01The meaning of Om
On Kailasa, Parvati asked Shiva to explain the Pranava, Om, and her attention strayed while he spoke. Sent to earth, she came to Omampuliyur and did tapas under an elandai tree, and Shiva appeared as Dakshinamurti and taught her the meaning. Nandi guarded the door, and the temple adds that Murugan slipped in as a bee through the abhishekam outlet and heard it from the flowers in her hair. So this temple has two Dakshinamurtis, one in the usual south niche and one in his own shrine between the Lord and the Devi, and no Navagraha shrine. The Lord is Thuyar Theertha Nathar, he who ends sorrow, and also Pranava Vyaghrapureeswarar.
02A Puliyur of the tiger-footed sage
Maharshi Vyaghrapada, Pulikkal Munivar in Tamil, was given tiger’s feet and eyes so he could climb trees in the dark for flowers unspoiled by bees. The shrines where he worshipped are the Puliyurs, and Omampuliyur is one, with Chidambaram, Kanattampuliyur, Erukattampuliyur and Tiruppathiripuliyur. A stone Nataraja in the sanctum wall is the form revealed to him, and another panel shows the five Puliyur lingas. Appar’s padigam pictures the town wreathed in the smoke of homa fires, and he ties the name to them; both he and Sambandar also call the shrine Vadathali, a name still held by a small temple across the Gauri Theertham.
About 7 km from Kattumannarkoil and 30 km from Chidambaram; Chidambaram town bus 41 stops at the temple.
