Thirukkandiyur

Thirukkandiyur is traditionally enumerated as number 5 among the 108 Divya Desams — the sacred abodes of Sri Maha Vishnu sung by the Alvars.

This kshetram is on the banks of the river Kaveri. It is foru miles to the north of Thanjavur. There are three theerthams here viz. Kanda theertham, Kaala theertham and Gadha theertham. The holy tree sthala viruksham) of this place is Asvattam, vilvam i.e. banyan): God here is known as Harasapaharan and Balinathan. The vimanm is in the form of a lotus (Kamalakruti). The God is seen in a standing posture. By the side of this temple there is a temple for Kamalasanan i.e. Brahma. He is seen in a posture as if he is worshipping Lord Vishnu. Almost opposite is a temple for Siva. The face of the idol of Lord Siva reflects a sense of relief and happiness perhaps as this is the place where he was able to get rid of the curse of Lord Brahma. The Goddess is known as Kamalavalli Thayar. God here appeared before Brahma, Siva, Brighu and Agasthiar. Theis place is known as Mumurthi mukthi sthalam i.e. a divyadesam where all the three Lords viz. Trinity can be worshipped and blessings earned.

The Perumal here is known as Harasapaharan. The sthala puranam of this place is related in Brahmanda Puranam Uthara bagam II to V chapters. This is the place where Sriyahpathi Sarveswaran Lord Narayana showed to the world that He is the one who solves problems for all, including Lord Siva. This is one of the places which is held in high regard both by Saivites and Vaishnavites. Yet another unique feature of this place is that it is the only place where there is temple for each one of the Trimurthis. In the whole country, there are only three places where there are temples for Lord Brahma viz. at Pushkaram, at Badri

and Kandiyur. But only at Kandiyur are there temples for all the three Lords in the Trinity.

This place‘is severally known as Kandana kshetra, Bali kshetra. It is also known as Siddhi kshetra as sincere prayers of the devotees are answered here. it is known as Kandana kshetra because it is believed that even if one thinks of this kshetra and stands facing the direction of this place and bows down in reverence to the Lord there, all the sins will be wiped out. Hence it is known as Kandana kshetra i.e. Kandanam meaning destruction. Once upon a time, Bali chakravarthi is believed to have rennovated this temple. Hence it is also known as Bali kshetra. The Lord is also known as Bali Natha and the theertham is also known as bali theertha.