Agneeswara swamy kanjanur

Once Parasara rishi wanted to cross yamuna river & reach river  Ganga.He found  a young girl in place of oar man.She agreed to ferry him other side  & took him in the boat.On the way  Parasarar saw  a small island like sand dune with trees around.He took rest for sometime.He was attracted towards her beauty & both of them enjoyed.Later that girl  was smelling like  flower’s scent instead of the smell of fish.She was  worried about her status now & looked towards Parasarar.He too realised his mistake & comforted her saying that a son with black complexion would be born to her & he would bring her name & fame.That child is none other than Veda Vyasa.Now Parasarar was wandering in the banks of Holy river Ganga as  a mad person.He heard  a voice in the sky,asking him to reach Kanjanur & to worship Karpagambigai & Agneewarar after taking a holy dip at Cauvery .After sometime he reached Kanjanur,bathed in river Cauvery.He worshipped God Shiva & Goddess Uma.He stayed there done penance,.In theTamil month of Masi with star magam,Goddess & God appeared befor e him & taught all the veda sastras to him. Parasara requested for the dancing pose of Shiva.God obliged him in Nataraja pose. Now his confusion in the mind got cleared & became a normal person.He requested to give darshan in  Thanadava pose &Daily Abishegam  to be performed to him.Here only daily abishegam is performed to Lord Nataraja in granite idol form.In other Shiva temples He is in metalic idol form & yearly some six times only abishegam performed to him.                Mandavya, a brahmin was leading a   disciplined    life with his wife near Godavari river bank.They had 6 sons.After Mandavya’s death,his sons neglected  their mother.She died because of hunger.Now  mathru hathi dosham caught them & the children born to them died soon.They became very sad & approached Gowthama rishi.He advised them to go to Kanjanur .They reached there,took a holy dip in cauvery ,staying there ,daily worshipped Goddess & Shiva.They have darshan on masi magam.They request God Siva to bless them children with normal life & relieved  of their dosha.                                                                                                                                

Agni, the Deva of fire took the ghee offered  in the Homam instead of handing over them to the respective Gods (Homam conducted by Brahma Deva).Then he lost the power of keeping energy of fire & affected by disease which the  doctors in  heaven could not cure.He approached sage Vyasa.He advised him to go to Kanjanur.As per his advice,he went to Kanjanur,dig  a holy tank & done penance for a long time.Finally God Siva appeared before him &  granted his earlier power to him.Then onwards Lord in this place is called Agneeswara.Kalakandan a hunter,who lived in Kanjanur  used to take rest during  lunch our near Agneewarar  temple .While chewing pawn,he used to rub the left out  calcium paste in his  finger  in the Siva temple bricks.He never went inside the temple & worshipped Siva.When he died,he attained moksha & went to Kailasam in a decorated plane.Devas were confused,how the hunter got  moksha without worshipping Lord Siva.Lord Siva told them,he daily applied calcium paste in my temple which is similar to whitewashing the temple compound.What he unknowingly done has fetched him moksha.source of  photo  Dinamalar .com ( thanks ).Top photo:Goddess Karpagambigai .& bottom one:Sivakami Ambigai & Nataraja carved in stone form very rare.