Vaidyanatha Temple, Vaitheeswaran Koil

01The healer and his oil

Vaidyanatha cures the illness of birth and death as well as the body’s. Devi Thaiyalnayaki is shown carrying oil, and pilgrims take home the tiruchandu urundai, small pellets of ash and earth from the temple, as prasad for the sick. Appar and Tirugnanasambandar both sang this shrine. Murugan here is Selvamuthukumaraswamy, and the temple says he received his vel at this place. Angaraka, the planet Mars, was cured of a skin disease by Shiva here, so those whose horoscopes show trouble from Mars come to pray.

02Jatayu Kundam

Within the temple is the Jatayu Kundam. The temple’s tradition holds that Shri Rama performed the last rites of the vulture-king Jatayu, who died fighting Ravana for Sita, at this spot. The tank of Siddhamirtham is said to hold nectar in its water. The town is also known across India for its Nadi astrologers, who read palm-leaf bundles said to carry each seeker’s life; their houses line the streets around the temple.

The life of this place