Swarnapureeswarar Temple, Sembanarkoil

Swarnapureeswarar Temple is the 42nd Shiva Sthalam on the southern bank of the Cauveri River in Chozha Nadu (Thenkarai), and one of 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams. Lord Shiva is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifesting) in this temple. This temple is considered one of the Maadak Koils erected by King Kochengat Cholan. This east-facing temple lacks a central tower (Rajagopuram), but it does have a lovely arch at the entry. The temple has one corridor and no flagpost. The last consecration ritual (Kumbabishekam) occurred in 2007.

History

This temple contains six stone inscriptions from the Chola Kings Kulothungan, Rajathirajan, and King Saraboji of Tanjure. This location has various historical names, including Lakshmi Puri, Indirapuri, and Skandapuri. There are several reasons why this location was given the name Sembanarkoil. One is that Chola kings erected and rebuilt this temple, which gave it the name “Sembian Palli” (“Sembilan” is another name for Cholas, and “Palli” meaning hamlet).
Another reason is that the ceiling of Lord Shiva’s sanctum tower was previously thought to have been fashioned from several gold (“Sempon” in Tamil) sheets.
Another argument is that the Swayambu lingam at this temple used to glitter like gold. For this reason, the Lord is also known as “Sri Semponpalliyar.”

The village surrounding the temple is usually referred to by the temple’s name rather than a separate name. Following this tradition, the town is known as Sembanar Koil.

Swarnapureeswarar Temple Poojas and Celebrations

Friday poojas, Nalvar’s Guru pooja, Pradosha worship, Natarajar abhishekam, and Karthigai Somavara worship with 108 Sangu Abhishekam are all great events in Manivasagam Mandram.

Swarnapureeswarar Temple Deities

• Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy
• Prakasa Vinayakar
• Murugan with his consorts
• Natarajar
• Somaskandar
• Chandrasekar
• Surya Maha Ganapathy
• Surya Lingam
• Chandra Lingam
• Nalvar
• Srinivasa Perumal
• Suryan, Sapthamathas
• Yoga Sastha, Pitchandavar
• Kasi Viswanathar,
• Balasubramaniar
• Katchinathar
• Vanadurgai
• Gajalakshmi
• Jeshtadevi
• Veer

The “koshtam” (the area surrounding the sanctum sanctorum) contains idols of Indira Ganapathy, Dakshinamurthy, Arthanareeswarar, and Durgai. There are idols of King Kulothunga Cholan and his minister in the passageway.

Swarnapureeswarar Temple Timings:

Swarnapureeswarar Temple, Sembanarkoil Opens from 8-12.30am/5.00-8pm.

Swarnapureeswarar Temple Location

Thiruchemponpalli is located approximately 10 kilometers from Mayiladuthurai on the Mayiladuthurai-Porayar route.

How to reach:

Sembanarkoil is on the bus route from Mayiladuthurai to Akkur Road. The town bus from Mayiladuthurai to Akkur travels by this location.

Sembanarkoil is located 11 km from Mayiladuthurai, 20.44 km from Sirkazhi, 32 km from Karaikal, 45 km from Kumbakonam, 87 km from Thanjavur, and 259 km from Chennai.
The nearest railway station is Mayiladuthurai. For more details visit the official page of liturgical temples to know abouttemples in Tamilnadu.