Vanchinathar Temple, Srivanchiyam

01Yama as guardian

Yama, the temple says, grew weary of being cursed by all whose lives he took, and did tapas here. Shiva made him the kshetrapala, the guardian, of this temple, and promised that those who die at Srivanchiyam would not suffer the fear of death. So Yama has his own shrine here, with Chitragupta, the only Shiva temple where he is worshipped thus, and pilgrims worship him first. Like Kashi, it is held a place for the last rites, and its tank is the Gupta Ganga, the hidden Ganga.

02Lakshmi’s return

The second katha of the place is of Lakshmi and Vishnu: Lakshmi left Vaikuntha after a quarrel, and Vishnu, searching for her, came to a sandal forest here and worshipped the linga he found. Shiva reunited them, and the place became Sri-vanchiyam, where Sri, Lakshmi, was longed for. Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar sang the shrine. Its masonry is Chola work of the eleventh century, with later Vijayanagara and Nayaka additions; the eastern gopuram rises about 33 metres.