Agneeswarar Rajavallipuram

Saivite Temples, Tirunelveli District

God

Agneeswarar, facing west

Goddess

Akhilandeswari, facing west

Other Deities

Prakaram of main deity- Adhikara Nandi, Suryan, Vinayaka, Muruga, Saraswathi, Muruga with consorts, Mahalakshmi, Saneeswara, Kalabhairava, Juradevar, Kanni Vinayaka, Chandran. Sanctum Niches – Dakshinamurthy, Chandikeswara. Prakaram of goddess shrine – Sivagnana Swamy, Vinayaka, Muruga with consorts, Chandikeswari

Agneeswarar Rajavalipuram is a west-facing temple with 2 entrance gateways, of which only one is functional. It leads into a long covered corridor mandapam with many pillars running the entire length of the west side and from which the entrances for the sanctums of the main deity and goddess start off. A Kalyana Mandapam is also present. Both the sanctums are about 30 meters apart and have separate inner Prakarams. The outer Prakaram starts from the north side of the Mandapam and enters back on its south side running around both the sanctums. The outer Prakaram is filled with weeds and trees. The corridor Mandapam has many beautiful carvings including those of Kaliya Nayanar, Sage Vyasa, Sage Valmiki, Rama, Lakshmana, Mahavishnu, standing Vinayaka, and others.

Holy Water (Theertham) – Agni Theertham

Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) – No information

History

Many inscriptions are found here around the walls of the sanctum sanctorum in Agneeswarar Rajavalipuram. Agneeswarar Rajavalipuram is said to have been built by Raja Vallabha Pandyan (Maravarman Srivallabha Pandyan? – 1132-1162. many of his inscriptions have been found in the Tirunelveli area). Later Kulasekhara Pandya (Regnal Years 1162-1175 CE), Jatavarman Kulasekharan (Regnal Years 1190 – 1218 CE), and Maravarman Sundara Pandyan I (Regnal Years 1216 – 1238 CE) have contributed to the development of Agneeswarar Rajavalipuram temple. Among his various literary works, the great Saivite saint Sri Madhava Sivagnana Swamigal who passed away in 1785 wrote ‘Chepparai Akilandeswari Pathigam’ in praise of the goddess here. He hailed from Vikramasingapuram near Papanasam in Tirunelveli District.

Legend

Agni, the god of fire is believed to have installed and worshiped the lord here at Agneeswarar Rajavalipuram.

Directions

Agneeswarar Rajavalipuram is about 10 kilometers northeast of Tirunelveli and some way behind the India Cements factory. Refer to our map below for the exact location and route. Nearby is the famous Chepparai Natarajar Temple.

Stay and Food

None locally. Closest is Tirunelveli.

Saivite Temples

Agneeswarar, Rajavallipuram