Vaithyanadaswamy Srivilliputhur

Vaithyanadaswamy, Srivilliputhur

Saivite Temples - Virudhunagar District

God

Vaithyanadaswamy, facing east

Goddess

Sivakami, facing east

Other Deities

Surya with consorts, 63 Nayanmar, Kunguma Vinayaka, Juradevar, Pancha Lingams with consorts, Balamurugan, Kangalanadar, Gajalakshmi, Muruga with consorts, Nataraja with Sivakami, Navagraha, Veerabadhra, Kaalar, Mahakaalar, Bhairava. Sanctum Niches – Vinayaka, Dakshinamurthy, Lingotbavar, Brahma, Durga, Chandikeswara

Vaithyanadaswamy Srivilliputhur is a large east-facing temple with a 9 tiered Rajagopuram on the east side. There are two temple tanks, one in the east (Sidhdhamirtham Tank) and one on the northeast side (Sivagangai Theertham). The large temple is situated in 2 Prakarams. There are several herbal paintings created during the Nayak period here at Vaithyanadaswamy Srivilliputhur on the ceiling of the mandapam going inside. There is a 7 feet wide Amaikkal before the flagstaff. On the ceiling of the mandapam before the Sanctum Sanctorum of the main deity is a beautiful carving of Vasthupurusha and the 27 Star Signs. In the ceiling in front of the Goddess shrine is a carving of the Sri Chakra and 12 Zodiac Signs. The Sun’s Rays are said to fall on the main deity for 3 days during the Tamil months of Panguni (March-April) and Purattasi (September-October).

Holy Water (Theertham) – Sivagangai Theertham, Sidhdhamirtham Tank

Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) – Neem (Azadirachta indica)

History

Vaithyanadaswamy Srivilliputhur is said to date back to the 7th Century CE and has been served by Chera, Chola, and Pandya dynasties. Inscriptions are found from a later Pandya period mentioning the name of the lord as Thirukkattralishvaram Udaiyar. The details of these inscriptions are not available as of now. There are also inscriptions of King Thirumalai Nayak of Madurai who built several mandapams and commissioned the herbal art in the ceilings. He also donated his Ivory Pallanquin as a thanks-giving offering to the Lord.

Legend

The lord came as a mother to deliver the child of a lady who was passing by in front of the Vannivana Nadar temple as it was known then. Since he came as a Vaithyar (doctor) the temple came to be known as Vaithyanadaswamy Temple. The lord came to the aid of a poor priest and told him in his dream that he will find a gold coin every day on the steps of the sanctum sanctorum to help him along. The priest found this to be true and continued his dedicated service to the lord. Thirumalai Nayak, ruler of Madurai came here and worshiped the lord to get cured of a sickness. In gratitude, he donated his Ivory Palanquin to the lord here at Vaithyanadaswamy Srivilliputhur. Sage Durvasa worshiped here to get relieved of a curse. Sage Agastya’s ego was set right by the Lord as Dakshinamurthy here. He appeared as the dancing Lord of Chidambaram to satisfy two sages passing. Like this, the lord is believed to have performed 24 such miracles here at Vaithyanadaswamy Srivilliputhur.

Directions

Vaithyanadaswamy Srivilliputhur is on the southern side of Srivilliputhur Town on the road going towards Rajapalayam. Srivilliputhur is about 75 kilometers southwest of Madurai, 45 kilometers west of Virudhunagar, and 20 kilometers northwest of Sivakasi.

Stay and Food

Srivilliputhur has a few restaurants and hotels for stay. Hotel Kathiravan in Srivilliputhur serves good food.

Saivite Temples

Tamilnadu Temples