Dear All,
Greetings and Namaste. As Sri Maha Shivaratri falls on Saturday (18-Feb-2023), I am extremely delighted to share a heretofore unpublished Sahasranama Stotram on Lord Shiva titled Sri Trikotisha Sahasranama Stotram from Chapter 30 of Vetravana Mahatmyam. This Sahasranama is on Lord Trikotisha of Vetravana - currently known as Thirukodikaval near Kumbakonam.
How I got this rare Sahasranama?
We learnt that there is a separate Sahasranama on Lord Trikotisha of Vetravana through an article in a Tamil newspaper in 2016. Since then we have been searching for it through multiple source but of no avail.Perhaps Lord Shiva wanted to put an end to this search.
Last week, I participated as a volunteer during the Mahakumbhabhishekam of Sout Bridge Mariamman Temple (oldest Hindu Temple in Singapore) and had the good fortune of interacting with several renowned Sivachariars from famous Kumbakonam temples. Sri. Subramania Sivachariar of Ganjanur Temple (Parihara sthalam for Shukra/Venus) mentioned that he got a manuscript of Trikotisha Sahasranama just a few days ago and wanted to see if it can be reproduced in Grantha Script prior to Mahashivaratri. I requested him to share a scanned copy of the manuscript which he shared on Saturday. By Lord's will, I was able to codify and distribute this today within 3 days of getting it. It was indeed a great fortune to get this just a week before Maha Shivaratri.
This is being reproduced from a scanned handwritten manuscript in Devanagari dated 1953. The manuscript does not mention the original Purana to which the Vetravana Mahatmyam belongs to. I presume the Vetravana Mahatmyam is much bigger as this Sahsranama is just one chapter (Chapter 30). Apparently this manuscript was found in a library in UK.
Disclaimer : As this is from a handwritten manuscript, I am not sure about a dozen namas that come in the Sahasranama. I have typed them as they appear in the manuscript.
About Vetravana/Thirukodikaval
Thirukodikaval is a very famous and one of the important Shiva Temples in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu. In Puranic times, it was known as Vetravana (forest of a variety of bamboo trees). As per the legend, Lord Vetravaneswarar was worshipped by 3 crores of Devas and Rishis and hence the name Trikotishwarar. Apparently Lord Trikoteeswara himself declared that if Mount Kailash and Thirukodikaval were to be placed on a balance, the latter would weigh more.
There is also another legend that Lord Venkatachalapati of Tirupati directed his devotees to first worship Goddess Tripurasundari here prior to visiting Tirupati. Even today, Goddess Tripurasundari is decorated and worshipped as Lord Balaji on Bhadrapada/Saturdays (Purattasi Sani).
The temple has many many more legends. One who worships Lord Shiva on Pradosham day gets the benefit of performing Ashwamedha Yajna. There are shrines for Lord Chitragupta and Lord Yama and is said to relieve one of the fear of death. Taking holy dip in river Cauvery adjacent temple during Krittika month is said to absolve all sins. Sage Bhaskaracharya, who hailed from the adjacent village Bhaskararajapuram, wrote Bhashyam (commentary) for Lalita Sahasranamam and inauguruated the same in this temple. Sage Agastya, Lord Rama, etc. are believed to have worshipped here.
May We Pray To Lord Trikotishwara with this rare and beautiful Sahasranama which repeats the work koTi (crore). May Lord Trikotisha bestow you good fortune multiplied by crores of times.
Please note that from now on, I am adding Grantha language at the request of Sivachariars. The extension is <FileName>-GRA.pdf,
Thanks & Regards,
K. Muralidharan Iyengar (Murali)
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