Sri Naganathaswamy temple at Thirunageswaram, kshetra for Raaghu in Kumbakonam, attracts thousands of devotees throughout the year. Legend has it that Raaghu worshipped Naganathaswamy and got rid of his curse. Occupying the south-west corner of the temple, the planet god in the company of his consorts Nagavalli and Nagakanni, is seen with a human face instead of the serpent visage one finds in other shrines. The transition of Raaghu (Peyarchi) is celebrated in a grand manner, when the deity is taken in a procession on Sesha Vahanam.
The sprawling temple has two prakaras, one of them around the principal deity Naganathaswamy. Being an ancient temple, built by Kandaraditha Cholan and renovated by Achuthappa Nayak, the prakaras were laid with bricks. Devotees found it difficult to walk, particularly on rainy days. Thanks to a munificent donor from Bangalore, granite slabs have been laid around both prakaras.
New pathways
The eight-month work has been completed and the prakaras measuring 36,000 sq.ft. were dedicated to the Lord at a function held at the temple on Monday last. S. Mohana Sundaram, assistant commissioner and executive officer, said that the newly laid pathways are sure enhance the look of the temple and give it a new lease of life. Jayaram Sarma, architect, said that the scientific aspect had been taken care of to avoid stagnation of water. Rain water harvesting facility and channels have been provided for the abishekam water to drain. Rough granite has been fixed on sand bed to a height of four inches.
“Granite is a natural material and will last long,” Mr. Sarma said. Dr. K. Venkatesan, Founder and Chief Patron, Vaastu Foundation, Haresh Vaswani, Vice-chairman, Platinum Corporation, Dubai, and Varun Manian, Managing Director, NAPC Properties participated in the function.
