About trip

About Temple:   This is one of the 276 Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalams and 38th Shiva Sthalam on the Southern bank of the river Cauveri in Chozha Nadu (Thenkarai).
Lord Shiva in this temple is a Swayambumurthi (self-manifested).

• Moolavar:Sri Vedapureeswarar
• Ambal:Sri Soundarambigai
• Theertham (Holy water):Veda Theertham
• Sthala Vriksham (Sacred Tree): White Sandalwood tree and Vilvam
• Pathigam (Hymn) rendered by:Saint Thirugnanasambanthar.
• Location:Thiruvazhunthur, Nagapattinam,Tamil Nadu.

History:

• This temple is counted as one of the seventy Maadak Koils built by King Kochengat Cholan.
• This west facing temple has two corridors and its main tower (Rajagopuram) has 5-tiers.
• There are six stone inscriptions in this temple which relate to the period of Chola Kings Kulothungan-III and Rajarajan.
• According to legend, in ancient times, this region was densely covered with Sandalwood trees. 
• Hence the historical name of this place is “Santhanaranyam” (“Santhanam” means sandalwood and “Aranyam” means forest in Tamil). 
• Other than the shrines of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy, shrines and idols of Vinayakar, Murugan, Kailasa Nathar, Bhabahareswarar, Kadambavaneswarar, Agasthiar, Markandeyar, Cauvery, Navagraham, Sorna Bairavar, Kala Bairavar and Chandikeswarar can be seen in the corridors.
• Near the temple’s sacred tree, there is a shrine for “Kshetra Lingam” with idols of Vinayakar and a Nandhi.
• There are separate shrines for Sri Madeswarar and Sri Madeswari in the outer corridor. It is believed that initially only these two shrines constituted this temple. The other shrines and buildings were constructed at a later date.
• In the “koshtam” (place surrounding the sanctum sanctorum), idols of Narthana Vinayakar, Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbavar, Brahma and Vishnu Durgai can be seen.
• There is a separate temple for Lord Mahavishnu which faces this temple.

Itinerary

Day 1 - Nagapattinam Sightseeing

Proceed towards Nagapattinam. Then transfer to Hotel. Hotel Check In. Then proceed to visit Dutch Fort. Kayarohanaswamy Temple. Sikkal Singaravelar Temple. Come back to Hotel. Overnight stay at Hotel.

Day 2 - Nagapattinam Sightseeing

Morning Breakfast at Hotel. Check out from Hotel. Then Proceed towards Sri Vedapureeswarar Temple at Thiruvazhunthur Soundaryaraja Perumal Temple. Nellukadai Mariamman Temple. Finally drop at Railway Junction / Airport.