Srimushnam
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Srimushnam
Village in the Chidambaram taluk of South Arcot District, Madras, situated in 11° 23' N. and 79° 24' E. Population (1901), 3,918. It has an old Vaishnav temple, which is considered to rank next to that at Srirangam in point of sanctity. The idol of Bhuvarahaswami in it is alleged to be self-created. The shrine is said to have been destroyed three times during the Kali Yuga, and to have been rebuilt as it now is by Achyutappa Naik of Tanjore. Among some fine carvings in a black stone (probably trap) are four well- executed figures, said to represent Achyutappa Naik and his three brothers. The local history of the temple relates that the locality where it is situated was called Srimushnam ('destruction of prosperity ') because Vishnu lived there after rescuing the world from the depths of the ocean, whither it had been carried by the demon Hiranyaksha, The drops of water which ran off his body when he emerged from the sea made the reservoir attached to the shrine. There are two great annual festivals. At one of them the idol is taken to bathe in the sea at the point on the shore opposite the supposed meeting-place, out at sea, of the waters of the Vellar and the Coleroon.
