During the Pralaya the Puranakumbam (amirtham in a pot-bowl of nectar) moved from Mahameru to south direction and reached Kumbakonam, Shiva in the form of Kirathamurthy (as hunter) aimed the Puranakumbam with the bow and arrow( banam in Sanskrit language) and breaked it, the bowl split and the Amirtham got stagnated in two places at Portramaraikulam (golden Lotus pond) and Mahamahamkulam.
A Shiva Lingam formed at the place where Kirathamurthy aimed the Amithrakudam. Since the lord used the arrow (Banam) the deity lingam is called Banabureeswarar.The nectar spilled over, creating a pool, and the broken pot took the form of a Shiva lingam. Since the lingam originated from a pot (Kumbham), and was the fist form taken at the beginning of creation, this lingam came to be known as Adi Kumbheswarar and this place is known as Kumbakonam (Kumbham = pot, and Konam = crooked, for the pot broke crookedly). The pool formed by the nectar is the holy Mahamagham tank, where, it is believed, the nine holy rivers come to take a bath and purify themselves once every 12 years. This is celebrated on a grand scale, and thousands and thousands of devotees arrive here to have a dip in this sacred pond on that day.
Kumbakonam has an amazing number of temples, most of them
huge. On almost every road, you come across at least a couple of them. It is
not surprising, for there are a number of temples connected to the legend of
the pot of nectar, and there are others which are related to the visions and
experiences of the large number of holy men who came to this holy city in their
quest for knowledge or liberation.
There are six major Shiva temples in Kumbakonam, all related to the pot of nectar shattered by Shiva as Kiratamurthy.
There are six major Shiva temples in Kumbakonam, all related to the pot of nectar shattered by Shiva as Kiratamurthy.
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