Naavaladi Karuppanna Swamy Mohanur

A group of traders passing with their bulls and a pregnant cow through the area discovered the cow secreting its milk in a bush under a Naaval tree even after delivering the calf. Intrigued they followed the cow and discovered a small stone underneath the cow’s udder. They considered the stone to be Karuppu, a protector from evil spirits, and worshiped it. Later Naavaladi Karuppanna Swamy Mohanur was regularly worshiped by the local king called Pazhayan who also considered the nearby Neem Tree as his guardian deity. His wife’s brother Nannan was the king of the adjoining area and he also used to visit Naavaladi Karuppan and worship him. Later due to a wrong act of providing unfair justice to a lady, his life started going the wrong way and he became mentally affected. His sister brought him here and made him stay and worship Naavaladi Karuppar regularly and set him right. Another King called Ayirai due to envy wanted to get rid of Pazhayan and Nannan. By deceit, he imprisoned Nannan who escaped through a miraculous underground passage that occurred with the blessing of Naavaladi Karuppar. Later the Ayirai King with the help of the Chera King Chenguttuvan, and again, by deceit killed both Pazhayan and Nannan in a battle and decided to destroy the temple of Karuppana Swamy. This was prevented by the intervention of the Chera King. He then brought down the Neem Tree in revenge, considered the guardian deity of Pazhayan. Not satisfied he went on to bring all the ladies of the deceased king’s palace including Pazhayan’s queen and the sister of Nannan and shaved them bald in front of Karuppanna Swamy Mohanur temple. The queen gave up her life there itself and swore that he will pay for his evil acts. Later, when the Ayirai King lifted a boulder to smash the idol of Naavaladi Karuppana Swamy, a snake underneath stung him and he died on the spot. A King of the Irungovel lineage is also believed to have worshiped the lord here after disappointing the request of Poet Kabilar to marry the daughters of the great Philanthropist Pari. Naavaladi Karuppanna Swamy Mohanur is considered a powerful guardian deity even today and his temple throngs with people at all times. The goddess idol is said to have been discovered by locals on the banks of the Cauvery River and installed here at Naavaladi Karuppanna Swamy Mohanur.