Agasteeswarar Puthirankottai

Agasteeswarar, Puthirankottai

Saivite Temples, Cheyyur Taluk

God

Agasteeswarar, facing east

Goddess

Muthambikai, facing south

Other Deities

Ganesha, Muruga with Consorts, Naalvar, Navagraha, Kaala Bhairava. Sanctum Niches – Ganesha, Dakshinamurthy, Mahavishnu, Brahma, Chandikeswara, Durga

Agasteeswarar Puthirankottai is a large temple with high walls enclosing the inner of the two Prakarams. The temple has an entrance gate in the east and the Nandi and Navagraha are in the outer Prakaram. The ancient temple has been taken up and renovated by the people who hailed from this village along with the support of a local Ashram. Many of the idols are new, but some including the Lingam, Dakshinamurthy and 3 of the great Saivite Saints are old. The Dakshinamurthy is an emerald idol. The outer Prakaram has been planted with many flowering plants. A senior citizen of the village who happened to come to the temple during our visit very kindly helped us out with the information and took us to the nearby Perumal Temple too.

Holy Water (Theertham) – No information

Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) – No information

History

Agasteeswarar Puthirankottai could be at least about 1200 years old. Several stone inscriptions on walls and around the sanctum sanctorum bear testimony to its ancient history. As per stone inscriptions belonging to the times of Maravarman Sundara Pandian, the ancient name of the goddess was Maragada Vadivudai Nachiyar. Land donations to sustain the burning of lamps and preparation of Prasadam are mentioned in various inscriptions from the Chola, Pandya, Pallava and the Sambuvarayan chieftains periods. The ancient name of this place was Puthanoor Kottai as per the inscriptions.

Legend

Agasteeswarar Puthirankottai also has the legend of Agasteeswara coming to the south to offset the imbalance created by the large congregation of people in Mount Kailash for the wedding of Lord Shiva. He is believed to have installed and worshiped the Lingam here at Agasteeswarar Puthirankottai. Sage Markandeya is believed to have worshiped here. Another reason for the name of the village is that with the blessings of Lord Shiva here at Agasteeswarar Puthirankottai he got a son (Puthiran in Tamil). Hence people who do not have children come here to pray, perform rituals and there are said to be known instances of people being blessed with progeny.

Directions

Agasteeswarar Puthirankottai can be reached from Cheyyur by taking the Madurantakam road and then turning south in the Madurantakam – Chunampet road. From this junction, Agasteeswarar Puthirankottai is about 12 Kilometers. We took the interior roads from Vedal via Pondur and found them in a very bad state. Please refer our map below to reach Agasteeswarar Puthirankottai from other locations.

Stay and Food

None locally in any of the villages of this Taluk. A few restaurants are available only in the ECR.

Saivite Temples

Kancheepuram Temples

Tamilnadu Temples