In North India we have the Pancha Kedar, five temples of Shiva in the Garhwal Region.
In the south, there are seven Shiva Temples, which are to be seen in a day.
These are called the Saptha Vidanga Sthala.
Thiruvarur Temple.Saptha Vidanga Sthala
Vidanga means, ‘not chiseled’ Saptha, Seven.
In these seven places one finds the Shiva Linga.
Muchukunda Chakravarthi was a Tamil king.
Indra, the King of the Devas sought Muchukunda’s help in defeating the Asuras and was successful in defeating the Asuras.
Indra was extremely grateful to the king.
He offered the king a gift of his choice.
Muchukunda, asked for the lingam worshipped by Indra.
Indra did not want to part with his precious lingam, but the king wouldn’t accept anything else.
Indra decided on a deception, and showed Muchukunda seven lingams and asked him to choose the one he wanted.
Muchukunda prayed to Shiva to identify the correct lingam.
Shiva was pleased and helped him identify the original lingam prayed to by Indra.
Indra was so impressed by this that he gifted all the seven lingams to the king.
Muchukunda returned to earth with the seven lingams and installed them at various places in his kingdom.
The original one he kept at the temple at Thiruvarur, and the others at Thirunallar, Vedaranyam, Thiruvaimur, Thrirukkaravasal, Thirukkuvalai and Nagapattinam.
Normally, it is the top portion of the lingam – the ellipse which is believed to be swayambhu. The base – avudayar- is made by hand. In all these seven lingams, the whole lingam – the base as well as the top portion – form a single piece, and are believed to have appeared just the same way, without being made, and hence the name. All the seven lingams are of different sizes, though they are made of the same material – maragatham – or emerald. However, it looks more like Jade than emerald, as it is translucent. The biggest one is at Thirunallar, while the one at Thiruvarur is of medium size. However, it must be mentioned that these two are the only two of the original lingams left. I am not too sure of the originality of the 5 other lingams, because at 2 temples, we were told that the originals had been stolen ages ago, and the lingams presently there had been installed by saints in their place.
In ll these temples the Navagrahas face the same direction unlike in the other temples where they face different directions.
In some temples all of them are in a Single file, while in some others they are in the usual pattern of 3’s.
These Navagrahas face the Lingam , in the former case.
In these temples Somaskanda is the Utsava Murthy,Shiva and Parvati with Muruga in the centre.
This is what Christian Neo Missionaries are attempting to do by seemingly researched, though sheer nonsense ,work about Hinduism and Christianity,in their attempt to legitimize Christianity and lure the unwary into the Christian fold.
Vatican a Shiva temple
This follows their earlier attempts to spread the canard about Jesus having visited Kashmir, learned Yoga and his grave is in Kashmir.
Please read my post on this.
Now they have gone one step further,
That Jesus had studied in Kashmir.
He was a follower of Rudra.
He,as a carpenter, built a King’s palace in India.
Jesus is Shiva and Prajapathi.
Jesus is Ishwara and this is mentioned in the Bhavishya Purana.
Jesus is mentioned in the Rig Veda.
My rebuttal.
“The Aryan invasion of India occurred around 1500 BC. The Aryans were polytheistic, bringing Vishnu, Brahma and the thousands of gods, with them. Before this, India was monotheistic. Study and dating of different sections of the Rig Veda show that the early monotheistic Semito-Dravidians called God, Rudradeva. There are 75 references to Rudra in the Rig Veda, and these segments are very early, redacted from material dated around 1800 BCE. There is also a group of hymns to him in the Yajur Veda, today called the Rudram.”
This spreads the myth of the Aryan Invasion Theory, which stands discredited.
Read my posts on this.
The reference to Shiva i very limited in the Vedas and the term Rudra is am Amsa of Shiva and not Shiva.
“It seems that the Aryans later took one of Rudra’s epithets, “shiva”, meaning “auspicious”, and over time subsumed him into the polytheistic pantheon under this name as a demi-god called Shiva. A trinity of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma was woven together by the Aryans after 1500 BCE.’
