Adi Kumbeswarar Temple

Adi Kumbeswarar Temple is the largest Shiva temple in Kumbakonam and stands at the centre of the town. Shiva is worshipped here as Adi Kumbeswarar, in the form of a lingam, with his consort Parvati as Mangalambigai. The deity is praised in the 7th-century Tevaram hymns.

Tradition

The town takes its name from this temple's legend. According to tradition, the pot (kumbha) of Brahma, holding the seed of all life, was carried away by a great flood and came to rest here after Shiva struck it with an arrow. The nectar is believed to have fallen into the Mahamaham tank and the Potramarai tank, and the Mahamaham festival commemorates this. The lingam is believed to have been made by Shiva himself from the nectar mixed with sand.

History

The temple dates from the Chola period in the 9th century. It was expanded under the Vijayanagara rulers and the Thanjavur Nayaks in the 15th to 17th centuries. It is administered today by the Tamil Nadu HR&CE Department.

Architecture

The temple has three concentric courtyards laid out along an east–west axis, entered through tall gateway towers, with the tallest on the east. A long colonnaded corridor leads to the inner shrines. The temple's Navaratri Mandapam has the 27 stars and 12 signs of the zodiac carved into a single block of stone. The temple also keeps a collection of silver vehicles used to carry the deities in festival processions.

Mahamaham

It is one of the 12 Shiva temples connected with the Mahamaham festival, held at the Mahamaham tank about once every 12 years. Masi Magam, in the Tamil month of Masi (February–March), is the temple's most important yearly festival.