Pancha Bhoota Sthalam Temples

Lord Shiva is worshipped in South India as the presiding deity of the five elements (Pancha Bhootas) of Nature. For this reason, he is called Bhootapati or Bhootnath. The 5 syllables - Na | Ma | Shi | Va | Ya –indicate the 5 elements or Bhootas – Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space/Ether. These elements are also the building blocks of all things in Creation, including the human body. Shiva is the deity who upholds these 5 elements. In India, there is a saying that without Shiva’s permission, even a blade of grass cannot move in the wind. The Pancha Bhoota Sthalam Temples are dedicated to this aspect of Shiva (the one who upholds the 5 elements). Pancha Bhoota Sthalam Temples, also called the temples of Pancha Bhoota Lingas, are the 5 places where Shiva appeared in the form of the Pancha Bhootas or the five elements of nature - Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space.. Four of these temples are in Tamil Nadu, and one is in Andhra Pradesh. Let us learn more about them.

Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu.

Ekambareswarar Temple Located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, the Shiva Lingam in this temple signifies the Earth element. The temple has one of the largest Gopurams in India. Inside the temple, there are many idols carved on the walls and pillars. The inner hallway is huge, with beautiful architecture. Sthala Puranam (Temple Legend) Many great saints have praised the glory of Ekambareswarar. One can find their verses in the famous Tamil scriptures, Periya Puranam and Kanchi Sthala Puranam. Goddess Parvati once worshipped a Shiva Lingam made of sand under a mango tree here in Kanchipuram. Shiva wanted to test her devotion, so he made the Vegavathi river flood and overflow its banks. But Parvati continued her worship undeterred. Soon, the floodwaters reached the place where Parvati was. Concerned about the Shiva Lingam, Parvati embraced it with her hands to protect it from the water. Shiva was pleased by her devotion and stopped the floods. He then appeared before her and took her back to their heavenly abode, Mount Kailas. Later, on Parvati’s request, Shiva appeared under the mango tree, so he got the name Ekambareswarar (Lord of the Mango tree). One can still see an offshoot of the original mango tree in the temple courtyard. Newly-wed couples worship this mango tree to get good progeny. To prevent the sand-made Lingam from breaking down, the low-density Jasmine oil is used for the Abishekam, even today.

Jambukeswarar Temple

Located on the banks of river Cauvery (Ponni), Tiruvanaikaval, Trichy, is where Shiva manifested as Jambu Lingam, representing the Water element. The presiding deities here are Jambukeswarar (Shiva) and Akhilandeswari(Parvati). The Story of Jambukeswaram Once, when Shiva was busy working for the welfare of the Universe, Parvati happened to disturb him. Shiva was annoyed and told her to do penance on earth. Parvati, as Akhilandeswari, performed rigorous penance under the Jamun Tree by making a Shiva Lingam using the water from the Cauvery river. Pleased, Shiva appeared before her and taught her the Shiva Gnana. He also invited her back to Mount Kailas. Sthala Puranam According to the Sthala Puranam, Sage Jambu, a great devotee of Shiva, found a rare white Jamun fruit which he offered to the deity. Shiva ate the fruit pulp and spat out the seed. On seeing this, Jambu ate the Jamun seed as Prasad, as it had come from the mouth of Shiva himself. The seed began to grow from the matted hair locks of the sage and became a tree. The sage then asked Shiva to reside under this Jamun tree and grant him Moksha. Shiva was pleased with his devotion and asked Jambu to do penance near the Cauvery river to fulfill his wish. Another story Two Shiva ganas called Mayavantha and Pushpadanta used to fight often. One day, during their fight, Mayavantha cursed Pushpadanta to become an elephant, and Pushpadanta cursed Mayavantha to become a spider. Both of them reached Jambukeswaram and began to worship the Jala Lingam daily. The elephant brought water from the river to clean the Lingam, and the spider built a web on the top of the Lingam to prevent the dried leaves of the Jamun tree from falling on it. During the worship, the elephant would remove the spider web, thinking it was dust. This made the spider angry, and it crept into the trunk of the elephant and bit it. The elephant died. In due course, so did the spider. Later Jambukeswara(Shiva) freed both the Ganas from their curses. Although the spider had committed a sin by killing the elephant, it was born as King Kochengot Chola due to its good karma. The king was a great devotee of Shiva and built many Shiva temples. One of them is the Jambukeswarar temple. The distinctive feature of all the temples constructed by King Kochengot is that the entrance of the main sanctum of the temple would be so small that not even a small elephant can enter it.

