01Vali and the coconut cluster
Kurangu is a monkey, and there are two Kurangaduthurais on the Kaveri; this is the northern one, called Aduthurai Perumal Koil to set it apart from the southern Aduthurai near Tiruvidaimarudur. The temple says Vali, the vanara king of the Ramayana, worshipped here, and a small panel at the corner of the sanctum shows him at the linga. Its other katha gives Shiva the name Kulaivanangunathar: a pregnant woman, faint with heat and thirst in the temple, was saved when the Lord bent down a cluster of tender coconuts to her, and a sculpture of her stands in the eastern prakaram. So expectant mothers pray here for a safe delivery. Ardhanareeswara takes the place of Lingodbhava behind the sanctum. Sambandar’s hymn is in the third Tirumurai.
About 11 km from Tiruvaiyaru on the Kumbakonam road via Kapisthalam, a little off the main road beyond Ullikkadai. Full-moon days are crowded at the Devi’s shrine.
