01A crore of lingas
Koti is a crore. The temple says the Lord showed himself to a Chola king and to the sage Eranda as innumerable lingas, and the swayambhu linga here has a crown shaped like a castor seed; the castor plant, eranda, is the sthala tree. The sage is honoured in his own shrine, for the temple’s katha says he went down into the pit that had swallowed the Kaveri at nearby Tiruvalanjuzhi and so brought the river back. Pandhadu Nayaki, the Devi who plays with a ball, stands with one foot raised as if to kick it, and sportsmen come to her. The Koti Theertham well, Amudhakkinaru, is in the first prakaram. Appar’s hymn names Kottaiyur together with Tiruvalanjuzhi, and Arunagirinathar sang the Murugan here as Koti Subramaniar.
About 5 km from Kumbakonam on the Swamimalai road, with town buses passing the village.
