हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Mangalapureeswarar Temple, Tiruchopuram (Thyagavalli)

A shrine by the sea south of Cuddalore where, besides the linga, Shiva and the Devi sit with Ganesha and Murugan on their laps. Sambandar sang it.

Built: Coastal temple with a family shrine of Shiva, the Devi, Ganesha and MuruganWhere: Tamil Nadu (Cuddalore district, near the coast)Deity: Bhagwan Shiva as Mangalapureeswarar (Chopuranathar) and Balakripeswarar; Devi as Thyagavalli (Chopura Nayaki) and Satyayadakshi11.62° N, 79.74° E
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0

01The Lord with his family

The main sanctum holds Mangalapureeswarar as a linga with the Devi Thyagavalli; the village itself is now called Thyagavalli after her. Behind it, in another shrine, Shiva as Balakripeswarar sits in human form with the Devi Satyayadakshi, Ganesha on his lap and the six-faced Murugan on hers. Agastya is said to have worshipped here, and a Chola king’s linga is also enshrined. Sambandar sang one padigam on Tiruchopuram.

Visiting

Thyagavalli village is near the coast about 15 km south of Cuddalore.

Nearby

Sivakozhundeeswarar Temple, Tiruthinainagar (Theerthanagiri)Standing
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Sivakozhundeeswarar Temple, Tiruthinainagar (Theerthanagiri)

Thinai is millet: Tiruthinainagar, now Theerthanagiri near Cuddalore, was sung by Sundarar. The Devi is Oppila Nayaki, she who has no equal.

Pataleeswarar Temple, Tiruppathiripuliyur (Cuddalore)Standing
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Pataleeswarar Temple, Tiruppathiripuliyur (Cuddalore)

The shrine of the trumpet-flower tree in Cuddalore, where Appar came ashore after being thrown into the sea tied to a stone, singing Namasivaya.

Devanatha Perumal Temple, Thiruvahindrapuram (Thiruvanthipuram)Standing
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Devanatha Perumal Temple, Thiruvahindrapuram (Thiruvanthipuram)

The Lord of the devas on the Gadilam river, where Adisesha dug a well for the Lord’s abhisheka, and where Vedanta Desika lived and wrote for some forty years. Hayagriva sits on the hill above.

Vamanapureeswarar Temple, TirumanikuzhiStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Vamanapureeswarar Temple, Tirumanikuzhi

Mani is the young brahmachari, Vamana, and kuzhi the hollow: the temple’s katha ties the place to Vamana and Mahabali. Sambandar sang it, on the Kedilam near Cuddalore.