Kailasanathar Temple,
Thirumanur, Ariyalur
Kailasanathar Temple is a Hindu
Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Thirumanur Town in Thirumanur Taluk
in Ariyalur District of Tamil Nadu. Presiding Deity is called as Kailasanathar
and Mother is called as Kamakshi. The Temple is situated on the northern banks
of Kollidam River.
History
The Temple was built by Chembian
Maadevi, grandmother of Rajaraja Chola and mother of Uthama Chola. The Temple was extensively renovated by
Pandyas, Vijayanagara Kings, Nayakkars and Udayarpalayam Zamin. Thirumanur was
called as Thiyagavinothana Atrur in ancient times.
The Temple
The Temple covers an area of
about 2.5 acres. This is an east facing temple with two prakarams. The Temple
has entrances at east and south. The southern entrance is having three tiered
Rajagopuram and is the frequently used entrance. The eastern entrance is without
Rajagopuram. The entrance arch has stucco images of Lord Shiva with Parvathy on
Rishaba flanked by Lord Vinayaga and Muruga.
Presiding Deity is called as
Kailasanathar and is facing east. He is housed in the sanctum in the form of
Lingam. Dakshinamoorthy, Vinayagar, Lingodbhava, Brahma and Durga are the
Koshta idols located around the sanctum walls. Mother is called as Kamakshi.
She is housed in a separate south facing shrine.
Shrines and idols of Vinayagar,
Somaskandar, Nataraja, Lord Murugan with his consorts Valli & Deivanai,
Chandikeswarar, Mahalakshmi, Kasi Viswanathar, Vaidyanathar with a Nandi facing
towards him and Jyestha Devi along with Saya Devi & Varahi Devi can be
found in the inner prakaram. There is a big Vilwa Tree in the outer prakaram on
the eastern side.
Connectivity
The Temple is located at about
200 meters from Thirumanur Bus Stop, 7 Kms from Thiruvaiyaru, 9 Kms from Thirumazhaipadi,
14 Kms from Pazhuvur, 19 Kms from Kallagam Railway Station, 26 Kms from Ariyalur, 26 Kms from Ariyalur
Railway Station and 64 Kms from Trichy Airport. The Temple is situated on the
northern banks of Kollidam River on Kilpaluvur – Thiruvaiyaru Route.