History and tradition
- Period
- Chola period, with the present masonry dated to the 16th century.
- Architecture
- A five-tier gopuram faces east. Three precincts sit inside concentric granite walls. The Ambujakshi shrine, in the first precinct, faces north.
- Inscriptions
- The entrance inscription is numbered 165 of 1902. Later Chola records name Rajaraja I, Kulottunga I, and Rajendra III.
- Administered by
- Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department
Sthala puranam
Mahabali, grandson of Prahlada, had given Vamana the three paces that became the three worlds, and then his own head. The story told at this temple is that he came afterwards to be free of the blame that clung to the way he had gained that grace. Shiva met him as a small self-manifest lingam in a pit. Sambandar calls the place Udhavi Manikkuzhi, the pit where help was given. A later story says a merchant named Athri was attacked by robbers here, and that Shiva came to his aid. From that help the Lord is also called Udhavinayagar, and the goddess Udhavinayaki. The sanctum itself is treated as the bedchamber, so there is no separate palliyarai and no arthajama pooja. A curtain embroidered with Bhimarudra stays drawn across the lingam. Worship is offered to Bhimarudra first, and the curtain is opened for the deeparadhana. Surya is also said to have worshipped here. The hymn is Sambandar's, in the third Thirumurai.
Temple tree
Kondrai
Theertham
- Shwetha · River
- Kedilam · River
Other shrines
- Vinayaka
- Murugan
- Saptamatrikas
- Navagraha
- Chandikeswara
- Durga