Kanniraintha Perumal Temple, Malayadipatti – The Temple Complex

Kanniraintha Perumal Temple, Malayadipatti – The Temple Complex

This cave temple is excavated on the northern façade of the hill and situated closer to the western end of the hill. The temple complex is enclosed within a granite compound wall with a north facing entrance without any superstructure over it. There is a niche enshrining an image of Valampuri Vinayaga on the exterior of the compound wall to the left of the entrance. Deepa Sthamba, Balipeedam and Garuda can be seen immediately after the entrance in front of the cave. There is a sculpture of goddess to the north of deepa sthamba facing towards the entrance.

The cave temple consists of sanctum, ardha mandapam and mukha mandapam. The two pillar and two pilasters forms three aisles of the ardha mandapa. It is unique to note that the entrances of the ardha mandapa are marked with lintel and door jambs for a cave temple. The pillars and pilasters are supported on lion / vyala figures at the base. These lion / vyala figures are shown seated with their one limb raised up. The roof of the ardha mandapa is painted with the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The paintings are in bad shape.

The niches formed in the recess of the remaining portion on either side enshrines the dvarapalas. The dvarapalas are two armed. One hand rests on their waist and another holds lotus. Both the figures are almost identical in ornamentation and posture. A hooded snake is shown over their shoulders. The western dvarapala has shankha (conch) crest in his headdress while the eastern dvarapala has a chakra (discus) crest, suggesting that these dvarapalas represent the respective ayudha purushas. The eastern lateral wall of the ardha mandapa has bas relief image of Lord Vishnu with his consorts Sridevi and Bhoodevi.

All the three images stands over a pedestal cut out of mother rock. Lord Vishnu is four armed. His upper hands hold shanka & chakra and the lower right hand shows abhaya hastha & lower left-hand rests on the hip. The flying figures of Surya and Chandra can be seen near the head of the Lord Vishnu on either side. The western lateral wall of the mandapa has an image of Lord Vishnu with his consorts Sridevi and Bhoodevi. It is not a bas relief image, but separate sculptures placed on the wall.

The western wall appears to be devoid of a bas-relief, however it carries an image of seated Vishnu with Bhu-devi and Sri-devi, executed in separate stone. All the three images are showed in seated posture. Lord Vishnu is shown seated in sukhasana with his hanging right leg placed on the padma pedestal. He is four armed. His upper hand holds shanga and chakra. His lower right hand shows abhaya hastha and lower left-hand rests on his thigh. Both his consorts are seated in utkutikasana with their stretched leg rested on padma pedestal. Their inner hand holds a flower bud, whereas their outer hand rest on the seat.

The sanctum is excavated in the center of the southern wall and the remaining spaces has niches enshrining Hayagriva on the east and Narasimha on the west. Paintings can be seen adjacent to these niches. The Narasimha is shown seated in utkutikasana on a pedestal with his left leg resting on the niche floor. He is four armed. His upper hands holds shanga & chakra and the lower left-hand rests on thigh & lower right hand is stretched above the right knee. A painting of a lady can be seen next to Narasimha.

The Hayagriva is shown seated in sukhasana on a platform. He is four armed. His upper hand holds shanga and chakra. His lower right hand shows abhaya hastha and lower left-hand rests on his thigh. A painting of Hanuman can be seen next to the Hayagriva. The sanctum is excavated in the center of the southern wall. The sanctum is supported by two pillars and two pilasters in the front. The sanctum enshrines the presiding deity Kanniraintha Perumal / Pallikonda Ranganathar / Anandha Padmanaba / Thiru Vaazha Vantha Perumal.

The image is 15-foot sculpture carved on the rear wall of the sanctum. The sculpture covers almost all of the rear wall of the sanctum. He is facing upwards, reclines over the coils under the canopy of hood of the serpent Adisesha. This posture is similar to the posture in Thiruvananthapuram Divyadesam. Adisesha is depicted with five heads in his hood and three coils forming the bed for Lord Vishnu. He is shown with two hands with the left hand raised up in kataka mudra and right hand is stretched over the coil of Adisesha.

