01The linga under the shield
Adipureeswarar is a swayambhu linga of earth, and it stays covered by a metal kavasam the whole year. Only for three days, from the Karthigai full moon, is the shield lifted and the bare linga seen, anointed with punugu, the fragrant civet oil. Thyagaraja, the dancing processional form, has his own shrine, and the Cholas, who loved Tiruvarur’s Thyagaraja, gave this temple the same honour. All three of the Tevaram singers sang here. The temple is also tied to Kaliya Nayanar, the oil-presser who kept its lamps burning and, when his oil ran out, was ready to fill them with his own blood.
02Sundarar and Sangiliyar
Sekkizhar’s Periya Puranam tells how Sundarar fell in love with Sangiliyar, a maiden who served the temple, and married her here after swearing beneath the magizham tree that he would never leave Tiruvottiyur. He broke the vow and lost his sight, and his later hymns are the cry of a blind devotee asking for his eyes. Centuries later the saint-poet Pattinathar, the merchant of Kaveripattinam who gave away everything, lived his last days here; his samadhi stands near the shore. Vadivudai Amman is one of three Devis of the Tondai country, with Kodiyidai Amman of Tirumullaivoyal and Thiruvudai Amman of Melur, and many devotees visit all three on one full-moon day.
The temple is in Tiruvottiyur on the north Chennai coast, a short walk from Tiruvottiyur suburban station. Come on the Karthigai full moon to see the linga without its shield; expect long queues.
