Talk:The Authenticity of Sthala Purāṇas

By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami

We ought to have implicit faith in the Vedas, so too in the statements made in the Tamil Vedas of Śaivas and Vaiṣṇavas — the Tēvāram and the Divyaprabandham. There are places whose glory has been sung in the Tēvāram of the Nāyaṉmārs and in the pāśurams of the Āḻvārs. These songs allude to what is said about such places in the Sthala Purāṇas. That there are such references in these Tamil devotional works, which are 1,500 years old, is proof of the antiquity of these Purāṇas.

For instance, take the Perumāḷ of the Śrīraṅgam temple (Tamil Nadu). The idol is unique in the sense that it faces south. There is an explanation for this in the Sthala Purāṇa pertaining to the temple. When Vibhīṣaṇa was returning to Laṅkā after attending the coronation of Śrī Rāmacandra, Rāma gave him the idol of Raṅganātha that he himself had been worshipping. On his way the idol somehow got installed on the island skirted by the two arms of the Kāverī. Vibhīṣaṇa was sad that he could not take it with him to his capital Laṅkāpurī. So, out of compassion for him, Śrī Raṅganātha lay facing south. This incident is described in detail in the Sthala Purāṇa of Śrīraṅgam. It is also mentioned in the songs of the Āḻvārs.

If the reason for Viṣṇu facing south in Śrīraṅgam was known during the time of the Āḻvārs, the Sthala Purāṇa of that place must surely predate the work of these Vaiṣṇava saint-poets.

The liṅga in the Ekamranātha temple in Kāñcīpuram was shaped by Ambā herself. At the time she was worshipping it, the Lord created a flood, but she kept embracing the liṅga and it was thus saved from being carried away in the flood. The Lord then appeared from the liṅga. This Sthala Purāṇa episode is told in the Tēvāram also. Sundaramūrti Svāmin's poems sing the glory of Ambā performing pūjā here.

In Jambukeśvaram (Tiruvāṉaikka), near Śrīraṅgam, a great sage called Jambu was transformed into a jambu tree. Śiva enshrined himself under it in his liṅga form. There a spider wove a canopy of web over the liṅga and worshipped the Lord. An elephant destroyed this canopy and performed abhiṣeka to the liṅga. The spider, naturally enraged, crept into the elephant's trunk, ascended up and bore into its head. The animal then dashed against the jambu tree and it was killed along with the spider. The spider was reborn as Koceṅkoṭ Coḻa who built the Jambukeśvaram temple. This story occurs in the Sthala Purāṇa — and it is referred to in the Tēvāram also. In the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, the Kāverī wells up all the time. This wonderful phenomenon is mentioned in the Tēvāram of Appar and in the Pattuppāṭṭu.

At midday, in Tirukkazhukkuṉram, two eagles descend on the hill and receive sweet rice offered by the temple priest. After consuming the rice, the birds fly away. Some people have doubts about the antiquity of this phenomenon. From the time of the Tēvāram itself the place is known as (Tiru)kazhukkuṉram. What better evidence is needed?

In Tiruvidaimarudūr (in Tañjāvūr district), bathing on the occasion of Taippūsam is specially auspicious according to the Kṣetra-māhātmya. Appar and Sambandhar have spoken about the festival in their songs dating back to 1,500 years ago.

Śrīraṅgam, Jambukeśvaram, Kāñcīpuram, Tirukkazhukkuṉram and Tiruvidaimarudūr are great holy places. So it may be argued, there is nothing remarkable about their being mentioned in the old Tamil texts. But it is noteworthy that purāṇic stories associated even with smaller places are referred to in old Tamil religious works.

The Sthala Purāṇas have it that in certain places that are not so famous sages and celestials appeared as bees to worship the deities there. Even today we see huge honeycombs before the sanctum itself. One such place is Nannilam. It is also called Madhuvanam. Sittambur, near Tirutturaippuṇḍi, is called Tirucchirrēram in the Tēvāram. Here too there is a honeycomb before the sanctum. The story goes that siddhas come here as honeybees to worship the Lord. Pūjā is performed to the honeycomb also every day. Similarly, there is a honeycomb in the Vaiṣṇava temple of Tirukkaṇṇamaṅgai. There are references to such places in both the Tēvāram and the Divyaprabandham.

The antiquity and authenticity of the Sthala Purāṇas are supported by such stories — stories relating even to minor incidents associated with not-so-big places — occurring in the Tēvāram, Tiruvācakam and the Nāḷāyira Divyaprabandham.