His legs are stretched out of the coil bed and supported on a lotus. He is wearing kirita makuta and many ornaments. Below the coils of Adisesha, Sage Markandeya can be seen near his head and goddess Bhoodevi can be seen near his feet. Lord Brahma is depicted emerging from the navel of Lord Vishnu. He is shown seated on the lotus. Narada with his lute and Tumburu with his Vina can be seen on the right side of the Brahma.

Daksha with goat head and five ayudha purushas (anthropomorphic depiction of divine weapons of Lord Vishnu) can be seen on the left side of Lord Brahma. Demons Madhu and Kaitaba are shown near the feet of Lord Vishnu. Chandra can be seen above the Madhu and Kaitaba. Garuda and Surya and two other figures in anjali mudra can be seen on the eastern later wall. There is a later period sculpture of Lakshminarayana in the centre of the sanctum.

He is four armed. He holds shanka and chakra in his upper hands. His lower right hand shows abhaya mudra and the lower left hand holds the goddess Lakshmi seated on his lap. He is shown seated in sukhasana on a platform. The goddess Lakshmi holds flower in the left hand and hugs the Lord with her right hand. The sculptures in the sanctum and ardha mandapam are covered with stucco decoration and paintings. There is a mandapa on the north east corner of the temple complex.

The rear part of the mandapa is Madapalli and the front part of mandapa enshrines sculptures of Thirumangai Azhwar, Udaiyavar, unidentified acharya and Vishwakasena. The shrine of goddess Kamalavalli Nachiyar is situated on the north west corner of the temple complex. Her shrine is facing towards east. This shrine consists of sanctum and mukha mandapam. The sanctum enshrines the image of Kamalavalli Nachiyar. She is four armed and seated in ardha padmasana. The upper hands holds lotus flowers and lower hands shows abhaya and varada hastha.

Vahisvaramudayar Temple, Malayadipatti – The Temple

Vahisvaramudayar Temple, Malayadipatti – The Temple

This cave temple is excavated on the northern façade of the hill. This cave temple is situated little higher to the Vishnu cave temple on the eastern end of the hill. The cave is facing towards north, but the sanctum is facing towards west. The cave temple consists of sanctum, ardha mandapam and mukha mandapam. Both the sanctum and ardha mandapam are excavated on the hill and the mukha mandapam is later structural addition to the cave shrine.

The ardha mandapa is facing towards north while the entrance of the mukha mandapa is facing towards west. The mukha mandapa might have been constructed during Vijayanagara period. There are few Chola era inscriptions on the exterior of the northern wall. There is a 9^th century inscription dated to Chola King Aditya Chola I in the interior of the western wall. There are four slender pillars of Vijayanagara architectural style can be seen inside the mukha mandapa.

A shrine is formed by connecting two rear pillars with an arch. This shrine enshrines the images of Lord Murugan and Ganesha. The ardha mandapam measures 12.5 feet long and 13.5 feet wide. The ardha mandapa is supported by two pillars and two pilasters of Mahendra style. Nandi, housed on a raised platform can be seen in the ardha mandapam, facing towards the sanctum. The Nandi and the platform is carved out of the mother rock.

Idols of Vinayaga and Murugan can be found in the ardha mandapam. The sanctum measures 7 feet long, 7 feet wide and 7 feet high and can be accessed through flight of four steps from ardha mandapam. The sanctum enshrines the presiding deity, Vagishvara / Alathurai Mahadevar in the form of Lingam on a circular pitha. The present Linga and pitha were later addition as the original Linga carved from the mother rock was destroyed. The dvarapalas are shown in the niches, formed between the pilasters on  either side of the entrance of the sanctum.

Both the dvarapalas are two armed. The dvarapala on the left niche represents trisula (trident) and the dvarapala on the right niche represents Mazhu (axe). Both the dvarapalas are standing in similar posture with one of their hand is resting on the club and the other hand of the left side dvarapala is in tarjani mudra (one finger pointing upwards) & the other hand of the right side dvarapala is raised upwards in vismaya mudra (astonishing posture). There is a snake seen above the shoulders on both the dvarapalas.

