| Description:
This Shivastalam is located at a distance of about 10 km from Karaikkal, and is associated
with the legend of Arjuna's association with Shiva, as with a few other Shivastalams in
the vicinity of Chidambaram such as Tiruvetkalam. Arjuna is said to have worshipped Shiva here,
and Shiva is said to have materialized in front of him in the guise of a hunter, hence the
name Tiruvettakkudi. Tiruvettakkudi is considered to be the 49th in the
series of Tevara Stalams in the Chola kingdom located south of the
river Kaveri.
Legend also has it that
Soundaranaayaki/Santhanayaki incarnated amongst the fisherfolk and
hence the fisherfolk in the surrounding area host some of the temple
festivities.
This east facing temple has a
five tiered Rajagopuram. The Ambal shrine faces south. There are
also shrines to Siddhi Vinayaka, Subhramanya, Gajalakshmi, Saasta,
Bhairava, Surya and Chandra. There are bronzes featuring the Kirata
form of Shiva.
Four worship services are
offered here and the annual festival concludes with Maasi magam where
the processional images of the temple are taken to the sea.
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