01The hunter’s night
A hunter chased a deer that ran to a sage worshipping a linga in the forest. Shiva came between them as a tiger and drove the hunter up a tree, where he sat awake all night, too frightened to sleep, idly plucking leaves and letting them fall. The night was Mahashivaratri, the tree a bilva, and the leaves fell on the Lord below. The hunter gained Shiva’s abode. When Yama came for him next day, the temple says, Shiva drove Yama off, and so Nandi here faces the gate rather than the sanctum, watching for his return; Yama Theertham lies opposite the entrance. Brahma and Bhagwan Vishnu stand as the door guardians. The hunter’s story is carved on the wall inside the gopuram, and Mahashivaratri is the great night here. Sambandar’s hymn is in the third Tirumurai.
About 7 km from Swamimalai and 15–17 km from Kumbakonam, on the south bank of the Kollidam; Vijayamangai is close by. Come on Mahashivaratri for the night-long worship.