Rudra is an aspect of Shiva and not the other way around
‘Nama Sivaya cha, Siva Dharaya Cha- Sri Rudram
‘The Dravidians worshipped Linga in the temples, the Linga which was the amorphous representation of Shiva. They worshipped Linga by sprinkling it with water or milk, by offering prayers, by meditating on the deity. .. They had an idea of death and judgement after death which was the basis of moral life. But to crown all these, they had a concept of the Triad – An, the Supreme Godhead; Amma, the Goddess; and Anil, the Son. These are the later day Shiva, Shakti and Sharana of the Agamas.”[i]’
Linga worship is /was throughout India and not limited to the South.
”
This suggests a religious structure compatible with the ancient Hebrew structure, and might explain why Kashmir was visited by Moses around 1500 BCE and Jesus in the 1st century CE. The ancient Hebrew structure comprised God the Father, God the Mother, Shekinah, and God the Son.
The Spirit of God appears in the Old and New Testaments as the Hebrew feminine noun, Shekinah. Shekinah is related to the Sanskrit word for God the Mother, Shakti, from which comes the Indo-European root for our English word, “she”.
she pron. Used to refer to the woman or girl previously mentioned or implied. See Usage Note at ”
Sanskrit was earlier to English by a few thousand Years.
Judaism is later to Hinduism.
So who follow whom?
”
n the book The Serpent of Paradise by Miguel Serrano and Frank MacShane, p. 79, it is stated that the Nathanamavali records that Jesus studied with the Natha Yogis from the age of 14, was initiated as one of them, and came to know Shiva as his own Father. He went to the land of the Hebrews and willingly gave up his body at the age of 49, having mastered yoga. He then returned to India, and founded the cult of the Lingam and the Yoni in Kashmir.
It is important to note here that Jesus advocated monogamy or celibacy (Matthew 19: 11, 12). If he taught and practiced tantra, it was not a recipe for promiscuity. According to records in Kashmir, Jesus married Maryan in Pahalgam, Kashmir. They had a son called Jehoiakim, who had a son called Raj Bhishtay, according to an inscription in the temple on Shankriyacarya Hill in Srinagar, Kashmir, dated 3154 Laukika Era, or 78 AD. (Hassnain and Levi, The Fifth Gospel, pp. 247-8)”
Please read my post on Jesus in Kashmir.
Aramaic inscription from Taxila
As well as the Nathanamavali, there is further evidence that Jesus accepted Shiva as a name for the monotheistic God, while teaching that worship of the demi-gods is false. An inscription in Aramaic found in Taxila, Pakistan, describes the foreign carpenter who built the palace of King Gondophares (ruled 25 – 60 AD) from cedar and ivory as a “pious devotee of Rudradeva”. (Hassnain and Levi, The Fifth Gospel, p. 231) According to records such as the Acts of Thomas, it was St Thomas who built the palace for the king. Rudradeva was the early Semito-Dravidian name for the monotheistic God, Shiva, in the Indus Valley, before the invasion of the polytheistic Aryans in 1500 BC. In other words, it seems that the inscription is stating that St Thomas was a pious devotee of Rudradeva.
4. Bhavishya Maha Purana
In the Bhavishya Maha Purana, internally dated 115 AD, Jesus gives his name as Ishwara Putram, which translates as The Son of the Lord. Ishwara has now become in Inda a name of Shiva.
5. Prajapati as Jesus-figure in Rig Veda.
There is a prophecy about a Jesus-figure in the Purusha Hymn, the 90th hymn of the 10th book of the Rig Veda, which may date from around 1800 BC. Prajapati is the name given, which translates from the Sanskrit as Lord of Created Beings[ii], and in Hinduism represents the God of gods, the God of all creation. ”
Iswara in Sanskrit means personal God.
There is no mention of Iswara Kumara as Christ in the Bhavishya Purana.
And where it appears it refers to Kaarthikeya, Subrahmanya.
Pathetic attempt to legitimize a Religion which was framed, not founded three hundred years after the death of Jesus, whose name is not known.
At best Christians can say, we follow Vedas in part, period.
Not very much is known about the Koorma Avatar and the number of Temples for Koorma Avatar (Tortoise), when Lord Vishnu bore the weight of the Meru Mountain while churning the Milky Ocean to beget Nectar.
