Temples of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry #104: Agniswarar Temple, Kanjanur

அக்னீசுவரர் திருக்கோயில், கஞ்சனூர்

Kanjanur Sukkiran

Kanjanur Sukkiran

Kanjanur Sukkiran

Kanjanur Sukkiran

Kanjanur Sukkiran

Kanjanur Sukkiran

Identified with the Navagraham deity Lord Sukkiran or Venus, this temple is a popular pilgrimage site as it is one of the nine Navagraham temples. There is no special or separate shrine for Lord Sukkiran, but Lord Sivan the presiding deity himself manifests as Lord Venus. It is a Paadal Petra Sthalam celebrated in the Thevaram. It is located on the north bank of the Kaveri near Kumbakonam. Kanjan is another name for Lord Venus and thus this village is known as Kanjanur.

Given the great antiquity of the temple, there are many legends centred around it. It is said that Lord Sivan blessed Lord Vishnu when he came here in his Vamana Avatharam after being cursed by the Asura Guru Shukracharya. Lord Agni the God of Fire, once got rid of an affliction here. Hence the name Agniswarar for the Lord here. The temple is also associated with the legend of Haradattar. Haradattar was a Sivan devotee who was born into a staunchly Vaishnavite family with the birth name Sudharshanar, and embraced Lord Sivan against his family's wishes. Lord Sivan himself is believed to have given Haradattar dharshan in the form of Dakshinamurthy. The Dakshinamurthy idol in this temple has a figure representing Haradattar at his feet in addition to the traditional Muyalagan under his right foot. Manakanchara Nayanar (மானக்கஞ்சாற நாயனார்), Chola general and one of the 63 Saivite saints was born here. His son-in-law and fellow Chola commander turned saint, Eyarkon Kalikkama Nayanar (ஏயர்கோன் கலிக்காம நாயனார்), was also closely associated with this temple. Once an ardent devotee of Lord Sivan inadvertently killed a calf and was extremely remorseful. He approached Haradattar who advised him to feed a bundle of grass to the Nandhi here, The stone Nandhi is believed to have eaten the grass. Hence the Nandhi here has been known as Pullunda Nandhi (the Nandhi that ate grass) ever since. There are many other stories including the one about Suraikai Bakthar. Suraikai (சுரைக்காய்) is bottle gourd in Tamil. Suraikai Bakthar cultivated bottle gourd for a living and distributed most of it to the poor. One day he had only one gourd left which he was saving for its seeds. Then Lord Sivan appeared in the guise of a poor beggar and asked for food. The benevolent farmer did not have the heart to say no. He cut the last gourd in half and fed the beggar. There is a special shrine here for him. It is believed that Lord Sukkiran worshipped Lord Sivan here. The sage Parasarar was given the vision of the cosmic dance here and was cured of insanity.

The temple was patronised by Medieval Chola kings who built the earliest existent granite structures. It was extensively renovated by kings of the Vijayanagar Empire in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Nayakkar have also made significant contributions.There are inscriptions from the times of Vikrama Cholan, Kulothunga Cholan I, Veera Rajendra Cholan and Krishnadevaraya, the Vijayanagar emperor.

It has a 5 tiered rajagopuram and two prakarams. The sivalingam here absorbs the oil poured on it during abhishekam. It is a self manifested Suyambulingam. The temple and the deity face east but the rajagopuram faces south. The arthamandapam has a peculiar architecture and is called the Vavval Nethi (bat's forehead) mandapam. The sthala virutcham is the Purasu or Pala tree, a subspecies of the Jack tree. The main theerthams are the Agni Theertham and Parasara Theertham tanks. The major festivals are the Maasi Magam, Aadi Pooram as well as the Haradattar Festival in January. It is a Paadal Petra sthalam and one of the seven Saptha Sthana Sthalams of Kanjanur.

This is the 90th Paadal Petra Sthalam and the 36th on the northern bank of the Kaveri. Thirunavukkarasar or Appar rendered the pathigam or decad during his visit here in the early 7th century. He stopped here on his way to Thirukodikkaa from Thirumanancheri. He sings thus:

மூவிலைநற் சூலம்வல னேந்தி னானை

மூன்றுசுடர்க் கண்ணானை மூர்த்தி தன்னை

நாவலனை நரைவிடையொன் றேறு வானை நால்வேத மாறங்க மாயி னானை

ஆவினிலைந் துகந்தானை அமரர் கோவைஅயன்றிருமா லானானை அனலோன் போற்றுங்

காவலனைக் கஞ்சனூ ராண்ட கோவைக்

கற்பகத்தைக் கண்ணாரக் கண்டுய்ந் தேனே

(He who holds a three-leaved trident in His right hand; He is triple-eyed; He is the Moorthi; He is the Poet; He rides a white Bull; He is the four Vedas and the six Angas; He is the master of the five actions. He is the king of the Devar. He is praised by Brahma, Vishnu and Agni, the Lord of Fire. He is our protector. He is benevolent like the karpagam tree. He is the king of Kanjanur. I saw him to my eyes' content and felt deeply blessed)

The temple belongs to the HR and CE but the Madurai Thirugnana Sambantha Swamigal Adheenam retains a direct role in its day to day administration. The maintenance can be better.

It is located about 111km or 2 hours east of Thiruchirapalli and 130 km or 3 hours south of Pondicherry. It is close to Kumbakonam and just 18 km or 30 minutes east of it. We visited in June 2025. We were based in Kumbakonam.

Sources:

Dinamalar Temples - Agneeswarar Kanjanur (Tamil)

N. Chockalingam 1971, Census of India 1961. Volume IX. Part XI -D. Temples of Tamil Nadu Page 160

Shaivam.org -Thevaram

Courtesy Google Maps