Pancha Bhoota Temples

Pancha Bhoota Temples

The five basic elements are earth (dharti), water (neer), fire (agni), air (vayu) and sky (aakash).

The five Shiva lingas in these temples represent the five elements.

• ·        Ekambareshwar temple
• ·        Jambukeshwar temple
• ·        Arunachaleswarar temple
• ·        Srikalahasti temple
• ·         Nataraj temple

About Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva is one of the three supreme Gods within Hinduism, other than Brahma and Vishnu. His disciples constitute, from Gods and Goddesses, to daemons like Ravana.

Lord Shiva is worshipped mostly in the form of Lingams everywhere.

The word “Shiva” stands for “Auspiciousness” and the Lingam is considered to be the symbol.

Lord Shiva is the creator. The Lingam is thus always found on the lap of yoni, representing feminism as the creative power of the Earth!

Lord Shiva is known to have several avatars, including but not limited to, Natraj – the dancing avatar, Shiva – the destroyer, etc.

Ø Ekambareswarar Temple History

The Ekambareswarar Temple is the 1st of the 32 Tevara Stalam built in the Tondai region of Southern India. Reckoned as one of the revered temple, it is the largest temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in Kanchipuram. It is referred to as one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalams signifying the 5 elements of wind, water, Fire, Earth and Space. The temple dominated the historical capital of the Pallava rulers.

History says that, once while Lord Shiva was meditating Parvati mischievously covered his eyes with her fingers which resulted in complete darkness on earth for many years. Shiva being angered by her act cursed Parvati to go to earth for penance. Parvati went to earth and created the earth linga and worshiped it under a mango tree in Kachipuram giving birth to the temple. The ancient temple has been in existence prior to the 600 AD and been praised in songs by the Saivite saints. 

ØHistory of the Jambukeshwara Temple

There is a very interesting story linked to the emergence of the Shiva Lingam here. It is said that goddess Parvathi made fun of Lord Shiva and purposely made him outraged. All the deeds of goddess Parvathi and the lord seem tricky but are for the betterment of the worlds. Hence Shiva asks Parvathi to leave Kailasam and stay on earth to do penance. It is with the intention to make her feel what effort it takes to do penance.

Goddess Parvathi happily leaves Kailasam and goes to earth to observe penance. In due course, she makes Shiva Lingam out of water to perform puja. Thus lord persuaded Mata to make Shiva Lingam with her divine hands. Hence this Lingam is associated with the element water. Goddess Parvathi comes down to earth not as a goddess but as a human form and named herself Akhilandeshwari Devi. Hence the shrine of goddess beside Jambhukeshwara is known as Akhilandeshwari Temple.  

Even the circumstances in which the name Thiruvanaikaval was given to Lord are above Human’s comprehend. Lord Shiva Himself comes down to earth to liberate an elephant and Spider who were once cursed by Lord to become what they became. The spider was said to be reborn as Kochenga Chola King, an ardent devotee of lord Shiva who even renovated this temple.

Ø History of the Arunachaleswarar Temple:

Shiva is known by devotees as Annamalayar or Arunachaleswarar. And this is believed to be the largest temple in the world dedicated to Shiva. The history of this Annamalayar temple dates back to thousand years. Mention has been made in the Thevaram and Thiruvasagam, both great works in Tamil. Bramha took the form of a swan and flew to see the crown of Siva. Unable to see the crown, Bramha saw a thazhambu flower which had decked Siva's crown falling down. He asked the flower as to the distance of Siva's crown whereby the flower replied that he had been falling for forty thousand years. Bramha, realizing that he would not be able to reach the crown asked the flower to act as a false witness.The thazhambu flower acting as a false witness declared that Brahma had seen the crown. Siva became angry at the deception and cursed that Bramha should have no temple on earth and that the thazhambu flower should not be used while praying to Lord Siva. The place where Lord Siva stood as a column of fire to eliminate the ego is Thiruvannamalai.

