01The king and the jasmine
The temple’s katha begins with a Tondaiman king riding back from battle. His elephant’s legs were caught in a thicket of mullai, wild jasmine, and he cut the creepers with his sword. Blood welled from the ground. Under the jasmine he found a linga, wounded by his own blade. In grief he would have taken his life, but Shiva stopped him and made himself known as Masilamani, the flawless gem. The scar is still on the linga, which is why it is covered in sandal paste and receives no water abhishekam. Two pillars of the white erukku plant stand in the mandapa, which the temple says the king brought with him.
02Sundarar’s hymn and the Devi
Sundarar sang Tirumullaivoyal in the seventh Tirumurai, and in the nineteenth century Ramalinga Swamigal of Vadalur sang its Lord too. Kodiyidai Nayaki, the Devi with the creeper-slim waist, faces south in her own shrine. She is the second of the three Devis of the Tondai country with Vadivudai Amman of Tiruvottiyur and Thiruvudai Amman of Melur, and on Fridays, above all on full-moon Fridays, women come to her in numbers. The temple has a five-tiered gopuram and Chola work in its sanctum, with later halls around it.
On the Chennai–Avadi road; Thirumullaivoyal and Annanur suburban stations are close by. Fridays are crowded at the Devi’s shrine.
