01Forgiveness for Indra and Hanuman
At Kailasa Shiva once met Indra in the form of a gana, and Indra, not knowing him, struck with the vajra; when he understood, Shiva forgave him. So the Lord is Kutram Poruttha Nathar in Tamil, Aparadha Kshamapaneswarar in Sanskrit, he who bore the offence. The temple adds Hanuman’s katha: at Rameswaram, finding that Shri Rama had already worshipped the sand linga Sita made, Hanuman wrapped his tail round it to pull it out, and was sent here to be freed of that fault; he then set up his own linga at Kurakkukka nearby. Surya also worshipped here, so the place is called Adityapuri. Sundarar’s padigam on Karuppariyalur is in the seventh Tirumurai.
02Three levels like Sirkazhi
The place lies west of Sirkazhi and is called Melaikkazhi, the western Kazhi, and it copies Sirkazhi’s great temple in plan. Wooden stairs climb through three levels: Sattainathar at the top, Thoniappar with the Devi in the middle, and the presiding Lord below. The hall has the arched vavval nethi, bat’s-forehead, form, and a jasmine creeper beside the Lingodbhava niche is the sthala vriksham. The gopuram has three tiers. Dharmapuram Adheenam administers the temple.
About 10 km from Vaitheeswaran Koil and off the bus routes; hire an auto and combine it with Kurakkukka, Tiruvalaputhur and Tirupunkur in half a day, in daylight.
