Avinasiappar Temple, Tiruppukoliyur (Avinasi)

Avinasiappar Temple, Tiruppukoliyur (Avinasi)

Location of the temple	Avinasi
Lord Shiva known as	Avinasiappar
Female deity known as	Karunambikai
Pathigam	Sundarar - 1
How to reach	This Shivasthalam is situated 40 Kms from Coimbatore and about 14 Kms. from Tirupur. . The nearest railway station is at Tirupur. Tirupur railway station is on the Coimbatore - Erode section of the Southern Railway. Another paadal petra sthalam Tirumurugapoondi is about 5 Kms. from here.

Temple: The Shiva temple at Avinasi is spread over an area of 1.5 acres. The main rajagopuram is on the east side with 7 tiers. Inside there are two corridors. At the main entrance, the sculptures of Narthana Ganapathy can be found on both the sides. Once we enter , there is a mandapam and the sculptures of Veerabadhirar, Oorthava Thandavar, Kali csn be seen on the pillars of the mandapam. From the mandapam, one can enter the sanctum sanctorum of Avinasiappar shrine. The pathways on the four sides of the sanctum sancotrum are decorated with the images of Nayanmars, Murugan Sannadhi in the northwest and Karaiakal Ammaiar Sannadhi on the northeast. The shrine for the female deity in situated on the right side of the main sanctum sancotrum of Avinasiappar.

Brahma is said to have worshipped the Shiva here for 100 years. The elephant of Indiran, Iravadham is said to have worshipped at this shivasthalam for 12 years.

Kodumudinathar Temple, Tiruppandikodumudi

Kodumudinathar Temple, Tiruppandikodumudi

Location of the temple	Kodumudi
Lord Shiva known as	Kodumudinathar
Female deity known as	Soudambikai, Vadivudainayagi
Pathigam	Sambandar - 1 Sundarar - 1 Thirunavukarasar - 1
How to reach	This Shivasthalam is situated about 40 Kms from Erode. The temple is very near to Kodumudi railway station which is on the Erode - Tiruchy section of the Southern Railway.

Temple: Cauvery river coming from the northwest turn to the east at Kodumudi. The Shiva temple at Kodumudi is on the west bank of river cauvery. The east facing temple is 640 feet in length and 484 feet in breadth. The temple houses the shrines for Lord Shiva, Lord vishnu and Lord Brahma. The temple has 3 entrances on the east side. One can reach the shrines for God Vishnu and God Brahma by entering through the central gate. To the north of the central gate lies the entrance for the shrine of god Shiva known here as Kodumudinathar. To the south of the central gate lies the entrance for the shrine of female deity.

It is said that the shrines for God vishnu and God Brahma inside the Shiva temple is of special mention here and it is believed they both worship God Shiva at this place. Pandiya kings have patronised the temple regularly and because of the connection of Pandiya kings, this shivasthalam is called as Tiruppandikodumudi. Malayathvuja Pandian, Maravarman Sundarapandian and Pandiya Kesarivarman are some of the kings who have donated land, jewellery etc. to this temple.

Tirumuruganathaswamy Temple, Tirumurugapoondi

Tirumuruganathaswamy Temple, Tirumurugapoondi

Location of the temple	Tirumurugapoondi
Lord Shiva known as	Muruganathar
Female deity known as	Aavudainayagi
Pathigam	Sundarar - 1
How to reach	This Shivasthalam is situated 5 Kms from Avinasi on the Avinasi - Tiruppur road.

According to legend, Lord Murugan got Brahamahathi Dosham after killing the demon king Soorapadman. To get rid of this dosham, Lord Murugan erected a Shivalingam at this place and worshipped Lord Shiva. Later on this Sthalam became Tirumurugapoondi, a Paadal Petra Sthalam visited by Sundarar.

This temple is facing west and there is no gopuram in front as in other temples. The temple has come up in about 1 acre with high compound walls on the four sides. The main Lingam inside the sanctum sanctorum is two and a half feet in height and is facing west. To the right side of the sanctum sanctorum, there is a statue for Lord Muruga which is 5 feet in height. To the left side of the sanctum sanctorum the shrine for female deity Aavudainayagi is situated.

