கைலாசநாதர் திருக்கோயி்ல், ஶ்ரீவைகுண்டம்
Very close to the Kallapiran temple in Srivaikuntham that we explored in the previous post, is this ancient Sivan temple. It is one of nine Sivan temples along the Thamirabarani river called the Nava Kailasam temples. The Sivan in all these temples carries the name Kailasanathar and each one is dedicated to a Navagraha. This one is the Saneeswaran temple dedicated to Saturn.
It is a beautiful old temple originally built by the Pandian kings and added on to by Vijayanagar and Nayakkan kings. The sculptures here although less in number than at the Perumal temple, are equally awe inspiring. Note the intricate work done in granite on the warrior sculpture in the Muhamandapam. To the right is the shrine for a beautiful Nataraja idol that is called the Santhana Sabapathy covered in sandalwood paste. Also note that this temple has a large flat topped granite entrance way without the customary gopuram on top. Perhaps the builders never got around to building one or they never meant to build one.
You may have noticed most temples that we went to were rather empty and devoid of people, which was nice for us to experience these places in peace. These are small towns and villages after all. But the people do flock to these temples on special days and times. We visited this particular temple during the Pradosham, which is the 13th day of every fortnight and occurs twice a month. The 3 hours that span the sundown are auspicious to worship Sivan.
This ancient temple lies about an hour or 36 km southwest of Thoothukudi and 30 minutes or 29 km southeast of Thirunelvely.
We visited in Aug 2019. We were based in Thoothukudi or Tutucorin.
Credits: Google Maps
Comments