Main God:
Arulmigu Sri Neelakandeswarar
Location:
Sri Neelakandeswarar Temple, Tiruneelakudi-612 108, Tiruvidaimarudur Taluk, Thanjavur district.
Festivals:
18 day Chithirai Brahmmotsavam in April – May established by Sage Markandeya with procession of Lord not only around Tiruneelakudi but also around the surrounding 18 villages each day and considered very important among the devotees ending at Elandurai ( Pavundarikapuram) village; Margazhi Tiruvadhirai in December-January; Aadipooram in July-August; Karthikai in November-December are the main festivals of the temple. Also other days of importance as monthly Pradosha days, Deepavali, Pongal, Tamil and English New Year days are celebrated in the temple with special Pujas and Aaradhanas, Abishek etc.
Worship Timings:
The temple is open from 6.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. and from 5.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m.
History:
Those following the Yoga Marga, Tiruneelakudi is the place to begin with as Mooladhara sthala. There are six Aadharas known as Mooladhara, Swadishtana, Manipooraka, Anagatha, Vishuddi and Aagna in the human body. The efforts to raise the Kundalini Shakti begin from the Mooladhara. When Sage Markandeya determined to escape death, Sage Naradha advised him to surrender to Lord of Tiruneelakudi to win the wish. Markandeya scrupulously followed Naradas’s advice and was deeply merged in penance. Lord appeared before him and asked what he wished. As begged by the sage, Lord granted him Immortality – Chiranjeevi – boon to Markandeya.
As a token of his gratitude to his Lord granting him an endless lease of life, Sage Markandeya took Lord in a palanquin to Ilandulai, Enadhimangalam, Tirunageswaram, Tirupuvanam, Tiruvidaimarudur and Maruthuvakudi and other places.
