01Adishesha’s Lord
The temple’s katha says Adishesha, the serpent who bears the earth, grew tired of its weight and worshipped Shiva here for strength, so the Lord is Nageswarar, the serpent’s Lord. In the month of Chittirai, for three days, the first rays of the rising sun pass through the gateways and fall on the linga, and the temple calls it Surya’s worship. Appar sang the shrine as Kudanthai Keezhkottam, the eastern temple of Kudanthai, Kumbakonam’s old name. Nataraja’s hall in the court is built as a stone chariot drawn by horses.
02The Chola sculptures
The sanctum was built under Aditya Chola I in the late ninth century, one of the earliest Chola stone temples. Its niches hold some of the finest sculpture of that age: Ardhanari, Brahma, Dakshinamurti, and standing figures of men and women, princes and ladies, carved nearly life size with a grace that art historians rank with the best in India. The gopurams and outer halls are Nayaka work of the sixteenth century. Every twelve years, at the Mahamaham, the deity goes to the great tank with those of the town’s other temples.
In the centre of Kumbakonam, about 1 km from the Mahamaham tank.
