Thiru Idayatranadhar temple at T.Edayur- A padal petra sthalam

One of the many padal petra sthalam of sri Sundarar the temple is situated close to Tiruvennainallur and Thirukoilur on the Thiruvennainallur Thirukoilur road at about 5 kms from Thiruvennainallur and 10 kms before Thirukoilur.
The Gramam temple is also close by so also Naavalur the birth place of Sundarar and Thiruthuraiyur his place of enlightenment. Sri Sundarar was also known as Van thondar the poet who was a comrade  in arms with lord Shiva.The entire belt from Thiruvadhigai in the east to Thirukoilur in the west  around Vizhupuram has all these temples with in 20 kms of each other.There area lot of Narasimha temples also in between.
The temple is very easy to reach either from NH 45from Vizhupuram side or from Thirukoilur side. At arasur crossing on NH 45 after vizhupuram take a turn towards thiruvennainallur. you will cross gramam temple (Mundiswram) and reach Thiruvennainallur, Here take a right to reach Thirukoilur and about 5 kms you will reach the temple on the left.

Legends and Stories:
Sukha Brahman was born here as the son of  Sage Vyasa. He accidently overheard the divine gospel being taught to Parvaty who cursed him to be born with a parrot face.there is a small enclosure for him here
As you enter the main temple gopuram there is no kodimaram
The temple has Shiva Marundeshwarar @ Idai atru eashwarar in the east facing west hence the koshta vigrahas are all reversed . The main praharam has a 3 feet Shiva lingam with statues of the 5 savants

The praharam has a door leading to ambal sannidhi. The ambal Sri.Gnanambikai is facing east
The outer praharam has  sannidhis for the usual koshta vigrahas but in reverse order as Shiva is facing west
The statue of Suka brahma rishi is seen under the tree
there are sannidhis for Ganapathy, ,Navagraha and Sapthamathas.
The ambal Gnanambikai sannidhi also has an outside entrance
There is an additional ganesha sannidhi in front of the Ambal sannidhi
Murugan has a seperate sannidhi inside the mandapam seen as you enter the temple on the left

Swarnakateswarar temple at Neivanai- A padal petra Sthalam

Among the Nadu naatu padal petra sthalams this is a very ancient temple.  the temple has been renovated recently by devotees who have received blessings in bounty . If the priest Sri krishnamoorthy is to be believed the lord   blesses his devotees and ensures a bountiful harvest in any activity. He is 80 years young and is willing to show you around all day and is a picture of great confidence
How to reach:
The temple can be reached from Tiruvennainellur on the road to Ulundurpet about 21 kms from Tiruvennainallur, take a right turn towards Neivanai and at about 5 kms you will see the ruins
You can also reach the place from Ulundurpet. Enter Ulundurpet and at the main bus stand take a turn north west wards towards Thirukoilur on SH 69 It is called the  Tiruvennainellur  road.About 12kms from the bus stand turn left into the Nemili Rishivandiyam road At about 10 kms you will see the temple on the right.

Legends and Stories:
Sri Gnanasambandar the young savant was travelling here in darkness when the ambal guided him to the lord who gave his bountiful darshan which made the young poet break into song and dance. He is shown here dancing as a  child

Once there was floods in this place  with the lakes and rivers swelling. The lord appeared as a youth and directed the people to build a dam using Nel (paddy) thus the name for the place  Nel anai (paddy dam was the original name which has been corrupted now to Neivanai) The lord then gave the villagers gold to re build their village and admonished them for forgetting their belief in god due to their affluence.He then manifested as a swayumbhu lingam here so the villagers built the temple here.
During the Tamil month of Chittirai the rays of the sun fall on the lingam and the colour changes many hues in the day from gold to red to orange.
There are idols of Vishnu with Lakshmi on his lap in the mandapam with both of them closing their eyes showing prayer attitude.
As you enter you see the Shivan sannidhi. The Nandi in front has both paws crossed in front showing praying attitude
The Shiva lingam is inside the ante chamber and about 3-4 feet tall.
the outer praharam has sannidhis for vinayaga,Agastheeswarar,Murugan 
The Ambal sannidhi Neela malar kanni or Brihannayaki is a majestic 5 feet tall vigraham in a separate sannidhi facing east
the sthala vruksham is the vanni tree a few saplings have been planted recently again a happy devotees contribution
A temple with very positive energy
Contact Sri krishnamurthy gurukkal:   90477859144 .
The temple is open 6 AM to 8 PM

