| Description:
This Shivastalam is located 13 km to the North East of Mayiladuturai
; enroute are Tiruvilanagar and Semponaar Koyil. Also nearby are the famed Tiruvenkaadu temple and the Tirunangoor Vaishnava Divya
Desam. Tirunanipalli is considered to be the 43rd in the series of
Tevara Stalams in the Chola kingdom located south of the river Kaveri. The Temple: Shiva is also known as Swarnapureeswarar here. Upon
Sambandar's singing, the arid land here is said to have turned arable. Sambandar's mother
is said to have hailed from this village. This temple has many interesting architectural
features. Inscriptions from Raja Raja Chola I's days are seen here, and it is inferred
from these inscriptions that it was an older temple renovated by Raja Raja. Inscriptions
from Rajendra Chola II's days are also seen here, testifying to the contributions of the
administration of the nearby Talaichankaadu, towards the worship services of this temple.
This temple has a 16 pillared Mukha Mandapam. Makara Toranas, are seen over each of the
niche images (around the sanctum), with Kalyanasundarar in the toranam over Vinayakar,
Ardhanareeswarar in the toranam over Lingodbhavar, Dancing Kali in the toranam over
Bhrama, and Natraja (Urdhva Tandavam) in that over Durga. Base panels of miniature
sculptures are also seen around the central shrine as in Tiruppullamangai,
Tirunageswaram, Vriddachalam
and Tirukkandiyur. (S. R. Balasubramaniam).. Four
worship services are offered each day. |
