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33-510: The chief temple of Gajasurasamhara is at Valuvur (Vazhuvur), Tamil Nadu , where the chief icon is an eight-armed bronze Gajasurasamhara. Valuvur is one of the Atta-virattam temples, the eight sites of the heroic acts of Shiva. The Gajasurasamhara form is associated by scholars to the epithet Krittivasa ("who has skin as his garment"), used in the Vedic hymn Shri Rudram Chamakam for Rudra ,

66-455: A kapala (skullcup), the tusk and the skin of the elephant. Another eight-armed form in the same text holds a trishula , a sword, the tusk and the elephant skin in the left arms and a kapala , a shield, a ghanta (bell) and the elephant skin in the right ones. On the left side of Shiva, his consort Parvati should stand with their son Skanda in her arms, both trembling in fear of this fierce aspect of Shiva. The Suprabhedagama prescribes

99-544: A jatamukuta (matted hair crown), with a jatamandala (braided hair spreading from the head, forming a circle around it) and garlands of skulls . The jatamukuta may be embedded with skulls and durddhura flowers, while the jatamandala may be adored by Shival's usual attributes such as a snake and the crescent moon. His face is fearsome with round rolling eyes and protruding fangs. Pal describes Gajasurasamhara as "the most dynamic of all Śaiva (related to Shiva) themes as created by South Indian sculptors." The body of Shiva

132-562: A Vedic God associated with Shiva. Often, devotional hymns of the Tevaram call Shiva the one who wears the elephant hide, alluding to this incident. The Shiva Sahasranama ("The thousand names of Shiva") describe Shiva as Gajaha, the slayer of the elephant. The Kurma Purana describes the tale of Gajasurasamhara, when discussing the Krittivashvara ("The Lord who has skin as his garment") linga (the iconic form of Shiva) of Varanasi . When

165-402: A demon ( Rakshasa ) assumed the form of an elephant and terrorized Brahmins who were worshipping the linga, Shiva emerged from this linga, slew the demon, and removed the elephant skin, thereafter wearing the hide on his upper body. Another version narrates that Gajasura gained various powers by practising severe penance. However, he got proud and started harassing, robbing and killing people. Even

198-514: A lesson to arrogant sages. Shiva visits the Forest as a young naked mendicant, with the enchantress Mohini as his wife. While the sages fall for Mohini, the women wildly chase Shiva. When the sages regain their senses, they perform a black magic sacrifice, which produces an elephant-demon called Gajasura, which attacks Shiva, who slays him and wears his hide. According to the iconographical treatise Amshumadbhedagama , Gajasurasamhara-Shiva dancing inside

231-537: A ten-armed Gajasurasamhara should hold an akshamala (rosary), a sword, a shaktyayudha (power-weapon), a danda (staff), a trishula in right hands and a khatvanga (skull-staff), snake, skull, shield and a deer in the left. In sculpture, Gajasurasamhara is often pictured with eight or sixteen arms. These multiple arms are uncommon in Shiva's iconography and are exclusively used in his combative forms. In such multiple-armed images, Shiva may carry various attributes like

264-506: Is a Hindu temple located at Vazhuvur in Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu , India . The presiding deity is Shiva in the form of Veerateswarar and his consort is known as Bala Gujambigai. The village is mentioned in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram , written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Vaippu Sthalam , the 276 temples that find mention in it. As per Hindu legend, Shiva

297-472: Is a festival procession during the Tamil month of Margazhi (December- January) Thiruvadhirai festival. Gajasamhara festival during Masimagam during (February - March) followed by 10-day Brahmostavam is the major festivals in the temple. Gada (mace) The gada ( Sanskrit : गदा gadā , Kannada : ಗದೆ , Telugu : గద , Tamil : கதை , Malay : gedak , Old Tagalog : batuta ) is a mallet or blunt mace from

330-426: Is believed to have destroyed eight different demons and the eight Ashta Veeratanam temples are built signifying each of his victories. The temple is counted one of the eight where Shiva is believed to have punished the elephant taking the form of Gajasamhara . The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and few yearly festivals on its calendar. The present masonry structure

