Swetharanyeswarar Temple / Mercury God / Budhan Temple - Thiruvenkaadu

Main Deity : Swetaranyeswarar

Goddess : Bhrama Vidya Nayaki
Holy Tree : Alamaram
Holy Water : Surya Theertham
Color : Green

Gem Stone : Emerald

Mercury is the planet for education.Its position should be good in one's astrological chart to get basic education to specialized one.A special temple called Swetharanyeswarar Temple in Thiruvenkadu in Nagapattinam district is having separate temple for navagraga Mercury.

Thiruvenkadu, one of the navagraha sthalams, is the Budhan sthalam dedicated to Planet Mercury. Thiruvenkadu’s Sanskrit name is Shwetaranya and both literally mean – sacred white forest. This is also called Adhi Chidambaram and the Chidambara Rahasyam is also here. As seen in Chidambaram, Vishnu is near Nataraja. Special worship services are offered to Natarajar and the associated Spatikalingam, as in Chidambaram.

The Lord is Shwetaranyeswarar and His consort is Brahma Vidyambal. Indran, Airvatam, Budhan, Suryan and Chandran are said to have worshipped Shiva here. Thiruvenkadu is one of the six places considered to be equivalent to Kasi. The other five are Rameswaram, Srivanchiyam, Gaya, Thiriveni Sangamam & Thilatharpanapuri..This is one among the 51 shakthi peedams. This place is also called aathi chidambaram.For good education one has to worship Bramma Vidyambigai Amman.

It is situated 15 kilometers away from Vaitheeswaran Koil, on the Sirkali – Poompuhar road. Here the Lord is Shwetaranyeswarar and His consort is Brahma Vidyambal.  Indran, Airavatam, Budhan, Suryan and Chandran are said to have worshipped Shiva here. Thiruvenkadu is one of the six places considered to be equivalent to Kasi.  The other five are  Rameswaram, Srivanchiyam, Gaya, Thiriveni Sangamam & Thilatharpanapuri..This is one among  the 51 shakthi peedams. This place is also called aathi chidambaram.For good education one has to worship Bramma Vidyambigai Amman.  

The Soma Theertham and The Surya Theertham created by the Sun and the Moon are of great significance here. It is believed that the Soma Kundam and Surya Kundam referred to in Silappathihaaram refer to these tanks. Vilvam and Konrai are the other Sthala vrikshams here.

Swetharanyeswarar Temple enshrines a separate sanctum sanctorum for Bhudhan or Bhudan, one the nine Navagrahas and the bestower of wisdom and wealth. For good children one has to worship mercury after taking bath in place called chandra pushkarani related to mercury's father navagraga moon.By worshiping navagraga mercury one can excel in subjects like astrology, music,maths,medicine, reading and writing in multiple languages.

Amman here is called Brammavithyanayagi. Rudra patham called rudra gaya is under vadaval aala virutcham in this temple. This is said to be removing pithru dosha of 21 generations. Nerve related problems are solved.Speech will be improved.This temple is said to be more than 2000 years old.

Marutwasura, an asura, was troubling the Rishis and the people of Thiruvenkadu. The people prayed to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva sent Nandi (Bull) – his vahana, to fight the demon. Marutwasura was defeated by Nandi and thrown into the sea. Marutwasura through his penance obtained sula – from Lord Shiva. The demon then returned with greater intensity to attack the innocent people. Once again, at the request of the devotees, Shiva sent Nandi. However, on this occasion, Nandi could not fight the demon as the demon had the Sula of Shiva. The demon caused wounds on Nandi’s back with the Sula. The idol of Nandi which bears scars on its body is seen here.

An angry Shiva opened his Third Eye and killed the demon. The idol of Aghoramurthy, a manifestation of Shiva’s anger, is installed in Thiruvenkadu. Worshiping Aghoramurthy, especially on Sunday nights is considered important and special.

There is also another story of Swetaketu associated with Thiruvenkadu. Swetaketu’s story is similar to that of Markendaiyan. Swetaketu was destined to die at the end of his eight year but the Lord prevented Yama from taking His devotee’s life.

Lord Shiva is known to have performed his seven forms of dance or Tandavam viz Ananda tandavam, Sandhya tandavam, Samhara tandavam, Tripuranta tandavam, Urdhva tandavam, Bhujanga tandavam and Lalita tandavam here. The three holy tanks here, known as Agni Theertham, Surya Theertham and Chandra Theertham are believed to have been created out of the three drops which fell from Lord Shiva’s eyes when he was dancing. Another rare feature is that the deity is present here with five faces viz Easanam, Tatpurusham, Aghoram, Vamadevam and Sadyojatam. They represent direction and an aspect of Lord Shiva. Easanam is facing the sky and represents purity, Vamdevam faces north and represents sustenance, Tatpurisha faces east and represents spirituality that has destroyed the ego, Aghoram faces south and represents the destructive and regenerative aspect of Shiva, Sadyojatam faces west and represents creation

Thiruvengadu has the pride of being sung by the Great Four, Thirugnanasambandar, Thirunavukkarasar, Sundarar and Manickavasagar. It is in Thiruvengadu Pattinathar had Sivadiksha.

Deities :
Swadharanyeswarar, Nataraja, Agoramurthy, Brahmavidyambal, Swetha Mahakali and Maha Durga. Of the 64 Murthas of Lord Shiva, the Agoramurthy form is here. Vishnu has a place near the Nataraja here as in Chidambaram. Indira, Iravadha (the white elephant) Vishnu, Sun, Moon, Agni (fire) worshipped the Lord. The presiding deity is Swedharanyeshwarar and his consort is Brahmavidya nayaki. The Lord Bhuda faces North East direction. A temple for Chandra (moon) the father of Mercury is just opposite to the Bhuda Shrine.

Pooja:
The native of a horoscope may suffer from lack of progeny, nervous problems and may not do well in academics and other arts, if Budhan is unfavourably placed. Worshiping Budhan on Wednesdays here will alleviate the problems occurring out of Budhan dosham. Malefic effect of Budhan can cause problems related to respiration like asthma and bronchitis, speech impediments and nervous disorders. Budhan is considered as the wisest of all the planets. Budhan is associated with intellect and knowledge; hence those who are not doing well in studies should worship Budhan here. Budhan blesses one with good education, knowledge, eloquence, music, astrology, mathematics, sculpture, medicine, scholarship in languages. Offer Green cloth & Full Green Moong Daal (pachchai paruppu) to Budhan here.

Temple Timings:
The temple is opened from 6 AM to 12.00 PM and 4 PM to 9 PM

How to reach Swetharanyeswarar Temple at Thiruvenkadu:
Swetharanyeswarar Temple is situated 23 kilometers away from Mayiladuthurai, on the Sirkali – Poompuhar linking road. The temple is 10 km from Sirkazhi and 59 km from Kumbakonam.