page_title: Mahalingeswarar Temple, Thiruvidaimarudur
section_title: Temple
hierarchical_section_title: Mahalingeswarar Temple, Thiruvidaimarudur / Temple
caption_attribution_description: English: Tiruvidaimaruthur1
context_page_description: Mahalingeswaraswamy Temple, Thiruvidaimarudur is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in Tiruvidaimaruthur, a village in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is significant to the Hindu sect of Saivism as one of the seven major Shiva temples. Shiva is worshiped as Mahalingeswaraswamy, and is represented by the lingam, with his idol referred to as Jothimayalingam. His consort Mookambika is depicted as Pirguchuntarakujambigai. The lingam of the temple is believed to be the focal point for the seven consorts of Shiva. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil poet saints known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. The 9th century Saiva saint poet Manikkavacakar has sung praise about the temple in his works.
  There are 149 inscriptions associated with the temple indicating contributions from Pandyas, Cholas, Thanjavur Nayaks and Thanjavur Maratha kingdom.
context_section_description: The temple has a five-tiered Rajagopuram and three precincts, each enclosed inside huge walls and having gateway towers for each of them. The temple is rectangular in plan with east–west orientation and has four entrances in each of the four directions. Mahalingam, literally meaning big lingam, is the presiding deity and is considered the centre of all consort deities of Tamil Nadu. There are five temple tanks inside the temple, namely Karunyamirdha Theertham, Soma Theertham, Kanaga Theertham, Kalyana Theertham and Iravatha Theertham. There are 27 other water bodies that are associated with the temple. There is a separate shrine for Mookambiga and it is built in north Indian style. The shrine of Mookambiga is where Parvathi is believed to have performed her penance.  There are stone images of Pattinathar and Bhadragiriyar in the eastern and western gateways of the temple respectively. The central shrine of the temple is that of Mahalingaswamy facing East. The shrine of Ambal faces the east and is situated close to the Mookambigai Amman shrine. The temple was widely expanded during the Nayak period in the 16th century with the development of twin Mahalinga and Devi shrines. The shrines of Muruga and Nataraja are enshrined in the spaces between the pier. There are other shrines for Padithurai Vinayagar and Agora Veerabadrar.
  The three precincts are called Aswametha Pradakshina, Kodumudi and Pranava. The Vinayagar in the Southern side is called Anda Vinayagar and as per Hindu legend, the Vinayagar ruled the world and hence obtained the name. Pranava precinct has lot of sculptures dating back to the Nayak period of the 16th century. One of the notable among them is the sculpture of a chariot having twelve pillars, each denoting the twelve lagnas. In the northern portion of Kodumudi precinct, there is an image of Chokkanathar.
  The piers standing has attached colonettes, lotus beams and suspended beams are atypical of Nayak style though the attached hall and innermost compound are recent additions. Govinda Dikshitar, the minister of Nayak is believed to have built the Pushyamantapas (halls) in this temple. Achyutappa also added gift of a village to the temple, the income of which was to be utilized for the temple car festival for the goddess in Adipuram day.
  Thanjavur Marathas ruled the region during the 18th century. Pratap Singh (1736–63) was a patron of the temple after his prayer to Mahalingaswamy to marry love was fulfilled. He is believed to have donated one lakh metal lamps to the temple. His concubine Theepanachiar is believed to have personified as one of the lamps. An ornamental metal image of a lady called Pavai Nonbu holding a lamp is still present in temple. The base of the lamp has an inscription indicating the gift of Marathas to the temple.
  In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam, a South Indian monastic institution. A Saiva Siddantha library inside the temple maintains palm leaf manuscripts and Saiva literature.  The temple is one of the most visited temples in the district.
caption: A view of the temple tank
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