வாமனபுரீசுவரர் திருக்கோயில், திருமாணிக்குழி
Situated between two important and ancient Sivan temples, Thirupathiripuliyur and Thiruvathigai, this Sivan temple is also a celebrated Paadal Petra Sthalam near Cuddalore on the banks of the Kedilam River. Thirugnanasampanthar sang the pathikam here.
பொன்இயல் பொருப்புஅரையன் மங்கைஒரு பங்கர் புனல் தங்குசடைமேல்
வன்னியொடு மத்தமலர் வைத்தவிறல்வித்தகர் மகிழ்ந்துஉறைவிடம்,
கன்னிஇள வாளைகுதி கொள்ள,இளவள்ளைபடர் அள்ளல்வயல்வாய்
மன்னிஇள மேதிகள் படிந்துமனை சேர்உதவி மாணிகுழியே.
With a 5 tier (நிலை) rajagopuram and 3 prakarams it is a fairly large temple. The goddess is known as Ambujakshi and is considered the more important deity here than Siva. The Cholas, the Pandyas and the Vijayanagar kings contributed to the bulk of the building. The Chola core is evident but structures of later eras stand out, such as the Vijayanagar or Nayakkan style rajagopuram and vimanams. It is controlled by the HR and CE and the upkeep certainly can be better.
It is located in Tamil Nadu about 34 km or an hour by car south of Pondicherry. We visited in May 2023. We were based in Pondicherry.
Credits: Google Maps.
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