Chayavaneswara Temple in Tamilnadu
The Chayavaneswara temple in Tamilnadu enshrines Lord Chayavaneswara (Lord Siva) located at Chayavanam about a mile away from Kaveripatnam where river Cauvery meets the sea. The Chayavaneswara temple is a famous pilgrimage centre in Tamilnadu. This Chayavaneswara temple is very ancient temple in Tamilnadu state.
It is believed that having a holy dip at the meeting of a river with the sea gets rid off all sins and makes on pure through heart and meet the Supreme Lord Shiva.
History of Chayavaneswara Temple:
There is an interesting legend attached with this Chayavaneswara temple who is known as Iyarpagai Nayanar, one of the sixty-three Nayanmars or Saivite saints of the South. Iyarpagai Nayanar used to spend his wealth lavishly for construction of temples feeding sadhus, and was known for his charitable nature towards sadhus and earned a repute of feeding them well and satisfying all their desires. And once in that process an old man approached Nayanar and requested him to send his wife with him as a gift, without any hesitation Iyarpagai Nayanar gratified old man’s desire by insisting his wife to follow sadhu. This created much turmoil among his relatives.
Then the old man immediately changed into Lord Shiva and praised Iyarpagai Nayanar for his generous devotion towards Saivite saints and blessed him with liberation. This reveals that Lord Shiva tests the depth of devotion of his devotees and rewards them when they stand the test.