GARBHARAKSHAMBIKA SAMETA SHRI MULLAIVANA NATHAR

STORY OF MULLAIVANA NATHAR
Lord Shiva is mainly worshipped in the form of a Shiva linga.
The shiva lingam of the presiding deity, Lord Mullaivana nathar in the main sanctum of this temple is a Swayambu (self-manifested ) Lingam,
It is one out of the 64 in the world.
In the Shiva lingam one can see even today the impression of jasmine creepers which once covered the Shiva lingam. The place must have been a jasmine garden once upon a time. Hence the Shiva at this place is called as Mullaivana Nathar (Lord of the Jasmine Garden).
Mullai (Jasmine flower) also known as Madhvi or Vasanti in Sanskrit, is the favourite flower of this deity.
The Sthala Vriksham* in this temple is the Mullai creeper
(Every South Indian temple has its own tree - the sthala vriksham. The names of each temple's tree are included in the agamas, descriptive texts)
The Lingam of Lord Mullaivana Nathar is made up of ant hill mud. Therefore there is no water abhisekam for this Lord. Instead, the Lingam is merely pasted with a kind of must called "Punuhu" in tamil.
It is told that worshipping the main deity Lord Mullaivana Nathar (God Shiva) will cure all kinds of skin diseases.

Thirukarugavur is the abode of Goddess Garbharakshambika and Lord Mullaivana nathar Garbharakshambika means “The Mother Who Protects the Womb”. The name of the place itself brings out the significance of the temple. A remarkable feature of the temple which distinguishes this temple from the innumerable other shrines of our land is that the Goddess Sri Garbharakshambika not only protects the unborn child, but also blesses people who long for a child, people who have pregnancy related problems and pregnant women who come to the temple praying for an easy delivery. 

The other presiding deity is Lord Mullaivana Nathar (Lord of the Jasmine Garden) and worshipping this God will cure all kinds of skin diseases. People who are afflicted with incurable diseases come to this temple.

Holy Places Around Papanasam.

* Kabisthalam - Gajendra Varadan Temple - 4 km from Papanasam, which is on Papanasam – Thiruvaiyaru Road.
* Nalloor - Kalyana Sundareswarar Temple - 4 km from Papanasam, which is on Papanasam-Kumbakonam Road via Vazhapazhakadai.
* Thiruvalanchuzhi - Karpaga Natheswarar Temple - 7 km from Papanasam, which is on the Papanasam-Kumbakonam Road .
* Thirukkarugavoor - Karparatchambigai Temple - 7 km from Papanasam, which is on the Papanasam-Saliyamangalam Road.
* Swamimalai - Swaminatha Swami (one of the Six houses of Lord.Muruga) - 8 km from Papanasam, which is on the Papanasam-Kumbakonam Road via Thiruvalanchuzhi.
* Avoor – Pasupatheeswarar Temple - 8 km from Papanasam, which is on the Papanasam-Kumbakonam Road via Patteeswaram.
* Thiruvaigavoor – Vilvavaneswarar Temple - 8 km from Papanasam- Mini Buses available for every half an hour.
* Patteeswaram – Dhenupureeswarar Temple - 10 km from Papanasam, which is on the Papanasam-Kumbakonam Road via Avoor.
* Soundhara Raja Perumal Kovil - Sundaraperumalkovil [1] - 4 km from Papanasam - Town Busses,Private Busses Available.
* Valangaiman- Mariamman Temple - 10 km from Papanasam, which is on the Papanasam-Kumbakonam Road via Nalloor.
* Darasuram – Airavadeswarar Temple - 12 km from Papanasam, which is on the Papanasam-Kumbakonam Road.
* Thanjavur- Bragatheeswarar Temple- The Big Temple- 25 km from Papanasam.

G.K. Moopanar.

G.K. Moopanar (Tamil: முப்பனார்) (1931-2001) was a senior Indian National Congress leader and a veteran Parliamentarian. He was a powerful All India Congress Committee general secretary from 1980 to 1988. Thiru.G.K. Moopanar was a close associate of Kingmaker,Bhartaratna and Veteran Congress Leader Late Thiru.K Kamaraj Nadar who was a guiding force in his life.

Thiru.Moopanar did not get along well with late Shri.Narasimha Rao, who was then the Prime Minister of India from 1991-96. So he parted ways with Rao on the issue on his joining hands with the AIADMK and founded his own party, the Tamil Maanila Congress(TMC). Despite this Thiru.Moopanar remained loyal to the Congress ideology.

Thiru.Moopanar came very close to becoming the Prime Minister of India in 1997 when Harkishan Singh Surjeet and Jyoti Basu asked him to lead a Congress supported government. He however declined the offer.[1]

Thiru.G.K. Moopanar had friends and associates cutting across party lines,and was also an close confidant of Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.He was a patron of Arts and Music especially Carnatic music.

After the demise of Thiru.Moopanar,under the new leadership of Thiru. G K Vasan, TMC merged back with the Congress in the presence of Shrimati.Sonia Gandhi, who appointed Thiru.G K Vasan as a General Secretary of the Indian National Congress.

PAPANASAM SIVAN.

Papanasam Sivan (Tamil: பாபநாசம் சிவன்) (September 26, 1890 - October 10, 1973) was a prominent composer of Carnatic music and a famous singer.

