01Monkey, squirrel and crow
The temple’s katha says Vali came as a monkey, Indra as a squirrel and Yama as a crow to worship Shiva here, and the tank called Kakkai Madu, the crow’s pool, is said to have been made by Yama. Valeeswarar is a small linga in a west-facing sanctum; the Devi has a south-facing shrine. The Periya Puranam takes Sambandar from Tirumagaral to Kuranganilmuttam and on to Kanchipuram, and he left one padigam here. Half a kilometre north is a Pallava rock-cut cave shrine protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Visiting
About 8 km south of Kanchipuram via Mamandur and Thusi (Cheyyar taluk); combine with the Pallava caves at Mamandur.
