Tiruvarur Thyagarajaswamy Kamalambikai temple Padal petra sthalam and Sakthi peetam

The temple has the biggest chariot requiring thousands of people to draw the chariot.. The temple is spread across 35 acres and has a pond with a replica temple also stretching 35 acres.The temple is part of the saptha vidanga sthalams with the specialty of dance of the lord called ajabai nadanam here.It is also the birthplace of the  carnatic musical trinity of Thyagaraja, Muthuswamy dikshidhar and Shyama Shastri
How to reach:
Tiruvarur is a town in tiruvarur taluk and district roughly 40 kms from kumbakonam and 60 kms from tanjore. The main attraction is the temple .

There is a temple on the banks of the pond for Sri Sundarar who used to  use the pond as a deposit locker to retrive gold

History and legends:
The temple is referred to as Kamalalayam due to the pond and aroor in the pre devaram days and called tiruvarur as the lord here is called aruran,The Ambal sannidhi complex has a lot of mysticism built into it with the figures and construction all as per Srividya concept and it will not be explained.by the priests to all For example  The ambal sanidhi has an Uchishta ganapathy with   an asura neela on his lap (and his hands controlling this asura with many features which can not be simply explained here) who becomes a goddess as Ganapathy is with her , These are all part of the Srividya worship traditions

Muthuswamy dikshathar was a great exponent of carnatic music and Srividya upasaka is painted here in front of the Ambal sannidhi. He composed the famous Vaatapi Ganapathim Bhajae in the Sivan sannidhi before the Ganapathy in the praharam

 

The Thyagarajar Temple at Tiruvarur is famous for the ajapa natanam (dance without chanting), that is executed by the deity itself. According to legend, there are  seven temples which  are part of the same legend of Indra donating 7 lingams to Muchukunda Chakravarthy a Chola king who  obtained a boon from Lord Indra and wished to receive the  Sivalinga gifted to Indra by Vishnu. Indra tested the king He had six other Maragatha Lingas made, and asked Muchukunda chakravarthy to choose the right one the king chose the right Maragatha Lingam and installed it  at Tiruvarur. The other six Siva lingas were installed in Thirunallar, Thirukkuvalai, Nagapattinam, Tirukaravasal, Tiruvaimur, and Vedaranyam All the seven places are villages situated along the river Cauvery. All seven Thyagaraja images are said to dance when taken in procession (it is the bearers of the processional deity who actually dance). The temples with dance styles are regarded as Saptha Vidangam(seven dance moves) and the related temples are as under:

Tiruvarur Thyagarajar Temple
Name of the Sivalingam:               Vidhividangar
Dance form:                                       Ajabathaanam
Dance without chanting, resembling the dance of Sri Thyagaraja resting on Lord Vishnu's chest

Thirunallar Dharbaranyeswarar Temple
Name of the Sivalingam:               Nagaradangar
Dance form:                                       Unmathanathaanam
Dance of an intoxicated person

Nagapattinam Kayarohanaswamy Temple
Name of the Sivalingam:               Sundaravidangar
Dance form:                                       Vilathithaanam
Dancing like waves of sea

Thirukkaravasal Kannayariamudayar Temple
Name of the Sivalingam:               Adhividangar
Dance form:                                       Kukunathaanam
Dancing like a cock

Thirukuvalai Brahmapureeswarar Temple
Name of the Sivalingam:         Avanividangar
Dance form:                             Brunganathaanam
Dancing like a bee that hovers over a flower

Thiruvaimur Vaimoornaathar Temple
Name of the Sivalingam              Nallavidangar
Dance form:                                 Kamalanadanam
Dance like lotus that moves in a breeze

Vedaranyam Vedaranyeswarar Temple
Name of the Sivalingam:             Bhuvanivividangar
Dance form:                                 Hamsapthanathaanam
Dancing with the gait of a swan

The main Sannidhi of Lord Shiva is that of Vanmikinathar ( One who came out of the Ant hill) with Bhoga sakthi as his consort also known as Somakula  amman, padi thanda pathini or Piriyaa Vidai Amman, Appar, the 7th-century poet saint, refers to the main deity in his hymn as puttritrukondan(one who resides in the ant hill). The sthala vruksham is patiri(trumpet flower tree).

The next sanctum has the figure of Thyagarajaswamy with Shiva and parvathy and Murugan in between. The lord here is covered all the year and the left padam is revealed in Panguni uthiram as the shakthi padam and  the right padam is revealed on Arudhra day as per the prayers of Vyagrapada and Patanjali maharishi.In the southwest corner of the inner prakara Nilotpalambigai is seen blessing her child Muruga sitting on a maid’s shoulder. The ganapathy in this praharam is the oldest sculpture here and is called Vataapi ganapathy. Muthuswamy dikshatar composed his krithi Vataapi ganapathim bhaje on this deity only

The akshara peetam inside the praharam 
.
The Nava grahams are all in a straight line here and not in vakram as they have come to pray to llord shiva so no nagvagraha dosha can affect devotees in this temple. They are also located in northwest corner of 1st praharam
The major shrines in the temple are of Aananthiswarar, Neelothphalambal, Asaleswarar, Adageswarar, Varuneswarar, Annamalieswarar and Kamalambal.
The temple has many halls like. Bhaktha Katchi hall .It is located to the left of the image of Moosukuntha Nandi. The festival image of Thyagaraja arrives at this hall after the Panguni Uthiram festival.
Oonjal hall is located opposite to the Kabatha Katchi hall. The festival images of Chandrasekarar and Sekari Amman arrive at this hall during the Thiruvadhirai festival.
Thulabhara hall is named after the legend in which king Muchukundaka placed Thyagaraja image of Thiruvarur in one and all others in another plate he received from Indra (the king of celestial deities).
Purana hall is located in the northern part of the temple.
Rajanarayana hall is a public hall for localities of Thiruvaru.
Rajendra Chola hall, also called Sabapathi hall houses the museum of the temple.

The next sannidhi is of Sri Kamalambikai..

Sri Kamalambal is the shakthi here and the temple history credits this temple as the earliest in  the  whole complex. The ambal is shown with crossed legs and pasam ankusham, rudraksha and lotus in her arms. She is sitting on the tip of a needle, balancing herself and doing penance. Sri Muthuswamy dikshadar has composed 9 krithis on this diety  called nava varna krithis which people who practice Srividya say is his Gnana drishti. flowing out as compositions.