A famous composer, Sivan was also known as Tamil Thyagayya. Using Classical South Indian as a base, Sivan created numerous hits popularised by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and M. S. Subbulakshmi.

He was born in the district of Thanjavur, which was home to the illustrious musical trinity of Carnatic music. His original name was Ramaiya. In 1897, when Ramaiya was just 7, his father died. His mother Yogambal, along with her sons, left Thanjavur and moved to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, where her brother-in-law was a Ramayana Sastri in the renowned Padmanabha Swamy Temple. At Thirunanthapuam, Ramaiya learned Malayalam and Sanskrit and later earned a degree in grammar.

Ramaiya was very religious and with death of his mother in Yogambal when he was 20, it made him even more religious he wandered from place to place visiting temples and singing devotional songs. Ramaiya used to be an active participant in the devotional music sessions at the home of Neelakandasivan in Thiruvananthapuram. Thus he learned many of the musical compositions of Neelakandasivan. In this period, his wanderings would take him regularly to the temple at Papanasam, where he would smear bhasma all over his body. Hence people began to refer him as Papanasam Sivan, the name by which he was to become well known later.

He picked up his first music lessons from Noorani Mahadeva Bhagavatar, son of Parameswara Bhagavatar. Later he became the disciple of Konerirajapuram Vaidyanath Iyer, a well-known musician, under whose tutelage Sivan blossomed into a consummate artiste that he was.

In spite of his deep knowledge of music, Papanasam Sivan was more interested in the devotional aspect of music. He preferred to sing devotional songs and encouraged other singers take part in sessions of devotional music with him. Papanasam Sivan was regular in all the major temple festivals in South India with his devotional songs.

Paalaivananathar Temple

• Shiva: Paalaivananathar.
• Ambal: Dhavala Vennakaimangai

This is a Shivastalam situated at Thiruppaalathurai in Papanasam is considered to be the 19th in the series of Tevara Stalams in the Chola kingdom located south of the river Kaveri. The Tiruppaalaitturai temple with 2 prakarams occupies an area of 3 acres (12,000 m²), and its entrance is crowned with a 5 tiered Rajagopuram. Inscriptions from the Chola and Vijayanagar periods are seen in this temple. Here Lord Shiva is also known as Paalaivananathar.
There is also a world famous granary (Store House of paddy) Breadth: 86 feet (26 m), Height: 36 feet (11 m) capacity of 3,000 Kalam (measure) constructed by Nayaks in 1600 - 1634. State Archaeological Department declared it as a monument. Mention must be made of those from the period of Kulottunga I and Kulottunga III speaking of gifts made to the temple during the Chola period.

World peace From Papanasam.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a spiritual and humanitarian leader. He was born on May 13, 1956 in PAPANASAM, thanjavur dist. tamilnadu, India. He is often referred to by the double-honorific "Sri Sri", Guruji or Gurudeva. He is the founder of the international Art of living fountation which aims to relieve stress at an individual level, and to relieve disease and violence at a societal level. His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is internationally known as an eminent spiritual leader and has dedicated his life to serving humanity. His Holiness has addressed the United Nations, served on the advisory board of Yale's Divinity School, and chaired the International Conference of Religions in Kyoto, Japan. In 1995, he addressed the assembly at the U.N.'s 50th anniversary celebration. Also that year, his
Sudarshan Kriya breathing technique was presented to the World Health Organization. In August of 2000, he was a featured speaker at the UN millennium world peace summit, and in January 2002, he was invited to address the World Economic Forum. His Holiness is the founder of the Art of Living Foundation and co-founder of the International Association for Human Values.

Papanasam

Papanasam is a historical town located in thanjavur in tamilnadu. It is about 25 km from Thanjavur and 15 kilometers from kumbakonam. The main attractions of the town are the temples. Major among them are Gajendra Varathan Temple, Paalvanna Nathar Temple Mullaivananathar Temple,, Pallavanatha Swamy Temple and 108 Sivalayam Temple. This place also boasts a granary with a capacity of 3,000 Kalam (measure), which was constructed by the Nayaks in the 17th century. There are many sugar manufacturing industries functioning in Papanasam. By road, Papanasam can be approached from Kumbakonam, Tiruvaiyaru and Thanjavur. The nearest railhead is Papanasam Railway Station. Tiruchirapalli Airport is the nearest airport.

108 Shivalayam

According to legends, this temple was build by Lord Rama and the 108 Shiva lingas were installed by him. Even though Ravana was a demon, he was a great Shiva Bhakta. By killing him, Lord Rama had got Dosha. To ward off this Dosha, he installed the 108 lingas. It is believed that worshipping Lord Shiva in this temple would remove all sins.
There is a separate huge Linga called Hanumantha Linga which is believed to have been installed by Lord Hanuman. It is a wonderful sight to see all the 106 lingas arranged equally in three rows. This temple is a must see for all. One can see the 108 Sivalingam in one temple in this Town only.

papanasam

Papanasam (Tamil: பாபநாசம், literally "Destruction of Sins") is a panchayat town in thanjavur district. in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In otherwords its a grown up village and Growing Town. This is the town 25 km from Tanjore and 15 km from Kumbakonam. There are 3 rivers named Cauvery, Thirumalairajan and KudaMurutti helping the farmers to cultivate the good food - grains.