Apatsahayar Temple, Tiruppazhanam

01The helper in danger

Apat-sahaya means the one who helps in danger. Pazhanam is a field near water, and Tiruppazhanam lies on the north bank of the Kaveri a few kilometres east of Tiruvaiyaru. Appar and Sambandar sang the shrine. It is the Chola work of the ninth century in its sanctum, with Chola, Thanjavur Nayaka and Maratha inscriptions on its walls, and its second prakaram, built in Vijayanagara times, is full of carving.

02The seven shrines

Every Chittirai, after the full moon, the deities of Tiruvaiyaru set out in a glass palanquin on the Saptasthanam, visiting seven shrines in a day and a night: Tiruvaiyaru, Tiruppazhanam, Tiruchotruthurai, Tiruvedikudi, Tirukkandiyur, Tirupoonthuruthi and Tiruneithanam. At each, the deity of the village joins the procession. Thousands walk the whole round on foot, and the palanquins come home to Tiruvaiyaru the next morning. Tiruppazhanam is the second halt.