Pushpavananathar Temple, Tiruppoonthuruthi

01Appar’s matha

Thuruthi is land between two rivers, and Poonthuruthi lies between the Kaveri and the Kudamurutti. Appar made his home here for a time; a matha outside the temple is pointed out as his, where he composed many hymns besides the three on this shrine. The Periya Puranam tells how Sambandar came this way, and Appar, unknown to him, took a shoulder of his palanquin. When Sambandar asked where Appar was, the old man answered from beneath the pole, and the young saint leapt down and bowed to him. The temple also keeps a katha of Sambandar standing at the gate, unwilling to tread ground Appar had cleared with his own hands, and of Nandi moving aside so that he could see the Lord; both Nandis stand slightly off the axis.

02The temple and its festival

A five-tiered gopuram opens on the Panchamurti mandapa, and the second court has a Vijayanagara-period hall with fine sculpture. The niches hold a Dakshinamurti with a veena, an Ardhanareeswara, a Durga standing in penance, Appar seated in meditation and Sundarar with his two wives. The temple was built up from a Chola core of the ninth century, with later work down to the Thanjavur Nayakas. Pushpavananathar is the sixth stop of Tiruvaiyaru’s Saptasthanam procession in Chittirai, when his palanquin joins Aiyarappar’s on the way to Tiruneithanam.