Thiruanaika Kshetram housing Shiva temple, the main deity is Sri Jambukeshwar Swamy, built by Chola king Ko Chenkannan, has numerous other names also. The following are few of them: Gajaarannyam, Jambukeshwaram, Jambuveeshwaram, Venn Naval vanam, Sambuvanam, Gnanakshetram, Gnanabhoomi, Dhandhivanam, Dhandhipuka koil (Dhandhi means elephant) dhandhipuha koil means elephant cannot enter the temple. It is also called as Shiva puram. Of the Panjabhoodha sthalam this is called as appusthalam. In krudhayugam an elephant was wandering in a forest filled with Venn Naval Trees unexpectedly saw a Shiva linga under a Venn Naval Tree (Naval is a small dark blue color fruit. Naval tree is a kind of tree). The elephant was a Shiva gana in his previous birth. (Due to a curse he had become an elephant and wandered in the forest) Because he was not an ordinary elephant he decided to stay there and take care of the shiva linga. Daily he used to bath in the nearby Kaveri river and bring water in his trunk and did abhishekam to the Shiva linga. Then he would go back to bring some flowers and fruits available in that forest to perform puja. This was going on for some time. Then came one spider, saw the shiva linga without a roof for protection from rain and sun. This spider was also not an ordinary spider. He was origfinally a Shiva gana, came to the world as a spider due to a curse. This spider decided to develop a roof for the shiva linga in order to protect the Lord from rain and sun. After all she was tiny creature, where he could go for bricks and other building materials. But he had another way. With his salaiva he spun a web roof over the shiva linga and felt happy and consoled that he was able to provide a shelter to his God. Next day the elephant came to perform his daily pooja, saw the spider web over the Shiva linga. He could not treat it as a shelter to the Shiva linga. Cursing the spider who spun the web over the shiva linga cleaned the same with water as usual and performed his daily pooja with flower and fruits and left the place. Then came the spider saw the place litered with flower and fruits and the spoiled roof (web)of the Shiva linga, got angry that some culprit hadinduled in such mischief and insult to the Shia linga, cleaned the place and spun a web roof over his Shiva linga again. This was going on for some days. The spider could not take it easy that someone coming daily and insulting his god. He wanted to catch hold of the culprit and punish him in such a way that the culprit should never turn his head to the direction of Shiva linga . With this determination he hid himself on the tree waited for the culprit to come. At that time the elephant came as usual for the pooja, removed the web roof and started performing his daily puja. The spider who was very anxious to punish the elephant who spoiled the roof of his Shiva linga immediately entered the trunk of the elephant and started biting him from inside the trunk. The elephant could not bear the pain. Without knowing the reason for the pain and to get rid of the same he hit his trunk to the ground with full force and fell dead. The spider who get caught inside the collapsed trunk of the elephant also died on the spot. The soul of the elephant reached Sri Kailas, the abode of Lord Shiva and became Shiva Gana again as he was relieved of his curse. But the spider whose desire to build a shelter for Shiva linga was not fulfilled, had to born again in the world as the son of a Chola King Subhadevan and his queen Kamalavathi. In this birth he was named as Ko Chengan Chola. In this birth he could remember who he was in his previous birth. He decided to fulfill his purva jenma (previous birth) desire of building a shelter to Lord Shiva. After the death of his father he became the king. Once he became king he started building a temples for lord Shiva. In that process he built seventy temples for Lord Shiva. All the temples built by him are Anai puha koilgal, i.e. elephant cannot enter the temples. May be this was due to the fact that he remembered the incidents of his previous birth. Even in Thirruanaika temple elephant cannot enter. Though the temple is very big with five prakaras, the entrance to Sanctum sanctorum is very small. Only five or six people can stand and worship the lord at a time. Elephant is a very big animal and he cannot enter the moolasthanam.
The fourth and fifth prakaras are filled with houses, so we can straight away enter the third prakara passing fifth, fourth and third towers on the entrance. The idol of the min deity Sri Jambukeshwar installed some three or four steps below ground level. From somewhere water is oozing in the sanctaum sanctorum. We can find water around the Shiva linga, the main deity. The sculptures in the temple speaks much about the artistic and imaginary capacities of the sculptors of those days.
