01The Lord who kept His word
Turutti means an island in a river, and in Appar’s day the shrine stood between two streams of the Kaveri. The temple’s katha says Parvati, born from the sacrificial fire of Bharata Muni, shaped a linga of sand in the river each day; on the eighth day Shiva rose from it and took her hand. She asked that the wedding be done before her family, and He did it exactly so, which is why He is Sonnavaararivar, He who did as He said. The uddhala tree, a kind of fig, shaded the wedding, and a pair of stone sandals lies under it. The old name Uddhalavanam became Kuthalam.
02Sundarar’s tank
After he broke his vow to Sangiliyar at Tiruvottiyur, Sundarar lost his sight and his strength. At Kanchipuram one eye was given back. He came here worn and remorseful, and a voice told him to bathe in the pond north of the temple; he rose from it whole, and the pond is still called after him. Sambandar sang two hymns here and Appar and Sundarar one each. An inscription of the seventh year of Rajaraja I records land given by Sembiyan Mahadevi, and another names the place Vingunir-tirutturutti. Amman has her own enclosure with a three-tiered gopuram. The temple was consecrated after renovation in May 2022.
The life of this place
- May 2022Kumbhabhishekam after renovation.
In Kuthalam, about 9 km from Mayiladuthurai on the Kumbakonam road and 1 km from the bus stand. Tirumananjeri and Tiruvelvikkudi are close by.
