7 Famous Temples To Visit In Villupuram

Visited on: Sunday, 18^th September, 2016

Location

Thiruvennainallur is situated at a distance of about 21 kms from Villupuram on the Villupuram to Thirukkovilur route. From Thirukkovilur it is about 20 kms and from Thirumundeecharam (Gramam) it is about 6 kms..

Other Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams near this temple are – Thiruvamathur, Thiruthuraiyur, Thiruvathigai, Thirumundeecharam, T.Idaiyaru and Thirunavalur.

General Information

• This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 14^th Shiva Sthalam in Nadu Naadu.
• Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).
• The temple is also known as “Arul Thurai”.
• Sundaramurthy Nayanar was “Thaduthatkonda” Sthalam by Lord Shiva.
• The temple is associated with the attainment of sainthood by Sundaramoorthy Nayanar.
• Saint Sundarar sung his first Devaram song “Pitha Pirai Sudi Arulala” in this temple.
• There is a separate hall (mandapam) called “Vazhakku Theertha Mandapam” (the Court where justice is given) in the temple.
• In this temple, Lord Shiva gave darshan in his bull mount (Rishaba Vaganam) to Sundarar.
• This east facing temple’s main tower (Raja Gopuram) has 5-tiers and has two corridors.

History of the Temple

Thiruvennainallur is situated in the erstwhile Thirumunaippadi Nadu and is on the southern bank of river Pennai. This ancient temple is one of the very old temples in Tamil Nadu.

 Thiruvenainallur also has the reputation of having the great philanthropist, Sadayappa Vallal, a wealthy 12th-century small dynastic king. He was also the head of Puduvai (Pondicherry). He is a close friend and a patron of Kavi Chakravarthy Kambar, the Tamil poet who wrote Kamba Ramayanam.

Visited on: Saturday, 17^th September, 2016

Location

Thiruvamathur is located at a distance of about 8 kms from Villupuram on the Villupuram to Gingee route.

Other Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams near this temple are – Thiruvennainallur, Thiruthuraiyur, Thiruvathigai, Thirumundeecharam, T.Idaiyaru and Thirunavalur.

General Information

• This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 21^st Shiva Sthalam in Nadu Naadu.
• Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).
• Lord Shiva’s idol has the impression of a hoof at the top. There are multiple rivulet markings which signify that this lord was worshiped with milk that flowed from udders of cows.
• Inscribed on the chest of Goddess Muthambikai’s idol here is a small piece of what looks like a snake’s tail.
• There are two separate temples here. Goddess Muthambikai’s temple is right in front of Lord Shiva’s temple.
• Lord Shiva’s temple has a 7-tiered main tower (Rajagopuram) with 2 corridors while the goddess’s temple has a 5-tiered main tower with a single corridor.
• This is one of the 44 Paadal petra sthalams where the “Moovar” (the three saints - Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar) and Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar) had rendered their Pathigams.
• Vannacharabam Sri Dandapani Swamigal lived in this place.
• The first “Kaumara Madam” was established here.

History of the Temple

Thiruvamathur is located on the banks of the Pampa river, a tributary of the Pennai river. The historical names of this place are – Gomathrupuram, Gomatheeswaram and Gomathupuram. 

This temple was originally built by the Pallava rulers. Later on, the Cholas made several endowments. This is evident from the stone inscriptions available here. At a later date, Achutha Deva Pallavar is believed to have renovated this temple. There is an idol of Achutha Deva Pallavar here.

In this temple, there are stone inscriptions that document the histories of 26 kings from 955 to 1584 AD. The important kings among them are Rajaraja Cholan-I, Rajendra Cholan-I, Rajathi Rajan-I, Kulothungan-I, Vikramathithan, Sadaya Verman, Vikrama Pandian and Krishnadeva Rayar.

The stone inscriptions also reveal that a Chola king sanctioned a grant that helped several blind students learn the devaram hymns and sing them in the temples.

Visited on: Sunday, 18^th September, 2016.

Location 

Thirunavalur is situated at a distance of about 28 kms from Villupuram. On the Villupuram to Trichy National Highway (bypass), at the Gadilam junction, there is an overbridge. Take the service road under this bridge to get on to the Panruti road. Continue on this road further for about 3 kms to reach this temple.

The temple is 12 kms from Panruti on the Panruti to Ulundoorpettai road and it is 15 kms from Ulundoorpettai. 

Other Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams near this temple are – Thiruvamathur, Thiruthuraiyur, Thiruvathigai, Thirumundeecharam, T.Idaiyaru and Thiruvennainallur.

General Information

• This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 8^th Shiva Sthalam in Nadu Naadu.
• Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested) who is believed to have appeared in the midst of Jambu trees (Naaval).
• This is the birth place of Saint Sundaramurthy Nayanar, one of the four great Saints (Nalvar) and one of the 63 Nayanmars.
• This temple’s entrance has a 5- tiered main tower (Rajagopuram) and it has 2 corridors.