It is said and believed that Lord Shiva himself supervised the building of the construction of the fifth prakara personally. The legend speaks asunder : While the construction works for the fifth prakara compound wall was going on an age old sanyasi with a long beard and jadamudi came there and instructed the workers as to how to do the construction work. Every day evening he used to give some holy ash ( Thiruneeru) to each workers as their wages for their work done on that day. When the workers go home and see the holy ash they would find gold exactly equal to the work done. The fifth prakara compound was constructed by giving Thiruneeru as wage it is called as Thiruneetran Madhil (madhil in Tamil means compound wall) We can find the Shiva temples built by the king Ko Chengat Chola at Nannilam, Thiruamber on Thiruvarur- Mayiladutrhurai route and at Thiruvaigal near Karaikal. King Ko Chengat chola also built one Vishnu temple. Which can be seen at Thirunariyur (Nachiar Koil). It was the custom of Chola kings that they would offer rare things whenever they got. Once Chola king Kounarkillireceived a rare pearl Garland from one of his visitorsas gift. Theking did not follow their custom of offering the rarest things to the Shiva temple. Instead he wore the same around his neck. The king daily used to bath in the river Kaveri and then go for Jambukeshwar temple for attending the puja and dharshan of Sri Jambukeshwar. After finishing his bath and was about to get out of the river, he noticed that his pearl garland slipped in the river. Then he understood that it would not be possible to search for the missing jewel in the running water of the river. Standing there he prayed to the Lord Shiva to pardon him for the mistake and accept the pearl garland as his humble offering. Praying so he reached the temple. At the temple the pujari started to bathe the idol Sri Jambukeshwar with the holy water brought from the Kaveri river. While doing so something glittering from the water pot fell on the Shiva linga . The pujari took the material in his hand and found to his great surprise that it was a garland madeupof good selected pearl. He understood that it was not ordinary jewel. May be it was the property of some king or some wealthy merchant equal in status to a king. The pujari brought the garland to the king to clarify himself weather it belonged to the king. The king checked the garland and was very much amazed that it was his own pearl garland slipped in the river kaveri and told the pujari that he only missed it in the river and miraculously it reached the Shiva linga. So it should be kept in the temple for adaorning the Shiva linga for ever. Such is the power of Sri Jambukeshwar Swamy of Thiruanaika .
Thiruanaika is located one kilometer east of Srirangam. River kollidam on the north and Sacred river Kaveri on the south running and surrounding the Sacred kshetram Thiruanaika like a garland.Thirunavukarsu Swamygall had visited the kshetramand had dharshan of Sri Jambukeshwar and sung poems in praise of the Lord Shiva and in praise of the Kshetrak Thiruanaika.
The fourth and fifth prakaras are filled with houses, so we can straight away enter the third prakara passing fifth, fourth and third towers on the entrance. The idol of the min deity Sri Jambukeshwar installed some three or four steps below ground level. From somewhere water is oozing in the sanctaum sanctorum. We can find water around the Shiva linga, the main deity. The sculptures in the temple speaks much about the artistic and imaginary capacities of the sculptors of those days.
It is said and believed that Lord Shiva himself supervised the building of the construction of the fifth prakara personally. The legend speaks asunder : While the construction works for the fifth prakara compound wall was going on an age old sanyasi with a long beard and jadamudi came there and instructed the workers as to how to do the construction work. Every day evening he used to give some holy ash ( Thiruneeru) to each workers as their wages for their work done on that day. When the workers go home and see the holy ash they would find gold exactly equal to the work done. The fifth prakara compound was constructed by giving Thiruneeru as wage it is called as Thiruneetran Madhil (madhil in Tamil means compound wall) We can find the Shiva temples built by the king Ko Chengat Chola at Nannilam, Thiruamber on Thiruvarur- Mayiladutrhurai route and at Thiruvaigal near Karaikal. King Ko Chengat chola also built one Vishnu temple. Which can be seen at Thirunariyur (Nachiar Koil). It was the custom of Chola kings that they would offer rare things whenever they got. Once Chola king Kounarkillireceived a rare pearl Garland from one of his visitorsas gift. Theking did not follow their custom of offering the rarest things to the Shiva temple. Instead he wore the same around his neck. The king daily used to bath in the river Kaveri and then go for Jambukeshwar temple for attending the puja and dharshan of Sri Jambukeshwar. After finishing his bath and was about to get out of the river, he noticed that his pearl garland slipped in the river. Then he understood that it would not be possible to search for the missing jewel in the running water of the river. Standing there he prayed to the Lord Shiva to pardon him for the mistake and accept the pearl garland as his humble offering. Praying so he reached the temple. At the temple the pujari started to bathe the idol Sri Jambukeshwar with the holy water brought from the Kaveri river. While doing so something glittering from the water pot fell on the Shiva linga . The pujari took the material in his hand and found to his great surprise that it was a garland madeupof good selected pearl. He understood that it was not ordinary jewel. May be it was the property of some king or some wealthy merchant equal in status to a king. The pujari brought the garland to the king to clarify himself weather it belonged to the king. The king checked the garland and was very much amazed that it was his own pearl garland slipped in the river kaveri and told the pujari that he only missed it in the river and miraculously it reached the Shiva linga. So it should be kept in the temple for adaorning the Shiva linga for ever. Such is the power of Sri Jambukeshwar Swamy of Thiruanaika .
Thiruanaika is located one kilometer east of Srirangam. River kollidam on the north and Sacred river Kaveri on the south running and surrounding the Sacred kshetram Thiruanaika like a garland.Thirunavukarsu Swamygall had visited the kshetramand had dharshan of Sri Jambukeshwar and sung poems in praise of the Lord Shiva and in praise of the Kshetrak Thiruanaika.
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