01Airavata and the bees
Durvasa gave Indra a lotus from his worship of Shiva; Indra set it on Airavata’s head and the elephant threw it down and trampled it. Both were cursed, and Airavata wandered the earth as a wild elephant for a hundred years, worshipping at many shrines. The temple’s katha says he struck the clouds here with his tusks and brought down rain like a river, kottaru. A rishi named Subha came daily for darshan; one evening he found the doors shut, became a bee to slip in, and stayed. The hive in the sanctum is shown from a distance, and once a year its honey is used for abhishekam. Kulottunga I claims the building in his inscriptions, and Sambandar’s hymn is cut on the sanctum walls.
About 14 km from Karaikal and 5 km from Tirunallar; local buses and autos run from Karaikal.