History of the Temple

Thirunavalur is situated in the erstwhile Thirumunaippadi Nadu and is in between the rivers Gadilam and Pennai. The temple is considered to be one of the oldest one and is said to have existed here even before the 4 yugas. This temple was earlier called “Thiruthondeecharam” and the place around it was called Thirunavalur and Jambunathapuri. However, it is now called Thirunamanallur.

As per the stone inscriptions available in this temple, the Chola king Rajathithan, son of Paranthakan-I, renovated and expanded this temple.

Visited on: Sunday, 18^th September, 2016

Location

Thiruthuraiyur is situated at a distance of about 10 kms from Panruti on the Villupuram to Panruti route. From Villupuram it is about 20 kms and from Cuddalore it is about 32 kms.

There is a railway station here on the Villupuram to Cuddalore railway line. This temple is about 3 kms away from there.

General Information

• This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 15^th Shiva Sthalam in Nadu Naadu.
• Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).
• This west facing temple has no main tower (Raja Gopuram) and has one corridor.
• This is the birth place of Saint Arul Nandhi Sivachariyar - one of the four "Santhana Kuravarkal".

History of the Temple

The temple is situated on the southern bank of the river Pennai / Malattaru. From Sundarar’s hymn of this temple it is known that during his period the river was flowing on northern side of the temple, but now it flows on the opposite side. The historical name of this place is Thiruthuraiyur but it is now known as Thiruthalur.

As per the stone inscriptions, this village was earlier called “Rajaraja Valanattuth Thirumunaippadi Thiruthuraiyur”.  The lord here is named “Thava Neri Aludaiyar”.

Visited on: Sunday, September 18, 2016

Location

Thiru Mundeecharam is situated at a distance of about 17 kms from Villupuram on the Villupuram to Thirukkovilur route.

Other Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams near this place are –

Thiruvennainallur, T.Idaiyaru, Thiruvamathur, Puravar Panangkattur, Thirunavalur, Thiruvathigai Veerattanam and Thiruthuraiyur.

General Information

• This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 19^th Shiva Sthalam in Nadu Naadu.
• Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).
• This east facing temple has a single corridor and its main tower (Rajagopuram) has 5-tiers.
• The flag post (Dwajasthambam) was installed recently.
• The last consecration ceremony (Maha Kumbabishekam) took place on 10.09.2006.

History of the Temple

This temple is located on the southern bank of the Malattaru (Pennai river), now known as Malattaar. As per the stone inscriptions available in this temple, this place was once the capital of Mudiyur Nadu.

Also, these stone inscriptions reveal that this place was once called “Mouli Gramam” (“Mouli” means chieftain and “gramam” means village in Tamil). However, over a period of time, this was shortened to just Gramam.

Visited on: Sunday, 18^th September, 2016

Location

Thiru Idaiyaru is at a distance of about 35 kms from Villupuram on the Villupuram to Thirukovilur route (via Thiruvennainallur).

Another nearby Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam is Thiruvennainallur which is at a distance of about 5 kms.

General Information

• This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 13^th Shiva Sthalam in Nadu Naadu.
• Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).
• This is a west facing temple and its main tower (Rajagopurm) has 3-tiers.
• There is no flag post (dwajasthambam) in this temple.
• This is the birth place of the saivite guru Marai Gnana Sambandar. 

History of the Temple

The temple is located between the rivers South Pennai and Malattaru, on the southern banks of Pennai river. The historical name of this place is “Thiru Maruthanthurai”.  This ancient temple is believed to have been constructed during the time of the Chola dynasty. There are 18 stone inscriptions belonging to the Chola, Pandiyas, Vijayanagar and Chalukiyas periods.

Visited on: 17^th September, 2016

Location

Panayapuram is at a distance of about 12 kms from Villupuram and 3 kms from Mundiambakkam. It is on the Pondicherry to Mundiambakkam route. The temple is hardly one km away from the Vikravandi tollgate on the Panruti / Kumabakonam route. 

Other Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams near Panayapuram are: Thiruvamathur (13 kms), Thiruthuraiyur (24 kms) and Thirumundeeswaram (Gramam) (29 kms). 

General Information

• This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 20^th Shiva Sthalam in Nadu Naadu. 
• Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).
• This is one of the few temples that has palm tree is its “sthala viruksham”. 
• This temple has two corridors and its main tower (Rajagopuram) has 4-tiers.
• The last Consecration ceremony (Maha Kumbabishekam) took place on 02.06.2004 and prior to that in the year 1971. 

History of the Temple

This temple is believed to have been built by the Chola King Kulothungan-I.

It is believed that once this place was densely populated with palm trees. This place is called “Puravaar Panangkatur” because “Puravaar” in Tamil means forest and Panangkatur means full of palm trees. Saint Thirugnanasambanthar has also mentioned this place as Puravaar Panankatur in his hyms.

Of the 276 Paadal Petra Shivasthalams, very few temples have Palm tree (Panai) as their Sthala Viruksham. This temple is one of them. They are - Thiru Panaiyur, Thiru Vanparthan Panankattur, Thiru Puravaar Panankattur, Thiru Cheyyar, Thiru Mazhapadi, Thiru Valampuram and Thiruppanandal.