There are three bas relief sculptures on the western lateral wall of the ardha mandapa. Sculpture of Durga standing over a lotus pedestal can be seen on northern corner of the bas relief.  She is eight armed holding several weapons. The front two hands carry a  (trident) which is pointed towards a figure probably Mahishasura shown on left side of the goddess. One of her leg is slightly bent and placed beside her straight leg planted over the pedestal.

Her mount, lion, is shown on her right side just adjacent to Harihara image. It is shown in rampant posture with open mouth. There are two devotees seated on the ground on either side. The central sculpture in the bas relief is Hari-Hara, combined form of Vishnu and Shiva. The left side of the sculpture represents Lord Vishnu and the right side represents Lord Shiva. He is four-armed. His upper hands holds shankha (conch) and parashu (axe).

One of his lower hand is resting over waist while the other shows abhaya mudra. There are two flying figures probably Suryan and Chandran on the top corners of the sculpture. There are two devotees on either side. Both the devotees are holding a flower in one of their hands. The southern corner sculpture represents Brahma Sastha, a form of Lord Murugan. He is depicted with four arms. His upper hands holds spear and akshamala. One of his lower hand is resting over his waist while the other shows abhaya mudra.

Sculptures of Saptamatrikas flanked with Ganesha and Veeerabadhra can be seen on the southern lateral wall of the ardha mandapa. The relief starts with Veerabhadra on the eastern end and ends with Ganesha on the western end. All the images except Veerabhadra are shown seated in sukhasana with one leg folded & placed on the seat while the other leg hanging & resting on the ground. Veerabhadra is shown seated with both legs placed on the seat and joined with a Yogapatta.

All the images are depicted with four arms. Each Matrikas are depicted with their respective flags behind them. There is another bas relief figure of Chandikeswara on the on the northern wall. He is shown two-armed carrying his axe. There are two later period structures in the temple complex. The structure found in the northwest corner is Madapalli (temple kitchen). The structure found on the northeast corner is the shrine for the goddess Vadivulla Mangai. Both the goddess shrine and Madapalli are facing towards south.

The goddess shrine consists of  sanctum and mukha mandapam. The sanctum enshrines an image of Vadivulla Mangai. She is in standing posture. She is four armed. Her upper hands holds lotus and the lower hands shows abhaya and varada mudra. A sculpture of Nardana Ganapathy can be seen in the mukha mandapam. There are remains of a ruined compound wall for this temple complex. The compound wall extends up to the structural shrine in the northwest and for the remaining portion is left with the basement only.

Vahisvaramudayar Temple, Malayadipatti – History

Vahisvaramudayar Temple, Malayadipatti – History

This cave temple is considered older than the adjacent Pallikonda Perumal temple. An inscription dated to the 16^th regnal year of the Pallava King Dantivarman (795 – 846 CE) records that Videl Vidugu Mutharaiyan also called as Kuvavan Satthan, a feudatory under Pallava King Dantivarman  had excavated this temple from Tiruvalathur Malai. He installed a Lingam and named it as Vahisvaramudayar. The hill was recorded as Tiruvalathur hill in the Pallava inscription and recorded as Tiruvayamalai in Nayaga era inscriptions. There are several inscriptions recorded in this cave temple.

There is a label inscription on a rock to the north east of this temple. The inscription read as Sri Kaikkatti and can be assigned to early 7^th century CE. There is an illegible inscription dated to the 40^th regnal year of a Chola King can be seen on a pillar on the mandapa in front of the sanctum. The hill name Tiruvalathur can be read from the inscription rest others are not legible. There is an inscription dated to 24^th regnal year of Kulothunga Chola III can be found on a pillar of the mandapa in front of the sanctum. It records the taxes levied on agricultural activities. Vijayanagara period inscriptions can also be seen in this temple.

There is an interesting inscription recording a story of one Avudaiyan Thevan of Puchikudi. Once, he visited the house of dancing girl at Thirunedunkulam. He returned home later and found his wife with a brahman. Out of rage, he killed both and lost his eyesight for the heinous crime he committed. He visited this temple, worshipped Lord Vagishvara & goddess Vadivullamangai and regained his eyesight. In gratitude, he donated all his property to Lord Vagishvara. He proclaimed in the inscription that if anyone does any harm to this endowment will acquire the of killing a cow on the banks of Ganga.