Pasupathinathar temple, Karuvoor (Karur)

Pasupathinathar temple, Karuvoor (Karur)

Location of the temple	Karur
Lord Shiva known as	Pasupathinathar, Aanilaiappar
Female deity known as	Sundaravalli
Pathigam	Sambandar - 1
How to reach	This Shivasthalam is situated 68 Kms by road from Coimbatore. There is also a railway station at Karur on the Erode - Tiruchy section of the Southern Railway and is about 70 Kms from Erode and 75 Kms from Tiruchy.

Temple: The temple at Karuvoor is built on a 2.65 acres site. The front Gopuram is 120 feet in height. Stucco images of mythological characters are found on the tower. There are 2 corridors inside the temple. The 100 pillar mandapam is a prominent portion of the temple. The main shrine (Moolvar) is a swayambu lingam. The sun's rays falls on the lingam 3 days in a year during the Tamil month of Panguni (March 15th to April 15th). The shrine for female deity Sundaravalli is facing south.

Brahma and Kamadhenu are said to have worshipped the lingam here.

Ardhanareeswarar Temple

Tiruchengode Temple Photos

Ardhanareeswarar Temple, Tiruchengode

Location of the temple	Tiruchengode
Lord Shiva known as	Maathoru Paagar, Arthanareeswarar
Female deity known as
Pathigam	Sambandar - 1
How to reach	This Shivasthalam is situated 18 Kms from Erode and 32 Kms from Namakkal.

This Shivasthalam was known as Kodimaada Chenkundrur during the time of Sambandar's visit to this temple. Now known as Tiruchengode, it is famous for its hill and the temple on the top. The hill is 1900 feet height from the mean sea level. A motorable ghat road is also available to go to the top of the hill and one can reach the temple by bus or car. Another way to reach the temple is to alight 1200 steps to the top of the hill. There are many mandapams on the way for people to take rest. Once on top of the hill, the main Gopuram (Tower) with 5 tiers is on the north side of the hill. The compound wall of the temple is 260 feet length east to west and 170 feet length north to south.

The main shrine for Lord Shiva known as Maathoru Paagar and for Lord Subramanya known as Chengottu Velar is located on a flat surface atop the hill. The image of the main deity is 6 feet in height, the right half of the image as male and left half of the image as female. Hence the main deity is also known as Arthanareeswarar. Chengottu Velar shrine is on the back side of the main sanctum sanctorum. The sculptures found in the mandapam in front of the Chengottu Velar shrine are of intricate designs and workmanship. Saint Arunagirinathar has also composed Thirupugazh on Lord Subramanya here.

Bhavani

Sangameshwarar Temple, Tirunanaa (Bhavani)

Location of the temple	Tirunanaa (Bhavani) (Erode District)
Lord Shiva known as	Sangameswarar
Female deity known as	Vedhanayagi
Pathigam	Sambandar - 1
How to reach	Bhavani is located 56 Kms from Salem and 15 Kms from Erode railway station. Bus facilities to Bhavani are available from Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode and Salem.

Temple gopuram and Nandhi

Temple: This Shivasthalam is located on the confluence of 2 rivers Bhavani and Cauvery. The temple is located on the northern bank where the 2 rivers meet. The temple is constructed on a 4 acre land. The main tower with 5 tiers is located on the north side of the temple. Eventhough this temple is a Saivite temple for Lord Shiva as Sangameswar, there is a separate shrine inside this temple for Lord vishnu as Adhi Kesava Perumal with his consort Soundaravalli Thaayar. The shrine for female deity Vedhanayagi is facing east. To the right side of this shrine is the shrine for Lord Subramanya. Saint Arunagirinathar who visited Thirunanaa, has composed many songs (Thirupugazh) on Lord Subramanya. On the south side of the temple, the images of 63 Nayanmars are kept.