हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Vadukeeswarar (Panchanadeeswarar) Temple, Vadugur (Tiruvandarkoil)

A Chola stone temple on the highway west of Puducherry, now in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India. Sambandar sang Vadugur.

Built: Chola temple with inscriptions of Rajaraja I, Kulothunga I and Rajendra III; protected by the Archaeological Survey of IndiaWhere: Puducherry (on the Puducherry–Villupuram road)Deity: Bhagwan Shiva as Vadukeeswarar (Panchanadeeswarar, Vadugurnathar); Devi as Tripurasundari (Vaduvagirkanni)11.92° N, 79.66° E
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0

01The Chola temple at Tiruvandarkoil

The temple’s katha ties the name to the katha of Brahma’s fifth head: when Brahma grew proud, Shiva as Bhairava took the head, and the Lord here is Vadukeeswarar. The present stone temple is Chola, with inscriptions of Rajaraja I, Kulothunga I and Rajendra III, and the Archaeological Survey of India protects it as a monument; the stucco figures on the vimana were redone by the Survey around 1994. Tripurasundari’s shrine faces north in the second prakaram. Maha Shivaratri in Masi, Vaikasi Visakam, Skanda Shashti, Thaipusam and Navaratri are kept.

Visiting

At Tiruvandarkoil on the Puducherry–Villupuram highway, about 20 km from Puducherry.

Nearby

Chandramouleeswarar Temple, TiruvakkaraiStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Chandramouleeswarar Temple, Tiruvakkarai

A Chola temple on the Varaha river with a rare three-faced linga and the fierce Vakrakali, who slew the asura Vakra. Sambandar sang it.

Panankatteeswarar (Netroddharaka Swami) Temple, Puravar Panangattur (Panaiyapuram)Standing
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Panankatteeswarar (Netroddharaka Swami) Temple, Puravar Panangattur (Panaiyapuram)

The palm-forest shrine beside the Chennai–Villupuram highway, rebuilt in stone by Rajendra Chola I. Sambandar sang it, and the highway was later turned aside to spare it.

Sishtagurunathar Temple, TiruthuraiyurStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Sishtagurunathar Temple, Tiruthuraiyur

Here Sundarar asked Shiva to grant him the way of tapas, and the Lord became his guru. Sishtagurunathar means the Lord who is teacher to his disciple.

Mahakaleswarar Temple, Irumbai MakalamStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Mahakaleswarar Temple, Irumbai Makalam

One of the Makalam shrines of the Tevaram, near Puducherry, where the top of the swayambhu linga is cracked in three and one piece has fallen away. Sambandar sang it.