Dakshinamurthy Temple, Pattamangalam – The Temple

Dakshinamurthy Temple, Pattamangalam – The Temple

This temple is facing towards east with five tiered rajagopuram. Dwaja Sthambam, Balipeedam and Nandi can be found immediately after the rajagopuram facing towards the sanctum. The sanctum sanctorum consists of sanctum, ardha mandapam, maha mandapam and mukha mandapam. Presiding deity is called as Sundareswarar and is facing east. He is housed in the sanctum in the form of Lingam.

Vinayaga, Dakshinamoorthy, Lingodbhava, Brahma and Durga are the koshta idols located around the sanctum walls. Chandikeswarar shrine can be seen in his usual location. Mother is called as Meenakshi. She is housed in a separate south facing shrine in maha mandapam. There is an east facing shrine for Shanmuga Nathar in the temple premises. He appears with five heads accompanied by his consorts Valli & Devasena.

He represents Shiva aspect in this temple as Lord Shiva has five faces. Shrines of Ganesha, Suryan, Chandran, Karthigai maidens, Maha Lakshmi, Bhairavar and Navagrahas in the temple premises. Generally, Lord Dakshinamoorthy can be seen in the koshta of the Shiva temples facing towards south. However, in this temple in addition to the koshta, he is present in a separate east facing shrine.

This is the only temple where Dakshinamoorthy is facing towards east. This shrine abuts the Sundareswarar shrine on the north. Lord Dakshinamurthy is shown sitting in a Veerasana posture. He is four armed. He holds Agni in the upper right hand, Gnana Mudra in the lower right hand, a serpent in the left upper hand and placing the lower left hand on his thigh.

Lord Vishnu is depicted as Varaha and Lord Brahma as a swan at the feet of the Dakshinamoorthy. He is shown wearing a crown of Kondrai flowers. There is a huge sacred banyan tree (Sthala Vriksham) at the back of this shrine. Idols of six Karthigai maidens can be seen below the tree. Theertham associated with this temple is Potramarai Kulam.

This temple tank is situated to the west of the temple with a mandapam in the middle. There is a shrine for Ashtama Siddhi Subramanya / Thayumanavar outside the main temple. Thiruvilaiyadal Garden and Pathinettam Padi (18 steps) Karuppar shrine can be found to the east of the temple. There is a separate shrine for Navayadi Kali at a few hundred meters from the main temple.

Dakshinamurthy Temple, Pattamangalam – Legends

Dakshinamurthy Temple, Pattamangalam – Legends

Pattamangalam:

Once, Lord Shiva was teaching Ashtama Siddhi to Sage Bhringi, Nandi and Bhooda Ganas in Kailasa. Karthigai maidens (Nidardani, Aparakendi, Dekanthi, Vardhayendhi, Amba and Thula), who brought up Lord Murugan as a kid came and requested Lord Shiva to include them also. Lord Shiva was initially hesitant but at the recommendation of Mother Parvati, he agreed to teach the Karthigai maidens. But the maidens did not listen to the teaching sincerely and lost focus.

Thus, they lost an opportunity of learning this rare art. Lord Shiva got angry and cursed them to become stones.  The maidens fell at his feet and sought relief from the curse. Lord Shiva said that they would be stones for 1000 years and he would provide relief to them after 1000 years. The maidens came to Pattamangalam and performed penance on Lord Shiva in the form of stones for 1000 years.

Lord Shiva came in the form of Dakshinamoorthy from Madurai, gave back their original form of girls and preached Ashtama Siddhi under the banyan tree. As the feet of Lord Shiva touched (patta in Tamil) this place for providing relief to Karthigai maidens (Mangai in Tamil), the place came to be called as Pattamangai and later got corrupted to Pattamangalam. While cursing the Karthigai maidens, Lord Shiva also cursed Mother Parvati for her recommendation to the undeserved.

She also came here and performed penance as Kali under the Naval tree. When the Karthigai maidens were cleared off their sins, Kali was also cleared off her sin and got back to the Parvathi devi form. There is a separate temple of Navayadi Kali at a few hundred meters from the main temple. This story is regarded as the 33^rd of the 64 Thiruvilayadals (or divine plays) of Lord Shiva.