363-837: Is believed to have destroyed eight different demons namely Andakasuran, Gajasuran, Jalandasuran, Thirupuradhi, Kaman, Arjunan, Dakshan and Taaragasuran. There are Ashta Veeratanam temples built signifying each of his victories in the war, and also as places where he is believed to have performed with fury. The eight temples are: Tiruvadigai Veerattaaneswarar Temple at Thiruvadigai, Tirukkovilur Veerateshwarar Temple at Tirukoilur , Veerateswarar temple at Vazhuvur or Thirukkurukkai, Amirtagateswarar Temple at Thirukadaiyur , Vazhuvur Verateswarar Temple at Vazhuvoor , Keelaparasalur Veerateswarar Temple at Tirupariyalur, Kandeeswarar Temple at Thirukkandiyur and Tiruvirkudi Veerataneswarar Temple at Thiruvirkudi. Shiva in all these temples are described to have used bow and arrow, trident and spear. It

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396-468: Is built in the Dravidian style of architecture and is known for its exquisite bronze icons. Some of the popular bronze idols are those of Gajasamharamurti and Bhikshadana (Shiva as mendicant). Most of the inscriptions in the temple are dated from the period of Medieval Cholas from 1160 to 1276 CE. The image of Parvathi holding Murugan is a notable sculpture in the temple. As per Hindu legend, Shiva

429-490: Is held amidst music with nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like somavaram and sukravaram , fortnightly rituals like pradosham and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai , pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi . There

462-455: Is often emphasized in this posture to convey vigorous dance. In images from Karnataka , Shiva's right leg is on the elephant head and the left leg slightly lifted above to suggest dancing. In Chola sculptures as in the Valuvur and Darasuram images, the right leg often rests on the elephant's head and left leg is bent and raised above the right thigh ( utkutikasana posture). In both configurations,

495-787: Is one of the shrines of the Vaippu Sthalams sung by Tamil Saivite Nayanar Appar . The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Shaivaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed four times a day; Kalasanthi at 7:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 8:30 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: abhisheka (sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Veerateeswarar and Bala Gujambigai. The worship

528-448: Is used by practitioners of silat martial arts in the Malay world . In Indonesia the meaning of "gada" has been expanded to refer to other impact weapons including the mace , the morning star , and the flail . However, several ethnic groups of Indonesia have their own version of gada. Traditional Indonesian gada generally shaped more like Persian meel club than Indian gada. This is because

561-572: Is used in the Indian martial art Kalaripayattu . The gada is one of the traditional pieces of training equipment in Hindu physical culture, and is common in the akhara of north India. Maces of various weights and heights are used depending on the strength and skill level of the practitioner. It is believed that Lord Hanuman's gada was the largest amongst all the gadas in the world. For training purposes, one or two wooden gada ( mudgar ) are swung behind

594-399: The abhayamudra ("fear-not") gesture made by her hand. In other portrayals, Gajasurasamhara is accompanied with Parvati, their son Ganesha , attendant gana s like Nandi and Bhringi , various deities and musicians playing musical instruments and skeletal goblin attendants. Viratteswara Temple, Vazhuvur Veerateeswarar Temple (also called Vazhuvur Veerateeswarar temple )

627-521: The Indian subcontinent . Made either of wood or metal, it consists essentially of a spherical head mounted on a shaft, with a spike on the top. Outside India, the gada was also adopted in Southeast Asia , where it is still used in silat . The weapon might have Indo-Iranian origins, Old Persian also uses the word gadā to mean club, as seen in the etymology of Pasargadae . The gada is the main weapon of

660-402: The four-armed image, Shiva holds a pasha (noose) in one of the right hands and the elephant tusk in a left arm; the other arms hold the outstretched skin of the elephant. In the eight-armed form, he holds a trishula (trident), a damaru (drum), a pasha and the elephant skin in his right arms, while the one of left hands makes the vismaya mudra (sign of astonishment) and others hold

693-649: The Gods feared him. One day, Gajasura attacked the devotees of Shiva in Varanasi and Shiva appeared to rescue them and ripped the elephant's body. Valuvur, where the chief temple of Gajasurasamhara, is sometimes described as the place where the incident occurred, instead of Varanasi. Another version of the tale is given in the Varaha Purana . It relates Gajasurasamhara to Shiva's visit to the Deodar Forest ("Darukavana") to teach

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726-468: The Hindu God Hanuman . Known for his strength, Hanuman is traditionally worshipped by wrestlers in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Vishnu also carries a gada named Kaumodaki in one of his four hands. In the epic Mahabharata , the fighters Balarama , Duryodhana , Bhima , Karna , Shalya , Jarasandha and others were said to be masters of the gada. The martial art of wielding

