வீரட்டேசுவரர் திருக்கோயில், திருக்கோவிலூர் அல்லது திருக்கோயிலூர்
Thirukoilur or Thirukovilur or Thirukovalur as it is sometimes referred to in ancient texts is a temple town immersed in Tamil history. Many beautiful temples exist here. This Sivan temple is a Paadal Petra Sthalam and has a lot of Saivite history embedded in it. Thirugnanasampanthar and Thirunavukkarasar composed the pathikams here. It is one of the 8 Ashtaveerattana Sthalams which commemorate a valiant deed of the Lord.
The temple has existed from Pallava times with contributions from Nandhivarma Pallavan and later Chola kings including Paranthakan I, Rajarajan and Rajendran. Many important inscriptions (கல்வெட்டு) are found here.
Thirukoilur was the domain of the Malayaman kings from Sangam times to the Chola imperial era. They had close marital ties to the Cholas and were staunch allies and vassals. Vananmadevi, queen of Paranthakan II or Sundara Cholan was a Malayaman princess and was born here in Thirukoilur. Her three children Aditya Karikalan, Kundavai and Arunmolivarman (later Rajarajan) were also born here. There is an inscription in this temple testifying to the birth of the future great emperor here. Some sources erroneously claim that he was born in Thanjavur. Both the princes spent part of their childhood here with their maternal grandparents.
Despite the historical significance, the temple itself is not very large. Today it is controlled by the HR and CE and is poorly maintained. Certainly needs more attention.
It is located in Tamil Nadu, 88 km or 2 hours from Pondicherry and 35 km or 30 minutes from Thiruvannamalai. The nearest big town is Vilupuram. We visited in May 2023. We were based in Pondicherry. We were in a rush as it was close to closing time of the temple and we did not have enough time to take good pictures.
Credits: Google Maps.
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