Kailasanathar Temple, Villupuram – Legends

Kailasanathar Temple, Villupuram – Legends

As per legend, Once, Sage Durvasa was wandering the earth in a state of ecstasy due to a vow he was observing. Sage Durvasa saw a Vidyadhari (a nymph of the air) wearing the heavenly wreath of flowers and demanded her the garland she was wearing. The nymph respectfully gave the garland to the sage, whereupon he wore it on his brow. Resuming his wanderings, the sage came across Indra riding his elephant, Airavata, attended by the gods. Durvasa, still in his state of frenzy, threw the garland at Indra, who caught it and placed it on Airavata's head.

The elephant was irritated by the fragrance of the nectar in the flowers, so it threw the garland to the ground with its trunk. Durvasa was enraged to see his gift treated so callously and cursed Indra that he would be cast down from his position of dominion over the three worlds, just as the garland was cast down. Indra immediately begged Duruvasa’s forgiveness, but the sage refused to retract or even soften his curse and went on his way. Because of the curse, Indra and the devas were diminished in strength and shorn of their lustre.

Seizing this opportunity, the asuras led by Bali waged war against the gods. The gods were routed and turned to Lord Brahma for help. Lord Brahma directed them to seek advice from Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu in turn, advised them to call a truce with the asuras and work together with them to churn the ocean of milk and obtain the Amrita (nectar of immortality), on the pretext of sharing it with them. Vishnu promised that he would ensure only the devas drank the Nectar and reobtain their former power, so they could once again defeat the asuras.

The devas took Vishnu's advice and called their truce with the asuras and thus did the gods and demons begin planning their great enterprise. During the churning of the Ocean of Milk (Samudra Manthana), Mount Mandara was used as the churning rod, and Vasuki, a Nagaraja who abides on Lord Shiva's neck, became the churning rope. During the churning process, the Halahala poison escaped from the mouth of the serpent king Vasuki. This terrified the gods and demons because the poison was so powerful that it could destroy all of creation.

Despite this, the Devas and the Asuras pulled back and forth on the snake's body alternately, causing the mountain to rotate, which in turn churned the ocean. The Devas then approached Lord Shiva for protection. Lord Shiva consumed the poison. Lord Shiva was suffering intense pain. Mother Parvati immediately places a hand on his throat, stopping the poison to flow any further, and by her Maya stopped it forever. As a result, his throat turned blue and he was henceforth called Neelakantha (the blue-throated one; Neela – blue, Kantha – throat in Sanskrit). After consuming the Halahala poison, Lord Shiva came to this Sthalam and sat in silence. Devas and all celestial beings worshipped Lord Shiva here during his stay.