AGASTYA AND THE ANONYMOUS LINGAS

Sneak Peek:

Would you believe if I say that Sage Agastya worshipped these mysterious lingas in the days of yore?

Do you know that an unfathomable link persists between the millennium-old Marundeeswarar temple in Thiruvanmiyur, South Chennai, and these anonymous lingas located in the Tiruvallur District of Tamil Nadu?

Continue reading to learn the whole story…

The Anonymous Lingas:

Many years ago, I happened to watch one of the episodes of a travel series named ‘Payanam’ on Makkal-TV, a Tamil TV channel. This episode was about the numerous Shiva-Lingas lying scattered along a humble riparian stretch on the holy bank of Kosasthalaiyar (i.e. River Kosasthalai), which flows through the northernmost districts of Tamil Nadu. If my memory serves me correctly, the show anchor, Dr C. Karthikeyan, an Assistant Professor, mentioned that there were approximately 108 Lingas. Most of these Lingas stood on bare ground in the company of a Nandi (Lord Siva’s bull-vehicle); some were half-buried in the sand, and a few were in a dilapidated condition. The anchor reported that there was absolutely no clue about the history of these Lingas.

Tracing THEIR History:

On hearing the words ‘Kosasthalai‘ and ‘108 Lingas’, a spark suddenly flashed in my mind, and I recollected a piece of information that I had once read in a book about the famous temple of Lord Marundeeswarar and Goddess Tripurasundari in Thiruvanmiyur. I immediately searched among my collection of books and found the paperback titled ‘Thiruvanmiyur Sri Marundeeswara Temple’ (first English edition, Year 2002, Page No. 92), authored by Mr M. Rajagopalan. To my delight, I spotted the following details about the 108 lingas installed near Kala-Bhairava, at the north-eastern portion of the mandapa (pillared-hall) that houses Lord Marundeeswara’s garbha-griha (sanctum sanctorum):

Sage Agastya swallowed an Ocean to enable Indra to trace Vridhasura. In the process, he has caused the death of a large number of creatures living in the sea. As a result, he was afflicted by colic. Agastya was ordained by Lord Subramanya of Tiruthani to perform a penance. He fashioned a river with the help of Darba grass (Kosasthalai river) in Tondainad. He and his disciples installed 108 Sivalingas on its banks and propitiated them. Later he came to Thiruvanmiyur and installed exact replicas of those 108 lingas. These lingas are found in the main mandap of the Marundeeswara temple. (Source: Sivamanjari. Part IV. PP. 579-580 by Poosai Arunavasanthan).

Location of the Lingas:

After watching the program, I contacted Makkal TV and obtained the phone number of Mr Ruben Jay, who was in charge of the ‘Payanam’ program. Then I called and informed him about the pertinent story of the concerned Shiva Lingas. In turn, he briefed me that the specific site is 3 km away after taking a left from Koppur on the Poonamallee–Tiruvallur route. Rather, that was what I understood from what Mr Ruben told me then. I could only vaguely recall now that Mr Ruben had then mentioned that the site was actually a Kuppam (fishermen’s area) on the bank of the Kosasthalaiyar. Again, in August 2018, I pinged Mr Ruben on WhatsApp, requesting that he share more information on the site’s location. In his prompt and polite reply, he stated that he did not possess any document or notes about the ‘Payanam’ project for further reference; however, he mentioned that the lingas were found in a Mānthōppu (Mango orchard).

Closing Message:

Will these legendary lingas remain at the mercy of the sky, or will they manage to secure a shelter for themselves? Let us wait and see. In the meantime, please check out my next post, which decodes a popular Harappan Seal.

End-Note:

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