Temple for Education-Saraswathi Temple in Kuthanoor near Kumbakonam

There are only few temples for Goddess Saraswathi. Among the rare temples, Kuthanoor saraswathi temple is very famous in Tamilnadu. It is believed that people can get all the glory and blessing for their life from Goddess Saraswathi if they show perfect dedication towards Goddess Saraswathi in Kuthanoor temple. Read this article to find complete details about the temple. 

Saraswathi Temple in Kuthanoor near Kumbakonam

There are many significant temples in tamilnadu that are very good and popular for its greatness and the gods and goddess present in the temple. It is not a easy thing to find Saraswathi temples in India as there are only few Saraswathi temples when compared to the other temples. This brings the specialty of the Lord Saraswathi temple in Kuthanoor which is near Kumbakonam and Tanjore. Lord Saraswathi is very popular and called by various names but there are only few temples available for Lord Saraswathi in Tamilnadu. As we all know, Saraswathi is the main god for the studies and if Saraswathi is worshiped with full dedication, we can gain the knowledge and wisdom in all the things. 

Greatness of Lord Saraswathi

Lord Saraswathi is also called with a name called Veenavahini as she is having a Veena in her hand. Saraswathi is the wife of Lord Brahma who is the creator of this world. As per the order from Lord Shiva there is no temple for Lord Brahma in the world, but there are some temples for Lord Saraswathi which helps in worshipping the goddess of learning and get all the knowledge and wisdom that is necessary for a wonderful life. Lord Saraswathi takes her position with a Veena in hand on a beautiful lotus flower. She can be seen with several arms each holding something. One hand will be holding the Kamandalam, the other with a Japamala, two lower hands will be placed in a position of Chinmudra which denotes the Thapas done by her and the other hands will be having the Palm leaf manuscript. These are the things that are general about Lord Saraswathi. The one who worships Lord Saraswathi with proper dedication will get all the knowledge and wisdom to sustain a great life.

About Koothanur Saraswathi temple near Kumbakonam

Among the rare temples that are for the Lord Saraswathi, Kuthanoor temple is a very popular and a very famous temple among the people of Tamilnadu. It can also be said that the people bring their kids to this temple for the prayer before they are first sent for their studies. We can see Lord Saraswathi in several temples all over India and it is very rare to find a temple for Lord Saraswathi with a separate shrine for her. The legendary stories tell about the greatness of the Kuthanoor Saraswathi temple. 

There are also some stories describing the reason for the name to be Koothanur for the place and for the temple. Once there was a young devotee who was sincere on his devotion performed a serious worship in front of the shrine of Lord Saraswathi in order to seek the grace of the goddess. In order to bless the devotee with her desire, Lord Saraswathi came as a courtesan in front of the devotee in order to pour her blessing. The devotee was not aware of who that was and because of that he had to refuse the blessings offered by the courtesan. Hearing what happened there, Ottakkoothar gave a fast move to the incident spot. He understood who has come as the courtesan and later on the poet showed his desire for her blessing by prostrating. Because of this the fame of Ottakkoothar was spread all over Tamilnadu and his greatness was recognized and infact he is the reason for the name Koothanur to be given for this place. The name was exactly derived from the name of the poet Ottakoothar. 

History of Kuthanoor temple based on three sacred rivers

Kuthanoor Saraswathi temple history is associated with the joining of the three sacred rivers such as Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi. The three sacred rivers merge here and are called as Harisol River and in Tamilnadu it is popularly called as Arasalaaru. Ganga lies in the head of Lord Shiva and it is believed that Lord Shiva was attained by Ganga from this holy place. For good things to happen the River Ganga was separated from Lord Shiva and he was facilitated to marry Parvathi. After the marriage of Goddess Parvathi and Lord Shiva, they gave birth to Lord Muruga who was created in order to kill the demon named Tarakasuran who troubled the Devas. After this process was completed, the River Ganga joined with Lord Shiva in this place. 