Aadhanur Near Ulundurpet enroute to Neivnai two dilapidated temples of the Cholas and Hoysalas

During a recent visit to see the Neivanai Shiva temple I happened to see these two majestic temples all but crumbling now. It is a sad sight to see. the hereditary trustee Sri.Veda Soundara rajulu and village folk have recently got a 55 lakh grant from HR and CE dept.To fulfill all their dreams  They require all the help that they need.
How to reach:
The temple can be reached from Tiruvennainellur on the road to Ulundurpet about 21 kms from Tiruvennainallur, take a right turn towards Neivanai and at about 5 kms you will see the ruins
You can also reach the place from Ulundurpet. Enter Ulundurpet and at the main bus stand take a turn north west wards towards Thirukoilur on SH 69 It is called the  Tiruvennainellur  road.About 12kms from the bus stand turn left into the Nemili Rishivandiyam road At about 7 kms you will see the ruins
Here are a few snaps from the perumal temple




There are exquisite carvings of the main deities Azhagiya Venkatesa perumal and Soundaravalli thayar. There is also a rare sculpture of Vishnu with thayar up to the bust level recently uncovered here.
The  temple was opened and a tour given by the village youth. The place where this temple stands is called patchapalayam .
Just across the road the place is aadhanur and the dilapidated Shiva temple was  seen in a bad shape. The presiding deities are Arunachaleshwara as a majestic lingam and the ambal in the inner praharam Abithakuchalambal


If you are wiling to help the reconstruction, please contact 
Sri.Veda Soundara rajulu Hereditary trustee  :8940562796
Kathavarayan: 7639423386( helpful village youth)

Sri Veera Varanadhar (Nethrapureeshwarar) Temple, Kinar near Madurantakam–A vaipu sthalam

During a recent trip on NH 45 near Maduranthakam I was lucky to stumble upon this ancient temple built by Pallavas.It has been referred to by Sri Gnanasambandar in his poem Kannar Thingal.
How to reach:
On NH 45 after chengalpet before Madurantakam look for Karunguzhi on the left. Follow the road to Kinar about 5 kms across the railway gate and you will come to this serene temple.

Legends and Stories

Indra was cursed for lusting after Ahalya a rishi pathni. He was  cursed to develop 1000,”eyes” (Kannu ayiram) .To redeem himself of the curse he prayed here to the lord and was blessed here. The place came to be called Kannayiram  corrupted to Kannur which later became kinar. The lord is also known as Nethra pureeswarar and also as Veera Varanathar ( one who gave boon to veeran @Indra) Inside the sanctum there is a statue of Indra on  Airavatham between Nandi and the Shiva.
As you enter the main gate you can see the South facing entrance of the main praharam with the Nandi and kodimaram to the right with ambal sannidhi on the right

The main entrance leads to the inner praharam with the statue of Indra on Airavatham  in front of the Sivan. There is also a Varadaraja perumal in this chamber alone without his consorts.
Behind the majestic Lingam is large sculpture of Shiva and Parvathy with Karthikeya the Somaskandar in addition to Brahma and Maha Vishnu. Hence this temple has all the trinity at one place.
outside the temple there is the usual kosta vigrahas as shown below
The ambal Amba nayaki is about 5 feet tall in her own sannidhi
The Ambal sannidhi has the attached Navagraha sannidhi

The priest here is of the 20th generation
Contact::K.N.Vatcheeswarakurukal
Kinar gramam
Kanchi dist
TN:603303
Tel:9442177959
He is an Mcom in his 50’s and works as a teacher in school.Please call before going.