Adaikalam Katha Ayyanar:

As per legend, Kadamba rishi had his ashram inside Kadambavanam (Kadamba forest) at Pattamangalam during ancient times. Once, the demon Hiranyakasipu disturbed the penance of Kadamba rishi. The sage cursed him that his fall would start if the demon comes to this place. The devas seek refuge at Kadamba rishi as they were driven away from heaven by Hiranyakasipu. On searching the devas, he reached this place without thinking about his curse.

As per the curse, Hiranyakasipu was annihilated by Lord Narasimha at nearby Iraniyur. As Kadamba rishi gave refuge to devas when they were suffering due to Hiranyakasipu, he came to be called as Adaikalam Katha Ayyanar. He is present here in a separate shrine with all his parivara deities under the Erazhinjil tree. Kadamba rishi is closely associated with the legend of Thirukoshtiyur Divya Desam nearby.

Thirunokkiya Azhagiyanathar Temple, Thiruppachethi – The Temple

Thirunokkiya Azhagiyanathar Temple, Thiruppachethi – The Temple

This temple is facing towards east with an entrance arch. The sanctum sanctorum consists of sanctum, ardha mandapam, maha mandapam and mukha mandapam. Dwaja Sthambam, Balipeedam and Nandi can be found immediately after the entrance arch in the mukha mandapam facing towards the sanctum. Presiding deity is called as Thirunokkiya Azhagiyanathar / Vanmeeganathar / Parijathavaneswarar / Chakravartheeswarar / Lakshmi Varada Sundareswarar and is facing east. He is housed in the sanctum in the form of Shiva Lingam.

Lord is a Swayambhu Moorthy (self-manifested). Normally, Vilwa leaves are used in the poojas to Lord Shiva but here Tulsi leaves are used in the Somavara (Mondays) poojas of Lord Shiva. Vinayaga, Dakshinamoorthy, Lingodbhava, Vishnu Durga and Brahma are the koshta idols located around the sanctum walls. Chandikeswarar shrine can be seen in his usual location. Lord Nataraja is made of a musical stone in this temple. He is flanked by his consort Shivagami. Mother is called as Marunokkum Poonguzhali. She is housed in a separate south facing shrine in maha mandapam.

There are two Maragatha Lingams in the temple. Abhishekam is performed to these Maragatha Lingams during Uchi Kala Pooja. It is one of the unique feature in this temple to have darshan of these Lingams. There is a separate shrine for Kala Bhairavar in the temple premises. Here Bhairavar is shown with his dog mount on two sides. There are shrines for Valampuri Vinayagar, Murugan with his consorts Valli & Devasena and Navagrahas in the temple premises. Theertham associated with this temple is Lakshmi Theertham. Sthala Vriksham is Parijatham.

Thirunokkiya Azhagiyanathar Temple, Thiruppachethi – Legends

Thirunokkiya Azhagiyanathar Temple, Thiruppachethi – Legends

Thirunokkiya Azhagiyanathar:

When Indra and Brihaspati were going towards Mount Kailasha to meet Lord Shiva, their way was blocked by a naked yogi with matted hair and a radiant face. The yogi was Lord Shiva himself, who had taken the form to test the knowledge of Indra and Brihaspati. Indra did not recognize the yogi and was infuriated at the fact that the man was not moving out of their way. Indra asked him to move, but the man did not budge. Indra got furious and threatened him with his weapon thunderbolt.

The yogi made the arm of Indra paralyzed and neutralized his weapon thunderbolt. Lord Shiva got angry on the action of Indra and his eyes turned red, frightening Indra. The anger caused his third eye to open, nearly killing Indra. Brihaspati recognized Lord Shiva and prayed to him, requesting him to pardon Indra. To avoid killing Indra, Lord Shiva sent the fire from his eye towards the ocean and upon meeting with the ocean it assumed the form of a boy.

The boy cried terribly, which caused Brahma to descend from his abode. The ocean told Brahma that he did not know where the boy came from. Brahma then told him that the boy would one day become the emperor of the asuras, that he could only be killed by Lord Shiva and that after his death, he would return to third eye. Then, Brahma named him Jalandhara. Jalandhara grew up to be a handsome man and was made the emperor of asuras by Shukra, their guru.

