Etteeswaramoorthy Ettaiyapuram

Etteeswaramoorthy, Ettaiyapuram

Saivite Temples - Thoothukudi

God

Etteeswaramoorthy, facing east

Goddess

Jothirnayaki, facing south

Other Deities

Suryan, Adhikaranandi, 63 Nyanmar, Juradevar, Kannivinayaka, Pancha Bootha Lingams, Bana Lingam, Kasi Lingam, Chandramouleeswarar, Adhi Sankara, Subramanyan with consorts, Saneeswara, Navagraha, Chandran

Etteeswaramoorthy Ettaiyapuram is a small east-facing temple with a single Prakaram. The entrance is through a Mandapam in the east. The entire temple is covered on top. There are some simple, but nice carvings here. The Dwarapalakas and the Nandi are also beautiful carvings. There is a huge and beautiful temple tank situated north of the temple. At the eastern side and outside the entrance is the Ettaiyapuram Palace.

Holy Water (Theertham) – No information

Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) – Vilwam (Aegle marmelos)

History

Etteeswaramoorthy Ettaiyapuram is said to have been built by Zamindar Muthu Jagavira Rama Kumara Ettappa Naicker in 1567 CE. The village was called Ilasanadu in the olden days until the ruling zamindars came under the favor of the Vijayanagar Empire and took on the name of Ettappan, also changing the name of the village to Ettaiyyapuram in 1565. This corresponds to the time of the Vijayanagar King Sadasiva Raya (1542 – 1570 CE). Unlike the common attribute of traitors associated with the name Ettappan (one of the kings who betrayed Veerapandya Kattabomman to the Britishers), the entire dynasty of Kings and Queens were excellent administrators, kind-hearted, and have taken care of the land, its people, and their needs very well. Ettaiyapuram is the birthplace of the famous Tamil Poet Subramanya Bharathiyar and his ancestral home is now a nice museum situated in the street on the south side of the nearby Perumal Temple.

Legend

The prince of Ilsanadu (old name of Ettaiyapuram) visited Vijayanagar to meet the ruling Emperor (Sadasiva Raya). Custom had it that you had to either bow to the unbeatable wrestler guarding the gate or fight with him. The prince decided to fight and killed the wrestler. The emperor met him and recognized him with gifts. He then said that the 8 brothers of the slain wrestler had no one and he should adopt them as his father. This he did and received the name Ettappan – father of eight sons. It also became a custom here in the olden days that people will not utter the number 8 in Tamil as it was considered disrespectful to mention the king’s name and utter the number only as ‘Maharaja’.

Directions

Etteeswaramoorthy Ettaiyapuram is 17 kilometers east of Kovilpatti. Kovilpatti is 50 kilometers north of Tirunelveli on the National Highway 44 going to Madurai and above. Etteeswaramoorthy Ettaiyapuram is 42 kilometers northeast of Thoothukudi.

Stay and Food

None locally. The closest are Kovilpatti, Thoothukudi, and Tirunelveli depending on your travel plan.

Saivite Temples

Tamilnadu Temples