01The crab and the linga
Needur is the place that endures, said to remain even at pralaya. Indra, the temple says, shaped its linga from sand, and Surya and Chandra worshipped it after him. An asura reborn as a crab for his karma was sent here by Narada, bathed daily in the Kaveri and worshipped, and Shiva opened a hole in the linga through which the crab entered and was freed. The hole is still shown, and the event is kept as Karkataka puja on the Aadi full moon. In Avani the rising sun falls on the linga. Appar’s padigam in the sixth Tirumurai praises Tirupunkur and Needur together; Sundarar also sang the shrine. Munaiyaduvar Nayanar, one of the sixty-three, was of Needur.
02Three Ganapatis and the Devi facing Shani
A magizham tree, the sthala vriksham, stands near the modest east entrance, which carries stucco figures of the Lord on the bull with Vinayaka and Murugan. Two prakarams hold shrines of Murugan, Kasi Viswanathar, Mahalakshmi and three Ganapatis side by side: Chintamani, Selva and Sivananda. The Devi’s south-facing shrine stands in the outer prakaram, and directly across is an east-facing shrine of Shani, so both are seen together; there is no Navagraha shrine. Annamalaiyar is among the niche figures around the sanctum.
About 5 km from Mayiladuthurai with regular buses. Tirupunkur and Korukkai are close by.
