Karaikandeswarar Kuruvimalai

Saivite Temples, Thiruvannamalai District

God

Karaikandeswarar, facing east

Goddess

Brahanayaki Amman, facing east

Other Deities

Selvaganapathi, Muruga with consorts, Navagraha. Sanctum Niches – Ganesha, Dakshinamurthy, Lingotbavar, Brahma, Durga, Chandikeswara.

Karaikandeswarar Kuruvimalai is a small east facing temple with a single Prakaram. The entrance is from the west through a gate. The Sanctum Sancorum and all the shrines have been renovated recently. The original stone structures have been retained and extended with concrete structures. This is the seventh of the Saptha Karaikandeswarar Sthalams (7 temples) located on the north banks of the Cheyyar River. There is another smaller temple for Aadhi Karaikandeswarar about 300 meters away in the main road which is considered along with this temple. As the Cheyyar River runs northwards at this spot it is considered to be as holy as Varanasi. The temples in the order of proceeding north from Kanji along Cheyyar River are Kanji, Kadaladi, Mambakkam, Thenmathimangalam, Elathur, Poondi and Kuruvimalai.

Holy Water (Theertham) – Cheyyar River

Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) – No information

History

Karaikandeswarar Kuruvimalai would be as old as the other 6 temples in this series, all over 1000 years. Historical information is not available as of now.

Legend

Lord Muruga is believed to have built the Saptha Karaikandeswarar temples in the northern banks of Cheyyar River to counter the sin of killing seven Sages (Puthirandan, Puruhudan, Pandurangan, Bodhavan, Bodhan, Koman and Vaman) performing penance in the hills in the region with his spear (Vel). Karaikandeswarar Kuruvimalai is said to be the seventh in this series. This event happened in a quest to create a Theertham for his Mother Parvati to perform ablutions for the Shiva Lingam she created out of earth at Vazhapandal. Another version is that to counter the sin of killing the asura Surapadman, Lord Muruga was advised by his mother to throw his spear and install and worship a shiva lingam where it lands. According to the same legend Muruga is also believed to have created seven temples in the southern banks of the river Cheyyar which are called Saptha Kailasha Sthalams and worshiped Lord Shiva there. The River Cheyyar is believed to be the Theertham created by him – Sei (child) representing the young Muruga and Aar meaning river in Tamil.

Directions

Karaikandeswarar Kuruvimalai is about 6 kilometers south of Polur in the Kalasapakkam road.

Stay and Food

None locally. Closest for food would be Polur.

Saivite Temples

Karaikandeswarar, Kuruvimalai