759-401: The back in several different ways and is particularly useful for building grip strength and shoulder endurance. The Great Gama was known for extensive use of gada. Winners in a kushti contest are often awarded with a gada. Chi'ishi , a karate conditioning equipment and its exercise pattern was inspired by the gada and mudgar . The war mallets were also inspired by gada. Gada

792-430: The description in iconographical treatises where the left leg rests on the elephant's head is ignored. Gajasurasamhara is often depicted with Parvati by his side. She is often with a terrorized Skanda, looking at Shiva in fear and tightly clinging to her. Deviating from iconographical treatises in which both of them are described as terrified, some images depict a calm Parvati, reassuring her frightened son, symbolized by

825-514: The elephant" and killed the elephant and wore its skin as a garment. As per another version, the sages residing in Tharukavana wanted Shiva to repent for his act of coming as Bhikshatana and inducing their wives to get them into conjugal mood. They created an elephant to fight against Shiva. Shiva tore open the elephant, whose skin started burning. The elephant fell in the Panchamuga tank opposite to

858-469: The form of Gnangmigai faces South. The image is sported in standing posture with four hands. The temple has two precincts and all the shrines in the temple are enshrined in rectangular granite walls. The temple has other important sculptures in the panels around the sanctum. The temple dates from the time of the Medieval Cholas . The Gajasamharamurti idol was sculpted in the 11th century. The temple

891-592: The gada is known as gada-yuddha . It can either be wielded singly or in pairs, and can be handled in twenty different ways. Various gada-yuddha techniques are mentioned in the Agni Purana and Mahabharata such as aahat (आहत), prabrita (प्रभृत), kamalasan (कमलासन), oordhvargatra (ऊर्ध्वगत्र), namita (नमित), vaamadakshina (वामदक्षिण), aavritta (आवृत्त), paraavritta (परावृत्त), padoddhrita (पदोद्धृत), avaplata (अवप्लत), hansmaarga (हंसमार्ग) and vibhaag (विभाग). The gada

924-586: The great deluge, the village alone was not affected, leading to the Tamil name of Vazhuvur (the place which is not affected). The temple is located in Vazhuvur, a village 2 km (1.2 mi) away from manganallur in Mayiladuthurai - Thiruvarur road. The temple faces the East and has a five-tiered raja gopuram . The temple tank, the Panchamuga Theertham is located outside the main entrance. The sanctum houses

957-461: The image of Veeratneeswarar in the form of lingam . The sanctum has ardhamandapa before it and a Mahamandapa, the worship hall. The Mahamandapa houses the metal image of Gajasamharamurthy sported with six hands holding six different weapons and shown emanating out of elephant with elephant skin at his foot. The image is in the form of Om . The Mahamandapam also houses other metal images of Murugan , Somaskanda and Vinayagar . The shrine of Ambal in

990-403: The skin of the slain elephant, which is arranged like a prabhamandala ( aureole ) around him. The tail pips behind from Shiva's crown and his left leg is on the head of the elephant, while the right one is bent and raised above the left thigh ( utkutikasana posture). Shiva wears silk and tiger skin garments and various ornament and is deep red in colour. He may be depicted four or eight armed. In

1023-529: The temple. Shiva is believed to have dipped in the northeast part of the tank and emerged from the southwest part of the tank. The aspect of Shiva is also known as "Kirthivasa" or "one who wears an elephant skin as garment". Vazhuvur is also one of the places where Siva danced his cosmic dance to crush the demon of ignorance. Since the demon Taraka inhabited this place, the forest is named Tharuka Vanam (the forest of Taruka). The place has other names like Parakayilayam, Gananbumi, Suyathapuri and Piplaraynam. During

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1056-414: The trishula, a damaru, sword, kapala, pasha, deer, ankusha (goad), vajra (thunderbolt), arrow, gada ( mace ), khatavanga , tanka (a chisel-like weapon), bow, snake, the elephant's tusk and akshamala . His hands may be held in suchihasta mudra (gesture to draw or point out attention) or vismaya mudra. At least, two arms hold the elephant skin around the body. Gajasurasamhara is shown wearing

1089-510: Was built during the Chola dynasty during the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to Thanjavur Nayaks . The temple is maintained and administered by the Dharmapuram Aadhenam. According to Hindu mythology , once, some sages doubting the omnipotence of the god Shiva created an elephant and challenged the god to a duel. Shiva took the form of Gajasamharamurti or "slayer of

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