01Adishesha’s worship
Pambu is the snake, and Tiruppampuram the town of the serpent. The temple’s katha says the serpents once laughed at Shri Ganesh and were cursed by Shiva to lose their power; Adishesha led them here and worshipped through a Shivaratri night, and they were forgiven. So the Lord is Seshapureeswarar. Rahu and Ketu, the shadow grahas, stand together in one image here, and those whose horoscopes show sarpa dosha come to pray. A custom of the region is to visit four naga shrines in one day: Kumbakonam Nageswarar in the morning, Tirunageswaram at noon, Tiruppampuram in the evening and Nagore at night.
02In the Tevaram
Sambandar and Appar sang Tiruppampuram. The temple is small and stands among the paddy fields of the Tiruvarur country, and the snakes of the village, people say, harm no one. The Shivaratri night of worship, after Adishesha’s, is its greatest festival, and the Rahu-Ketu peyarchi, when the shadow grahas change signs, brings crowds.
About 25 km east of Kumbakonam, near Peralam.
