Veezhinathar Temple, Tiruveezhimizhalai

01The lotus-eyed offering

The Shiva Purana tells that Bhagwan Vishnu, needing a weapon against the asuras, worshipped Shiva with a thousand lotuses a day. One day a lotus was missing, and Vishnu, whom the devotees call lotus-eyed, plucked out his own eye and offered it to complete the thousand. Shiva gave him the Sudarshana chakra. The temple holds that this happened here, and an eye in silver is shown on the Lord’s feet. Vishnu is also said to have brought the vimana of the sanctum from Vaikuntha. Behind the linga, Shiva and Parvati stand in their wedding form, for the Devi, born as Katyayani, married him here.

02The daily coin

Appar and Sambandar were together at Tiruveezhimizhalai when famine struck the Chola country. The Periya Puranam says the Lord left a gold coin, the padikkasu, on the temple steps for each of them every day, so that they could feed the devotees who came to them; Appar’s coin was pure, Sambandar’s had to be discounted at the market until he sang and it too was made pure. Both saints sang this temple. Mizhalai Kurumba Nayanar, who offered the vila fruit to the Lord daily, belongs to this village, and the vila tree gave it its name.