हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Agastheeswarar Temple, Kiliyanur (Tirukkiliyannavur)

A quiet Agastya shrine on the Tindivanam–Puducherry road, sung by Sambandar in a padigam of the Third Tirumurai.

Built: Small temple without a rajagopuram, said to be of Chola originWhere: Tamil Nadu (Villupuram district, near Tindivanam)Deity: Bhagwan Shiva as Agastheeswarar; Devi as Akilandeswari12.11° N, 79.75° E
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0

01Agastya’s Kiliyanur

Agastya worshipped here and has his own sannidhi. The temple has no rajagopuram or flagstaff; Krodhana Bhairava and Kala Bhairava stand side by side in the outer prakaram, and the inner one holds Vinayaka, Gajalakshmi, Murugan with Valli and Deivanai, Mahavishnu, Brahma, the Navagrahas, Surya and Chandra. Akilandeswari has her own shrine, and on Mahashivaratri night Nandi is said to worship her. The vanni is the sthala tree. Tiru Arasili and Irumbai Makalam, two more Tevaram shrines, are within 15 km.

Visiting

About 18 km from Tindivanam on the Puducherry road. Hours are short (about 8 a.m.–12 noon, 5:30–7 p.m.); call ahead.

Nearby

Arasaleeswarar Temple, Tiru Arasili (Ozhindiyapattu)Standing
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Arasaleeswarar Temple, Tiru Arasili (Ozhindiyapattu)

Arasu is the peepal. Shiva appeared to the sage Vamadeva from a peepal tree here, and the small swayambhu linga carries the scar of a king’s arrow. Pradosham worship here is especially honoured.

Mahakaleswarar Temple, Irumbai MakalamStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Mahakaleswarar Temple, Irumbai Makalam

One of the Makalam shrines of the Tevaram, near Puducherry, where the top of the swayambhu linga is cracked in three and one piece has fallen away. Sambandar sang it.

Chandramouleeswarar Temple, TiruvakkaraiStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Chandramouleeswarar Temple, Tiruvakkarai

A Chola temple on the Varaha river with a rare three-faced linga and the fierce Vakrakali, who slew the asura Vakra. Sambandar sang it.

Puducherry (Pondicherry)Standing
Renaissance and the struggle for Swaraj

Puducherry (Pondicherry)

The French enclave on the Coromandel coast where Subramania Bharati wrote his greatest poems in exile from 1908 to 1918, and where Sri Aurobindo came in 1910 and stayed for forty years.