Ø Srikalahasti temple History

Popularly known as “Dakshina Kaashi”, Sri Kalahasti temple is located in Chittoor district, which is only 38 km away from Tirupati, one of the most famous pilgrimage spot of the country. The temple is geographically located amidst a river bank and foot of the hills. It has three huge gopurams welcoming you to the Lord’s paradise.

The inside of the temple was built in, as early as, 5^th century, while the outer area of the temple was constructed in 12th Century. Overall the temple represents a superb example of marvelous architecture from the era of Pallava dynasty. The temple as we see it today, also include contributions of wealth and knowledge from the Chola regime, in 16^thcentury.

Inside the temple, you’ll see the original contributors to the name of the temple, i.e. sri (spider), kala (a five headed snake), and hasti (elephant tusks). The detailed story will follow in the subsequent sections.

The idols of Sri, Kala and Hasti are placed just beneath the vaayu lingam, i.e. Lord Shiva’svaayu(air) avatar.

Apart from the spiritual tour, you will also be delighted to explore the temple from a tourist’s point of view. The structure is just commendable. To many believers and devotees, the Sri Kalahasti Temple provides the ultimate solace by helping them getting rid of the ill effects of Rahu and Ketu.

Ø Chidambaram, Sri Nataraja Temple History

The story of Chidambaram begins with the legend of Lord Shiva strolling into the Thillai Vanam (Vanam meaning forest and thillai trees - botanical name Exocoeria agallocha, a species of mangrove trees - which currently grows in the Pichavaram wetlands near Chidambaram. The temple sculptures depicting the Thillai trees date back to the 2nd century CE).

In the Thillai forests resided a group of saints or 'rishis' who believed in the supremacy of magic and that God can be controlled by rituals and 'mantras' or magical words. The Lord strolls in the forest with resplendent beauty and brilliance, assuming the form of 'Pitchatanadar', a simple mendicant seeking alms. He is followed by his Grace and consort who is Lord Vishnu as Mohini. The rishis and their wives are enchanted by the brilliance and the beauty of the handsome mendicant and his consort.On seeing their womenfolk enchanted, the rishis get enraged and invoke scores of 'serpents' (Sanskrit: Nāga) by performing magical rituals. The Lord as the mendicant lifts the serpents and dons them as ornaments on his matted locks, neck and waist. Further enraged, the rishis invoke a fierce tiger, which the Lord skins and dons as a shawl around his waist.Thoroughly frustrated, the rishis gather all their spiritual strength and invoke a powerful demon Muyalakan - a symbol of complete arrogance and ignorance. The Lord wearing a gentle smile, steps on the demon's back, immobilizes him and performs the Ánanda Thaandava (the dance of eternal bliss) and discloses his true form. The rishis surrender, realizing that this Lord is the truth and he is beyond magic and rituals.

Category	Lingam	Temple	Location
Land	Prithvi Lingam	Ekambareswarar Temple	Ekambaranathar Sannidhi St, Periya, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu 631502
Water	Jambu Lingam	Arulmigu jambukeswarar Akhilandeswari Temple	Thiruvanaikkaval,  Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu- 620 005
Fire	Agni Lingam Jyothi Lingam	Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple	Car St, Pavazhakundur, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu 606601
Air	Vayu Lingam	Sri Kalahastheeswara Swami Temple	Sri Kalahasti, Chittor District, Andhra Pradesh-517644
Sky	Akasha Lingam	Chidambaram, Sri Nataraja Temple	East Car Street, East Sannathi, Chidambaram, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu 608001

Pancha Bhoota Temple Timings

·       Arunachaleswarar Temple Pooja Timing

Arunachaleswar Temple daily opens at 5.30 a.m. and closes at 9.30 p.m.

Morning
	5:00 am	Temple Opening Time
	5:30 am	Gomotha Pooja
	6:00 am	Oudshakala Pooja
	8:30 am	Early Sathi Pooja
Noon
	11:00 am	Midnoon Pooja
	12:30 pm	Temple Closing Time
	3:30 pm	Temple Opening Time
	6:00 pm	Sayara chai pooja
Night
	7:30 pm	2nd Calam Pooja
	9:00 pm	Arthajama Pooja
	9:30 pm	Temple Closing Time

·       Arulmigu jambukeswarar Akhilandeswari Temple

jambukeswarar temple is opened from 5.30 a.m. to 1.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.