During this process, Lord Shiva swallowed the poison which came out of this process.
Neelneri Nathar Shiva Temple
The Tortoise Koorma, became uncontrollable an it had to be pacified by reminding that it was an Avatar of Vishnu.
Much as one would use a trained elephant to pacify an uncontrollable one, Lord Shiva took the Avatar of Koorma to pacify Vishnu.
The temple in Thiru Tandalai, near Vellore, Tamil Nadu has a Shiva Temple, where the Swayambu Lingam(self made) has the markings of tortoise skin.
Main Deity is Swayambu Lingam known as Arulmigu Neelneri nadhar and his consort known as Gyanambikai. Teertham is Omaga Teertham and Sthala Vruksham is Orilai Kuruntham.
The Moolavar is also known as Sthira Buddhi Easwarar, one who grants steadfastness of Mind.
This is a Parihara Sthala for the mentally disturbed.
As we go around the inner prakaram we see, Vinayakar, Arumugar, Soorya Chandran, Arivattaya Nayanar, Natarajar, Cochengat chozar and Siva Lingas worshiped by Vyagyapadhar and Patanjali muni.
The Deity is known as Neelneri Natahr in Tamil and is one of the 275 sthalas praised by the Nayanmars(Shiva Bhakthas)
The temple is 3 km form Thiruthuraipoondi and can also be reached from Vellore.
There is a view that there 33 Crore Devas in Hinduism.
Another view is that they are 33.
Please read my post on this under Hinduism.
There are references to Visvedevas in Mantras as in
‘Visvedevan Tharpayami’- Brahmayagnya.
Who are these Visvedevas?
One view is that this term refers to all the Devas together.
But an analysis of the mantras being used indicate that they might be different.
We say ‘Sarvan Deana Tharpayami’ Viswan Deva Tharpayami’
So they have to be different.
”
The Visvedevas (Sanskrit: विश्वेदेवाः) ( viśve-devāḥ “all-gods”) are the various Vedic gods taken together as a whole. In the Rigveda a number of hymns are addressed to them, including (according to Griffith) 1.89, 3.54-56, 4.55, 5.41-51, 6.49-52, 7.34-37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 8.27-30, 58, 83 10.31, 35, 36, 56, 57, 61-66, 92, 93, 100, 101, 109, 114, 126, 128, 137, 141, 157, 165, 181.
RV 3.54.17 addresses them as headed by Indra,
This is, ye Wise, your great and glorious title, that all ye Deities abide in Indra. (trans. Griffith)
The dichotomy between Devas and Asuras is not evident in these hymns, and Devas are invoked together with Asuras such as Mitra and Varuna.
Though a large number of devas are named in the Rig Veda only 33 devas are counted, eleven each of earth, space and heaven.[1] In later Hinduism, they form one of the nine ganadevatas (along with the Adityas, Vasus, Tushitas, Abhasvaras, Anilas, Maharajikas, Sadhyas, and Rudras). According to the Vishnu Purana, they were the sons of Vishvā, a daughter of Daksha, enumerated as follows: 1. Vasu 2. Satya 3. Kratu 4. Daksha, 5. Kala 6. Kama 7. Dhrti 8. Kuru 9. Pururavas 10. Madravas, with two others added by some, 11. Rocaka or Locana, 12. Dhvani Dhuri…
Visvedevas Mantra Rig Veda Book 7 Hymn XXXV
1. BEFRIEND us with their aids Indra and Agni, Indra and Varuna who receive oblations!
Indra and Soma give health, strength and comfort, Indra and Pusan be our help in battle.
2 Auspicious Friends to us be Bhaga, Sathsa, auspicious be Purandhi aid all Riches;
The blessing of the true and well-conducted, and Aryaman in many forms apparent.
3 Kind unto us he Maker and Sustainer, and the far-reaching Pair with God-like natures.
Auspicious unto us be Earth and Heaven, the Mountain, and the Gods’ fair invocations.
4 Favour us Agni with his face of splendour, and Varuva and Mitra and the Asvins.
Favour us noble actions of the pious, impetuous vita blow on us with favour.
5 Early invoked, may Heaven and Earth be friendly, and Air’s mid-region good for us to look on.
To us may Herbs and Forest-Trees be gracious, gracious the Lord Victorious of the region.