Lord Saraswathi was the wife of Lord Brahma who was the lord of creation. Saraswathi had an ego clash with Brahma and the argument finally let to the birth of Saraswathi in the earth. After the birth on the earth, both Brahma and Saraswathi worshiped Lord Shiva to solve their ego clash and realized that they are equal. Then later Saraswathi merged with Harisol and was also blessed to have a separate shrine for her in the banks of this river. Brahma was already in a curse of not having any shrines in the world for some different issue. After the request to Lord Shiva for the rituals to be performed in the temple for the departed souls, the Lord Shiva allowed him to do so. With this declaration, Brahma Pooja is performed in the temple which has a very greater significance. 

The other story associated with the Yamuna River is that, once Yamuna was tempted because of the acts of Lord Shiva with the Gopikas. Because of this she was given a curse. In order to get relief from the curse she came to this place and prayed for the emancipation. And based on her request, her curse was removed and again she got the river form. This was also happened in this holy place and the River Yamuna merged with the other two rivers as Harisol. 

But according to the history there is also a different story. The work Koothanur comes because of the naming given to a village by Raja Raja Chola II. The village was given to the Ottakkoothan that made the place very famous as it has the popular temple dedicated to Lord Saraswathi. Also the placed gained more popularity because there are only limited Saraswathi temples all over the world. Most of the devotees come here for the education of their children and also to get the blessing of Lord Saraswathi in order to gain knowledge and wisdom for better living. The liberation is also attained from the previous births if the people who come there take bath in the auspicious Triveni Sangamam which is the combination of three rivers mentioned above. 

How to get the blessing of Lord Saraswathi

In general the blessing of Lord Saraswathi cannot be attained easily. Bhaskarar who is a very great philosopher and writer, the one who wrote the famous Sri Lalitha Sahasranama Bhashyam for Goddess Saraswarthi has told that this birth cannot be the one reason for attaining the blessing of Lord Saraswathi, it is necessary that a person should have also done good things in the previous births. So the previous birth is also responsible for a person to get the blessing of Lord Saraswathi. There are also various scripts in out Hindu religion to praise the greatness of Lord Saraswathi and also there are procedures and pooja to be followed to get the grace from Lord Saraswathi. The shrine of Lord Saraswathi in the temple will be very attractive such that the people who give a visit will be fulfilled with all the needs that are required for them. 

Greatness of Kuthanoor Saraswathi Temple

The greatness of the Kuthanoor Saraswathi temple comes with the grace of the Lord Saraswathi. As mentioned above, the temple is unique as there are not many temples for Lord Saraswathi. Although there are temples which are having separate shrines for Lord Saraswathi and Lord Brahma, it is very rare to see the temples that are completely dedicated to Lord Brahma or Lord Saraswathi. This is the reason why the Saraswathi temple is very famous and popular among everyone. It is said that the Poet Ottakoothar created this shrine in the early days nearly in the second millennium and also it is said that he also celebrated the great Vijaya Dhashami festival which is completely dedicated to Lord Saraswathi. 

Along with this there are also various inscriptions and writings on the stones of the temple that describes the greatness of the temple and the goddess in the temple. This also represents a great validation to describe about the greatness of the temple. The temple is completely dedicated for the children and for their studies. There is a great even happening for the children on the full moon day as the children are written with the powerful “Om” on their tongue with the help of a stick that is dipped in the honey. It is said that this will bring out the talent from that particular child and it will make him get dedicated towards the studies. 

Kumbabhishegam is also done in the temple every 12 years. The previous Kumbabhishegam years are 1941, 1968, 1987 and 2003. There are also many great legends like Purushotham Bharathi, Ovathakoothar and Ottakoothar, who worshipped the goddess in this temple and got the blessings of the goddess. There are also shops available to get notebooks and pens there. The notebooks and pens are taken to the temple and are kept in the feet of Lord Saraswathi and brought in order to get good dedication towards the studies. 

How to reach Kuthanoor Saraswathi temple near Kumbakonam

The location of the Kuthanur temple is near Kumbakonam. The temple can be easily reached from various places in Tamilnadu with the help of any transport. There are various bus facilities available to reach the temple from Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Tanjavur etc. There are also various other temples nearby making the place more special. Every year more than thousand people visit the temple to get the blessing of Lord Saraswathi. Offering Lotus flower to Lord Saraswathi is a special in this temple. The vijayadashami festivals are also celebrated in a great manner in the temple with serious arrangements. It is easy to reach the temple from Kumbakonam.