I came to know of this temple on Oct 19 and visited this temple on Oct 20, 2009!!!
Thirupattur (or Thirupidavur) is around 35 km from Trichy (a 6 km detour from the Trichy - Madras highway close to Siruganur) and 16 km from Samayapuram (Mariamman temple). The presiding deity here is Lord Shiva in the name of Brahmapureeswarar. As the name goes, the temple has an association with Lord Brahma too!!
Legend goes that a bit of arrogance crept into Lord Brahma's (the creator - in the holy Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) head. Lord Shiva wanted to teach Him a lesson and hence, He cut one of Lord Brahma's heads and cursed Him to wander in the Bhoolokha (or Earth). Lord Brahma, got relieved of His curse here (at Thirupattoor) by installing 12 Shiva Lingas and worshipping Lord Shiva. Because of too much wandering, Lord Brahma had lost his complexion and good appearance and Goddess Parvathi blessed Him here to relieve Him off His pains too. So the Shiva here is called Brahmapureeswarar and the Goddess is called Brahma Sampath Gowri (The one who gave Brahma's wealth back) or simply BrahmaNayagi.
There is a separate shrine of Lord Brahma (really majestic of about 6 ft by 5 ft) sitting in Padmasana, with Vedas, Rudraksha and Lotus in His hands. The Brahma here can change one's destiny if the requests of the devotee are genuine!!! The popular pooja here is the turmeric Abhishekam that happens in the noon (we couldn't see it this time), when He will look His majestic best.
One more speciality in this temple is the presence of "Jeeva Samathi" of Sri Pathanjali (the one who authored Yoga Suthram).
One more speciality in this temple is the presence of "Jeeva Samathi" of Sri Pathanjali (the one who authored Yoga Suthram).
There are shrines for Dakhshinamoorthy, Karpaga Vinayagar, Shanmukha nathar, Goddess Durga and Chandikeshwarar. There is a separate shrine for Goddess BrahmaNayagi.
A separate Brindhavana (with a pond) hosts many of the 12 Shiva Lingas that Brahma had installed. The Lingas that Brahma had installed are 1. Pazhamalai nathar 2. Pathala Lingam 3. Thayumanavar 4. Ekambareswarar 5. Kalathinathar 6. Arunachaleswarar 7. Jambukeswarar 8. Mandooka nathar 9. Kailasa nathar. 10. 11. 12.
I forgot the remaining three :(. Sorry about the same. I will update it when I remember it or after I visit the temple next time.
There is another thing to be noted about this temple. The sanctum sanctorum (of Brahmapureeswarar) is around 100 m (300 ft) from the main entrance and there are 6 more entrances between and yet the sanctum is filled with natural light and the main deity can be seen clearly from the main entrance. Also, sunlight falls directly on the deity three days in a year!!
Definitely a must visit temple. I wish I can visit this temple every time I visit Samayapuram (which I do often :))
Cheers!!