6 Be the God Indra with the Vasus friendly, and, with Adityas, Varuna who blesseth.
Kind, with the Rudras, be the Healer Rudra, and, with the Dames, may Tvastar kindly listen.
7 Blest unto us be Soma, and devotions, blest be the Sacrifice, the Stones for pressing.
Blest be the fixing of the sacred Pillars, blest be the tender Grass and blest the Altar.
8 May the far-seeing Sun rise up to bless us: be the four Quarters of the sky auspicious.
Auspicious be the firmly-seated Mountains, auspicious be the Rivers and the Waters.
9 May Adid through holy works be gracioas, and may the Maruts, loud in song, be friendly.
May Visnu give felicity, and Pusan, the Air that cherisheth our life, and Vayu.
10 Prosper us Savitar, the God who rescues, and let the radiant Mornings be propitious.
Auspicious to all creatures be Parjanya, auspicious be the field’s benign Protector.
11 May all the fellowship of Gods befriend us, Sarasvati, with Holy Thoughts, be gracious.
Friendly be they, the Liberal Ones who seek us, yea, those who dwell in heaven, on earth, in waters.
12 May the great Lords of Truth protect and aid us: blest to us be our horses and our cattle.
Kind be the pious skilful-handed Rbhus, kind be the Fathers at our invocations.
13 May Aja-Ekapad, the God, be gracious, gracious the Dragon of the Deep, and Ocean.
Gracious be he the swelling Child of Waters, gracious be Prsni who hath Gods to guard her.
14 So may the Rudras, Vasus, and Adityas accept the new hymn which we now are making.
May all the Holy Ones of earth and heaven, and the Cow’s offipring hear our invocation.
15 They who of Holy Gods are very holy, Immortal, knowing Law, whom man must worship,-
May these to-day give us broad paths to travel. Preserve us evermore, ye Gods, with blessings.
There is no limit to the marvels of Indian Temple architecture.
Melkadambur temple designed as Chariot.
And the closeness with which Hindus regard their Gods.
There is a temple near Kattumannar Koil on the banks of River Kollidam.
It is Amritakadeswarar temple in Melkadambur, five kilometers from Kattumannar Koil.
The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The temple is deigned like a Chariot on wheels.
Main Deity is Swayambu Lingam known as Arulmigu Amirtha kadeswarar facing east and his consort Vidhyujyothi Nayaki Amman in different sanctum. Sun rays falls on Siva Lingam on 3, 4, and 5, of Panguni Month (March and April).
Moon rays falls on Siva Lingam in the Month of Iyppasi full- moon day.
Temple Legend.
Sthala Purana says Devas and Indra, realized their mistake and worshipped Lord Siva in this place and received the nectar from Him.
Lord Siva stayed back in this place as Amirthakadeswarar.
When Indra was not able to lift the chariot temple from this place he worshipped Lord Vinayaka to help him.
Vinayaka agreed and asked Indra to install one Crore Lingam and he accepted the challenge. Due to his pride he failed in his attempt.
Indra worshipped Lord Siva who asked him to make a Siva Lingam chanting his name thousand times. Indra made Rudrakoteeswara and worshipped him.
Lord Amirthakadeswarar appeared before him and he said he wished to stay back in this place. It is believed that Indra worships Lord Siva of this temple daily.
When Devas churned the Ocean, pot of nectar was given to Indra.
They tried to consume the Amirta without worshiping Lord.
Ganesha took away the nectar pot to teach them a lesson.
Ganesha is called Aaravara Vinayagar, Boisterous Ganesha.
When Ganesha was passing through this place a drop of nectar fell down and this formed as Siva Lingam.
Hence the Shiva here is known as Amirtakadeswarar.
Lord Subramanya received the Bow from Shiva to fight Soorapadma.
He received His Spear, Vel, from His mother at Sikkil.
Aththi, mother of Devas worshiped Shva here.
Indra he Chief of Devatas did not like it.
He wanted to take away the Lord Amirthakadeswar Heavens.
He turned the temple as Chariot and pulled it.
Ganesha wanted to teach him a lesson by pressing the Chariot.
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