01Food at midday
Nel is paddy, and Tirunelvayil was named for the rice fields that once ringed it. While Sambandar stayed at nearby Tiruvetkalam he came here often, and the temple’s katha says that one noon, when he and his party were hungry, the Lord himself saw that they were fed. So Shiva here is Uchinathar, Lord of the uchi, the noon hour, in Sanskrit Madhyaneeswarar. The linga is swayambhu, and on the wall behind it is a panel of the wedding of Shiva and Parvati. Sambandar’s ten verses on the shrine are in the Tevaram, and Arunagirinathar sang its four-armed Murugan in the Tiruppugazh.
02The temple today
The temple faces east behind a rajagopuram, with its tank, Kripa Samudram, close by. It covers about an acre within its walls. Kanakambikai stands in her own south-facing shrine in the front hall, and the prakaram holds Vinayaka, Murugan, Bhairava, five lingas and a Nataraja sabha. The fabric had fallen into ruin by the early twentieth century and was rebuilt. Five pujas are offered daily, and at Vaikasi Vishakam the five processional deities go out together.
In Sivapuri, about 5 km from the Annamalai University gate at Chidambaram; Tirukkazhippalai’s temple is 300 m away. Open about 7 a.m.–12 noon and 4.30–7.30 p.m.
