Agastheeshwarar Temple, Perungudi, Trichy
Agastheeshwarar Temple
is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Perungudi Village near Vayalur in Trichy District of Tamilnadu.
Presiding Deity is called as Agastheeshwarar and Mother is called as Shivagama
Sundari. The temple is under the maintenance of Archaeological Survey of India.
History
This
Temple was constructed in 969 CE during the reign of Sundara Chola and this
temple used to be known as Thiruperumudi as per stone inscriptions. It was
renovated during the time of the Hoysala King Vira Ramanatha. The shrine for
the goddess was built by Vijayanagara King Viruppanan.
The
Temple
This is
an ancient east facing temple with entrance in the south-east corner. There is
no Rajagopuram. Presiding Deity is called as Agastheeshwarar and is facing east.
Mother is called as Shivagama Sundari and is facing south. Shrines of Bala Vinayagar,
Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbavar, Brahma, Chandikeswara and Saneeswara can be seen
in the prakaram. This Temple belongs to Imperial Cholas and have lots of
inscriptions depicting its rich past. This is connected with Kumara Vayalur
Murugan temple and is a monument of Sundara Chola and Aditya II periods. Balasubramanya is present with a face and four hands along
with Devayani in standing posture.
Idols
have been discovered in various places inside the temple. At one location Saneeswaran faces Murugan. In another the Shiva statue named
Agastheeshwarar is tilted, allegedly because Lord Shiva, while accepting a gift
from a handicapped woman (as a token of love), had to bend sideways to receive
it. The temple was dated to 969 A.D. In another spot the Vishnu statue is just outside Shiva Sannidhi. The temple
is under the maintenance of ASI (Archaeological Survey of India).
Connectivity
The Temple is located at about 2 Kms from Somarasampettai,
3 Kms from Somarasampettai Bus Stop, 2 Kms from Konar Chathiram Bus Stop, 5 Kms
from Vayalur, 7 Kms from Woraiyur, 12 Kms from Srirangam and 13 Kms from
Trichy. The Temple is situated in Trichy –
Kumara Vayalur – Thogai Malai route. Take a right into a small road at the
junction where the road forks to the above places and drive for about 1.5
kilometers to reach Perungudi and the temple. Nearest Railway Station is
located at Trichy (9 Kms) and Nearest Airport is located at Trichy (13 Kms).