01The sword raised
A king prayed for a precious gem. Shiva came as a Brahmin and told him to fill a stone trough with Kaveri water, and bathe in it. However much the king poured, the trough would not fill, and in anger he drew his sword on the Brahmin. Shiva showed his true form and gave him the gem. From vaal, sword, and pokki, raised, comes Vatpokki; the linga is said to bear a sword mark. The Lord faces west and the Devi east, an unusual pairing. Every day ten pots of Kaveri water are carried up for the noon abhishekam, the worship at which Agastya is said to have come, so noon is the hour to be here. Appar’s hymn on Vatpokki is in the fifth Tirumurai.
02The climb
The way up begins at the shrines of Vinayaka and Anjaneya at the foot of the hill and climbs more than a thousand stone steps, with mandapams to rest in along the way. Surumbarkuzhali has her shrine partway up, and the path then wraps around the hill to the Lord’s west-facing sanctum. Around Mahashivaratri the sun enters through an opening and falls on the linga. The village says crows do not fly over the summit, and keeps the katha of a crow that spilled a devotee’s milk.
About 10 km from Kulithalai, which has a railway station on the Tiruchirappalli–Karur line. Climb early or plan to be at the top for the noon puja; carry water.
