Tirunallar/Sri Dharmabaraneeshwaraswami Devasthanam

Dharbaranyeswarar Temple, more popularly known as Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in the Thirunallar village of the Karaikal district, in the Union territory of Puducherry, Southeastern India.

The temple complex covers around 2 acres (0.81 ha) and entered through a five tiered gopuram, the main gateway. The temple has a number of shrines, with those of Shiva as Dharbaranyeswarar, his consort Praneswari Amman (Parvati), Shani (Saniswararan) and Somaskanda (a combined form of Shiva with Parvati and his son Murugan) being the most prominent. All the shrines of the temple are enclosed in large concentric rectangular granite walls. The present masonry structure was built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to Vijayanagar rulers. The temple is maintained and administered by the Department of Hindu Religious Institutions by the Government of Puducherry.

The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and four yearly festivals on its calendar. Mahasivarathri festival celebrated during the month of the Chittirai (March – April) is the most prominent festival of the temple for the presiding deity, while Sanipeyarchi festival that occurs every 2.5 years is the most prominent for Shani.

Legend

The Rajagopuram of the temple
As per Hindu legend, the ruler of the region asked a shepherd to provide milk to the temple daily. The shepherd was a staunch devotee of Shiva and happily provided milk for ablution of the presiding deity. The government’s headman, who lived close to the temple, coerced the shepherd to give the milk to him, instead of the temple, without the knowledge of the king. Once, the temple priest informed the king that the temple was not receiving the milk from the shepherd. The king asked the shepherd the reason for disobeying his order. Out of fear of the headman, the shepherd remained silent, which angered the king. He ordered the shepherd to be killed. The shepherd prayed to Shiva to relieve him of the punishment. Shiva stopped the punishment with his trident. Following the legend, the altar (bali pitham) of the temple is slightly away from the axis of the flagstaff and the central shrine.

As per another legend, Nala was ruling this region, full of tropical grass locally called Darba after which the place came to be known as Darbaranyam (“forest of Darba”). Every person is afflicted by the movement of planet Saturn, which is believed to create negative effects on the lives of people. Nala was also afflicted by the planetary movement of Saturn on a day when he skipped standard practices of cleanliness. He is believed to have resided in the temple to get himself off the curses of Shani, the planet Saturn. He prayed to Shiva and wanted him to protect all the devotees afflicted with Shani to be protected when they visit the temple. Following the legend, people afflicted take a holy dip with oil in Nala theertham, the temple tank and wear black dress.