Arunachaleswarar Temple

Shiva manifested as the Agni Lingam (representing the Fire element) at this temple. The story goes that Shiva appeared as a column of fire at the top of the Arunachala hill in Thiruvannamalai, manifesting as Agni Lingam. People also believe that the holy hill, Arunagiri, is Shiva himself. Doing circumambulation around Arunagiri is very auspicious and believed to bestow prosperity. Sthala Purana Once, Vishnu and Brahma were arguing about who was the superior one among them. To end their argument, Shiva appeared before them as a column of fire or Jyothi sthambam/Lingam. Surprised, Brahma and Vishnu decided to find the top and bottom of the Lingam. The person who found it first would be the supreme god. Vishnu turned into a boar and went deep into the earth to find the origin of the Shiva lingam. Brahma turned into a swan to find the top of the Shiva lingam. Neither could find the origin of the Lingam. But Brahma did not want to concede defeat. So he made a ketaki flower bear false witness and lie that he had seen the top of the Lingam. An angry Shiva cursed Brahma, saying that there would be no temples and worship for Brahma. Later on, at the request of Brahma and Vishnu God Shiva manifested as Agni Lingam later, on the request of Brahma and Vishnu. Arunachalaeshwar temple looks spectacular during the Karthigai deepam festival in November as the entire temple is illuminated with beautiful lights. On the 10th day of the festival, a huge fire, or Mahadeepam, is lit on the hill. It represents Shiva as Agni lingam.

Srikalahasthi Temple

Located on the banks of the Suvarnamukhi river, Srikalahasthi is a famous Shiva temple in Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh. It is where Shiva appeared as Vayu Lingam, representing the Air element. The temple is named after the Sri (spider), Kala (snake), and Hasthi(elephant), that worshipped Shiva and attained Moksha. Sthala Puranam A spider used to worship the Lingam by spinning a web to prevent dust from falling on the Shiva Lingam. The snake, on the other hand, worshipped the Shiva Lingam by leaving a precious gem on it daily. The elephant worshipped Shiva by bringing some water from the Suvarnamukhi river to clean the Shiva Lingam. However, when the elephant cleaned the Lingam, it destroyed the spider’s web. The gem, too, fell away from the Shiva Lingam. When the snake saw this, it became angry. It crawled into the elephant’s trunk and bit the animal. The elephant ran amok. Its trunk hit the Lingam and squashed the spider. The snake within its trunk also died. Soon, the elephant also died as the snake’s venom took effect. Shiva was moved by the devotion of the three creatures and gave them Moksha. He also appeared as Vayu Lingam on their request and told them that the place where all this happened would immortalize their names. Thus, it got the name, Srikalahasthi. It was also here that Kannappa, a great Shiva devotee and one among the 63 Nayanars, plucked out his eye and offered it to Srikalahastheeswara.

Thillai Nataraja Temple

This renowned Shiva temple in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, is where Shiva performed his Ananda Tandava (dance of bliss) and appeared as the Akasa Linga, representing the Space element. Sthala Purana Chidambaram, the place where the temple stands now, was once a thick forest. A group of sages had made it their home. They had great powers and could perform black magic as well. Soon, they became arrogant and egoistic and felt that they could control even the gods. They started harassing people who didn’t agree with their ways. To teach the sages a lesson, Shiva took the form of Bhikshatanar, a handsome mendicant, and came to the forest. On seeing him, the sages’ wives began to lust for him. The sages were furious and used their magical powers to harm Shiva, but their powers were futile against him. The sages sent poisonous snakes to kill him, but Shiva wore them as ornaments. Then, the sages sent a magical tiger, but he killed the animal and wore its skin. The sages then summoned a demon called Apasmara to attack Shiva. But he overcame the demon and stepped on his back. Finally, the sages understood that the mendicant was none other than Shiva, the supreme god. Shiva revealed his true form and removed the sages’ ego and ignorance. Then he began to dance the Ananda tandava. Later, he appeared as Akasha Linga at this place.