Sivalokanathar temple, Gramam

Sivalokanathar temple (also called Thirumundeeswaram or Sivalokanatha temple, Gramam) is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in Gramam, a village in Villupuram district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shiva is worshiped as Sivalokanathar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Soundaranayagi. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the Nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.

The temple complex covers around one acre and can be entered through a seven-tiered gopuram, the main gateway. The temple has a number of shrines, with those of Sivalokanathar and his consort Soundaryanayagi, being the most prominent. All the shrines of the temple are enclosed in large concentric rectangular granite walls.

The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and four yearly festivals on its calendar. Chitra Pournami and Aani Thirumanjanam during the Tamil month of Aaani (June–July) are the most prominent festivals celebrated in the temple.

The original complex is believed to have been built by Cholas, while the present masonry structure was built by Vijayanagar kings during the 16th century. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Legend
As per Hindu legend, the Dvarapalas, the gatekeepers named Thindi and Mundi worshipped Shiva at this temple and hence the temple came to be known as Thirumundeeswaram.

As per another legend, a king named Chokkalingam came to the place for hunting during Dvapara Yuga. He found a strange lotus flower and wanted to attain it. His men were not able to get it and the king shot an arrow at the flower. The flower started bleeding and the whole tank become red. At the sight of the tank turning red, the king fell unconscious. He found a Lingam on the flower and built a temple around it. Based on the legend, the later kings inscribed the place name as Mouli Gramam, which eventually became Gramam. During the period of Appar during the 7th century, the presiding deity was called Aruttali Mahadevar, but later came to be known as Sivalokanathasvamin.

History
Most of the Chola temples built during the period of 866 and 1004 CE is associated with certain military events or political campaign. During 940 Parantaka I had frequent trouble from invading Rashtrakutas. Takkolam War, dubbed as the greatest war held in the Tamil region, was fought between Cholas and Rashtrakutas. There was a military station in the region during the time of Parantaka, which was headed by his son Rajaditya Chola. The inscriptions from Kannara-deva (Rashtrakuta Krishna III), mentions the Kannaradeva defeating the Cholas and death of Rajaditya during the Takkolam war. Rajaditya was killed with a spear piercing him while he was seated on the elephant. The event gave him the name Anai-merrunjina-deva. The inscriptions from the period of Parantaka mentions that the temple was converted to a stone temple during the reign and the gift of lamps by Rajaditya (mentioned as Vellan Kumaran). The temple has various inscriptions from the period of the Medieval Cholas like Aditya Chola, Rajendra Chola, and Kulothunga Chola and Pandyan kings like Sundarapandithevan and Veerpandithevan. There are other inscriptions from Rashtrakutas, Vijayanagar kings like Virupanna Udayar. In modern times, the temple is administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Architecture
The temple is located on the Villupuram - Thiruvennainallur road. The temple has a seven-tiered gateway tower and all the shrines of the temple are enclosed in concentric rectangular granite walls. The temple occupies an area of around 1.5 acre. The central shrine houses the image of Sivalokanathar in the form of Lingam. The central shrine is approached through the flagstaff, Mahamandapam and Ardhamandapam, all of which are located axial to the gateway. The sanctum is square in shape measuring 13 ft. The Ardhamandapa measures 9 ft from east to west. The central shrine has entrance towards South and can be approached circumbulating the shrine. The temple tank is located outside the main entrance tower. As in other Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu, the shrines of Vinayaka, Murugan, Navagraha, Chandikesa and Durga are located in niches around the precinct of the main shrine.

Festivals and religious importance
It is one of the shrines of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams - Shiva Sthalams glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems by Tamil Saivite Nayanars Sambandar.

The temple priests perform the puja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. The temple rituals are performed four times a day; Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m, and Arthajamam at 8:00 p.m.. Each ritual comprises four steps: abhisheka (sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), naivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for Sivalokanathar and Soundara Nayagi. There are weekly rituals like somavaram (Monday) and sukravaram (Friday), fortnightly rituals like pradosham, and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi. Chitra Pournami and Aaani Thirumanjanam during the Tamil month of Aaani (June–July) are the most important festivals of the temple.