works in ''Tevaram'' mentions that this place was originally occupied by Buddhists (Calukkiyar) and hence it came to be known as Cakkiyarkkottai, which with time became Cakkottai.〔 Another legend states that Nayanmar saint Sakya was a staunch devotee of Shiva. He used to wear in Sakya style, which was not typical of Saivism. He used to worship Shiva at this place and even did puja for a stone he crossed. In his devotion, he used to forget that he was adorning the image of Shiva with stones in stead of flowers. One day he forgot to do his austerities and started consuming food. He suddenly realised his mistake and ran to the place where he usually worships Shiva to find stones from Kailash started falling at his feet, with Shiva and Parvathy appearing before him. It is believed that as Sakya worshipped Shiva here, the place used to be called Sakkottai.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Amirthakadeswarar Temple, Sakkottai」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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