Jalandhara was exceedingly powerful and was considered to be one of the mightiest asuras of all time. He married Vrinda, the daughter of the asura Kalanemi. Jalandhara ruled with justice and nobility. One day, the sage Bhargava (Shukra) came to meet Jalandhara. He narrated the tales of Hiranyakasipu and Virochana. He also told him how Vishnu had severed the head of Rahu during the episode of the Samudra Manthana. The asura came to believe that the devas had treacherously taken the treasures of his father Varuna.

He sent one of his messengers, Ghasmara, to Indra to ask him to return the treasures of his father. However, Indra refused to return the treasures. A fierce battle ensued between the devas and the asuras. Many warriors were killed on both sides. Shukra revived the asuras using his amritajeevini vidya. Brihaspati revived the dead devas by using the medicinal herbs from the Drona mountain. Shukra counselled Jalandhara to uproot the mountain so that Brihaspati would be unable to employ the medicinal herbs to revive the devas.

Jalandhara acquiesced and hurled the mountain Drona into the ocean. Demoralized, the devas requested Lord Vishnu for his aid. A fierce battle was fought between Jalandhara and Lord Vishnu, who rode upon Garuda and wielded his divine sword, Nandaka. Vishnu was impressed by the valiance of Jalandhara in battle and granted him a boon of his choice. Jalandhara requested Lord Vishnu to stay in his eponymous city, bringing with him his followers and his consort, Lakshmi.

Without the help of Lord Vishnu, the devas were defeated by asuras and Jalandhara became the lord of the three worlds (heaven, earth, and the underworld). He confiscated all the jewels that the devas and the gandharvas had hoarded during the Samudra Manthana and ruled virtuously, with nobody in his realm sick or lean. The devas were unhappy about their defeat, dejected at their being stripped of their authority. The divine sage, Narada, upon consulting with the devas, went to see Jalandhara.

On being asked the purpose of his visit by Jalandhara, he described the beauty of Kailasha where Shiva lived, and that he wondered if any other place matched its beauty. In response, Jalandhara showed off his riches to Narada, who commented that he did not have the most beautiful woman as his wife. Narada then continued to describe the residence of Lord Shiva and also described to him about the beauty of goddess Parvati.

Jalandhara sent his messenger Rahu to Shiva and accused him of hypocrisy, pointing out that Shiva claimed to be an ascetic but kept a wife, Parvati. He proposed that Shiva hand over Parvati to him. Upon hearing these insults, Lord Shiva became so angry that a fearsome creature (Kirtimukha) sprang from his brow and nearly killed Rahu, the messenger who had delivered the demand. War being determined, Jalandhara marched first to Kailasha; but finding that Shiva had forsaken it and taken up a position on a mountain near Lake Manasa, he surrounded the mountain with his troops. 

Nandi marched against them, and spread destruction; however, the army of the gods suffered many losses. Parvati then urged Lord Shiva to enter the war. Lord Shiva carefully warned Parvati to be on her guard during his absence, as it was possible asuras in some disguise might visit her; after this, accompanied by Virabhadra and Manibhadra, two forms of his anger, Lord Shiva went to the battlefield. Kartikeya came to fight with him but was defeated.

After his defeat, Ganesha tried to attack him but was badly defeated by him and was left unconscious on the battlefield. Upon seeing Lord Shiva and his avatars dominate the battlefield, Jalandhara created an illusion of beautiful apsaras singing and dancing. This illusion distracted his army, but not himself. Meanwhile, Jalandhara disguised himself as Lord Shiva and went to Parvati in order to trick her. Parvati recognized him and fled, growing beyond infuriated.

The goddess meditated on Vishnu, and when he appeared, she demanded that he deceive Vrinda, just like Jalandhara had tried to deceive her. Lord Vishnu caused Vrinda to dream that Jalandhara had been killed by Lord Shiva. Posing as an ascetic, he creates the illusion that Jalandhara is then restored to life by him. Delighted to see her husband restored to life, Vrinda sported with him for many days in the forest.