Pooja Timings

Pooja		Timings
1.	Ushakkala Pooja	-	6.30 A.M to 7.30 A.M
2.	Kaalasandhi Pooja	-	8.00 A.M to 8.45 A.M
3.	Uchikkala Pooja	-	11.00 A.M to 12.00 P.M
4.	Saayaraksha Pooja	-	5.00 P.M to 5.45 P.M
5.	Ardhajama Pooja	-	9.00 P.M

·       Chidambaram Nataraja Temple Timings

Dharshan Time :

Morning 6.00.a.m to 12.00 noon
Evening 5.00.p.m. to 10.00 night


Daily Pooja 

Time: 6.30.a.m. PAAL NIVEDHYAM 
[PADHUKA (Lord's footwear) being brought from palliyarai to sanctum santorum in a palanquin]

7.00.a.m. MAHA AARTHI

7.45 a.m.to 9.00.a.m. KALASANDHI POOJA ( first pooja of the day)
[During the time kalasandhi homam, spatika linga abhishekam and maha aarthi]

10.00a.m.to 11.00.a.m. IRANDAAM KAALAM ( 2nd pooja of the day)
[During the time spatika linga abhishekam & Rathna sabhapathi-Rubi Natarajar abhishekam]

11.30.a.m.to 12.00noon UCHIKAALAM (3rd pooja of the day)
[During the time spatika linga abhishekam and aarthi and the Temple will be closed]

5.15p.m. to 6.00.p.m. SAAYARAKSHAI ( 4th pooja of the day)
[During the time spatika linga abhishekam and shotasopachaara aarthi]

7.00.p.m.to 8.00.p.m. IRANDAAM KAALAM (5th pooja of the day)
[During the time spatika linga abhishekam,chidambara rahasya pooja, maha aarthi]

9.00.p.m. to 10.00.p.m. ARDHAJAAMAM (6th and last pooja of the day)
[During the time spatika linga abhishekam, maha aarthi and then PADHUKA comes back
to palliyarai in a palanquin, maha aarthi at palliyarai, chandeswarar aarthi, bhairavar aarthi, Ardhajaama sundharar aarthi]

·       Sri Kalahastheeswara Swami Temple Timings

.No	Seva	Timing
1	Suprabatham	5-30 AM
2	Sarvadarshanam	6-00 AM
3	Pradhama Kala Abhishekam	7-30 AM
4	Dwthiya Kala Abhishekam	9-00 AM
5	Ucchi kala Abhishekam	10-30 AM
6	Rudhra Homam	11-00 AM
7	Chandhi Homam	11-00 AM
8	Nityothsavam	11-00 AM
9	Nithya Kalyanam	11-30 AM
10	Prodhosha Kala Abhishekam	5-30 PM
11	Nirajana Manthra Pushpam	7-00 PM
12	Ekantha Seva	9-00 PM
13	Temple Closing time	9-00 PM (every day)  9-30 PM (on Saturday to Monday)

Abhishekam Timings:

Morning	7:30am, 9:30am and 10:30am
Evening	5:30pm
On Fridays	starts from 4:30am onwards

·       Arulmigu Ekambareswarar Temple , chennai- Pooja Timings

Arulmigu Ekambareswarar temple is opened from 6.00am – 1.00pm & 3.00pm – 8.00pm

The Five Kaala Pooja are conducted according to the Kaarana Nagama Pooja system.

Pooja Timings
Pooja	Timings
Ushakkala Pooja (Sun Rise Pooja)	06:00 A.M
Kaalasandhi Pooja	07:00 A.M
Uchikkala Poojaa (Noon Pooja)	12:00 Noon
Saayaraksha Pooja (Sunset Pooja)	06:00 P.M
Ardhajama Pooja (Night Pooja)	08:00 P.M