Vasishteswarar Temple, Thittai

Vasishteswarar Temple is located in the village of Thittai, 11 kilometres from the town of Thanjavur is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vasishteswarar. The temple dates from the 12th century AD and was built by the Cholas.The TempleVasishteswarar temple is situated in the village "Thittai" near Thanjavur. As the village is situated south of the Cauvery river, it is also called "Thenkudi Thittai".The presiding deity is Swayambootheswarar and the Goddess, Ulaganayaki. As the main deity is a Swayambu Lingam he got the name "Swayambootheswarar".The main deity is also called as Vasishteswarar as he was worshipped here by Saint Vasishtar.UniquenessThe unique feature of this temple is that a drop of water falls on the Shiva linga every 24 minutes from the ceiling. This is because of a very special stone called Chandrakanth kept on the roof. This stone absorbs moisture from the surrounding air and converts into a drop of water.This temple attracts huge crowds because of the above stone as well the presence of the temple for Raja Dakshinamoorthy.Legend"Thittai", the name of the village means "Thittu" in Tamil, a Mound. When the whole world was surrounded by water because of "Pralayam", Brahma & Vishnu worshipped the Lord Maheshara for protection. After wandering much for a safe place, they found this only mound, which did not drown in the Pralaya waters, where there was a Shiva Lingam.They performed Pooja to the Lingam and worshipped Lord Shiva, who appeared before them and deligated their duties of Creation and Protection. It is believed that this is the only place, which was not destroyed even during Pralayam.