She recognized that it was Vishnu in disguise, and curses him that someday someone would trick his own wife (which becomes true when Sita is kidnapped by Ravana) just like how he had tricked her, that he would roam about in distress with Shesha (Lakshmana), and that he would seek the help of monkeys (Vanaras). Saying thus, she entered the fire to immolate herself. After her death, her soul left her form from the funeral pyre, joining Parvati.

Jalandhara, hearing of this deception and his wife's death, was enraged and left Mount Kailasha, returning to the battlefield. The illusion ending, Lord Shiva and his forces realised the truth. Lord Shiva engaged Sumbha and Nisumbha in battle, but they soon fled. They were later killed by Parvati. Jalandhara then engaged Shiva in battle. Towards the end of the battle, when most of the army of Jalandhara had been slaughtered, Lord Shiva beheaded him with a chakra (discus) created from his toe.

Upon his death, his soul merged with Shiva, just like the soul of Vrinda had merged with his consort. Lord Vishnu mixed himself in the ashes of Brinda. Vaikunda the abode of Lord Vishnu became dark. Mahalakshmi was sad. Parvathi came to Mahalakshmi and advised her to perform penance on Shiva with Shiva Theertha to get back Lord Vishnu her husband. Mahalakshmi followed this rigidly for a Mandalam (48 days) when Lord Shiva appeared before them. 

They went to Vegavathi River (now Vaigai) and worshipped Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva gave them some seeds to be sowed on the ashes of Brinda from which Tulsi appeared.  Lord Vishnu worshipped Lord Shiva with the leaves and also made a garland and wore it himself. This happened on a Monday (Somavaram). Since then, pujas to Lord Shiva in this temple is performed with Tulsi leaves. As Lakshmi worshipped Lord Shiva here, Lord Shiva came to be called as Thirunokkiya Azhagiyanathar.

Thiruppachethi:

As per legend, Koon Pandiyan was the Pandyan ruler during 7th century CE. He followed Jainism but his wife, Mangayarkkarasiyar and his minister, Kulachirai Nayanar, were both Shaivites. When the king suffered from boils and incurable fever and also had a hunch back, the two invited the Shaivite saint, Sambandar, to Madurai. Sambandar offered to help the king. The Jains monks opposed this, arguing that a Brahmin from the Chola country should not be trusted. The Jains sought to demonstrate the incompetence of Sambandar by challenging him to a debate.

Further, they declared that they would become his slaves if defeated. Sambandar rejected the condition about slavery. Sambandar proposed that the Jains be impaled if defeated. In the fire contest, two manuscripts, containing Jain and Shaivite hymns respectively, were thrown into fire. The Jain manuscript burned, while the Shaivite manuscript remained unscathed. In the water contest, the Jain manuscript was carried away by the river, while the Shaivite manuscript came back to the shore undamaged.

It is believed that the Shaivite manuscripts reached Thiruvedagam against the river water and the Jaina manuscripts were washed away by the river and reached this place. As the Jaina manuscripts (Thiruppakkal) reached this place, the place came to be called as Thiruppachethi. Sambandar defeated the Jains in the ensuing debate and he miraculously cured the hunched back of the king, transforming him into a handsome man. The king converted to Shaivism, and the Shaivite devotees impaled the defeated Jains.

Emperor Nala worshipped Lord Shiva here:

As per legend, Emperor Nala had lost his kingdom and was separated from his queen Damayanti due to the adverse aspects of Sani. Sage Durvasa advised him to visit this place and worship Lord Shiva for relief from Sani dosha. As per his advice, Nala came here, took bath in the theertham, worshipped Lord Shiva and got back his kingdom and wife. In gratitude, Emperor Nala constructed the Punniya vimana of this temple.

Unnathapuri:

It is believed that Emperor Nala and Sage Durvasa worshipped Lord Shiva here, the place came to be called as Unnathapuri.

Lakshmipuram:

It is believed that goddess Lakshmi worshipped Lord Shiva here, the place came to be called as Lakshmipuram.

Parijatha Vanam:

As the place was a forest dense with Pavalamalli, the place came to be called as Parijatha Vanam.