01Half the Lord’s body
The Skanda Purana and the Tamil kathas tell that Bhringi, a devotee who would go round Shiva alone and not Parvati, made the Devi resolve never to be separated from the Lord. She did tapas, and Shiva gave her half his body. At Tiruchengode that form, Ardhanareeswarar, stands in the sanctum, the right half the Lord, the left the Devi. The hill is called Kodimadachengunrur in the Tevaram, the red hill of the flag-topped mansions; the Silappatikaram names it Neduvelkundru. Muthuswami Dikshitar sang the Lord here in his kriti Ardhanarishvaram in raga Kumudakriya.
02The fever hymn and the climb
When Sambandar camped here in winter, the cold fever of the Kongu country struck his party. He sang the Tiruneelakanta padigam, each verse ending with an oath by the blue throat of Shiva that the karma of devotees shall not touch them, and the fever left; devotees still recite it in sickness. The climb is about 1,200 steps, with a long serpent carved in the rock along the way, and there is also a road to the top. Chenkottu Velavar, Murugan with his spear, has his own shrine on the same hill.
Tiruchengode is about 20 km north of Erode and 45 km from Salem. Climb the steps early; buses and cars go up the hill road.
