Thilatharpanapuri
This temple we went during our grand daughters aksharaabhyasam (Aksharaabhyasam or Akshara abhyaasam or Vidyaarambham is a traditional religious function in which the child is given initiation of education so that the child is ready to receive formal education) in Koothanoor Saraswathy temple .
Swarnavalli sametha Mukthiswarar temple is located at Thilatharpanapuri 2.6kms from Koothanur. Koothanoor is near Poonthottam which is on Mayavaram — Tiruvarur Road. Here you can see a Vinayakar with a Human face.
This temple is one among the 276 Paadal petra Shivalayam. Thirugnanasambandar has sung the glory of this Lord .
This temple has a vast area in front with koshala and horses .The Adi Vinayagar temple is outside the main temple usually Lord Vinayagar will be the first shrine within any temple.
The priest while telling the sthalapurana told us as sun and moon together came and worshipped the Lord Shiva here , so it is considered as Amavasai on all days and pitru sradham can be done any day of visit .
Rama performed tharpanam (ritual of paying tribute to ancestors) for Dasaratha at various places by placing four pindams (rice balls). However, to his dismay the pindams turned into worms each time he performed the ritual. A worried Rama prayed to Lord Shiva, who advises Rama to go to mantharavanam (manthaaram is the flower of the coral tree, one of the five special trees of heaven) and offer his prayers to Him (Shiva) there. He was instructed to take bath in the Arasalar river near there, before performing the Pitru Tharpanam. Rama did as instructed. The four pindams that until now were turning into worms at other places, to his amazement, became four Lingams. Dasaratha Maharaja thus attained mukthi (salvation) and hence the name of the deity here is Muktheeswarar.
This Temple is Also Known as Thilatharpanapuri or Adhi Vinayakar Temple or Nara Mukha Pillaiyar .
Adhi Vinayagar Temple is in Muktheeswarar temple at Thilatharpanapuri, TamilNadu which is near by Koothanoor in the Mayavaram Tiruvarur road.
This is the unique temple with the Sri Ganesha without elephant head. This is the ancient form of Vinayagar. In this temple devotees are doing Thila Tharpana ritual which is the Hindu ritual of Pithur Karmas.
The name Thilatharpanapuri comes from two words thil meaning Gingely and tharpana is the Hindu ritual of performing pithru karmas (ritual of paying tribute to ancestors) to ones ancestors. It is also known as Sithalapathy.
There are 7 sthalams for performing these rituals Kasi, Rameswaram, Srivanchiyam, Thiruvenkadu, Gaya, Thiriveni Sangamam and Thilatharpanapuri.
It is said that Sri Rama performed tharpanam for his father Dasaratha at this place. This place is considered equivalent to Kasi or Rameswaram. Performing tharpanam here on Amavasya day is considered special. This is a Mukthikshetram.
The shrine for Aadhi Vinayakar (also known as Nara mukha vinayakar) is just outside the main temple. Here you can see Ganesha with a human head and hence the name Naramukha vinayakar.
The story of Shiva beheading Naramukha Vinayaka who was created by Goddess Parvati and then replacing the head with an elephant head is well known. What is less known is, Lord Shiva had instructed his troops to fetch the head of anyone found sleeping with his head placed towards North. They found this elephant sleeping with its head towards North. Lord Shiva named the boy Ganapati – meaning commander of his troops and granted a boon that Ganapati shall be worshipped by everybody before starting anything new.
This is the only type of Vinayagar where He has a human face. This is supposed to be the First Vinayagar that Goddess Parvathi created.
Nearby temples are Koothanoor Sarawathy temple , Thirumiyachur Lalithambigai temple , Thirubampuram Raghu Kethu sthalam.
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