Karunellinathar temple

Ninra Narayana Peruma, which is located on the other side of this temple

As per a Hindu legend, Ranganatha (the reclining form of Vishnu) from Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple was enamoured by the devotion of Andal. He started a journey to Srivilliputhur Divya Desam to seek her hand for marriage. While reaching the place, it became dark and he decided to spend the night in the place. Since he stayed at this place, it came to be known as Thiruthangal and the hillock came to be known as Thalagiri.[1]

As per another legend, the Pandavas from Mahabharatha were living in exile and were roaming around the forest of Western Ghats. They could not get water for performing their daily pooja. As Sun was rising, Arjuna, one of the princes, prayed to Ganga to send water to the place and shot an arrow that split earth and brought forth a river. The river that originated is believed to be the Arjuna river in modern times.[2] The place where the temple was located was believed to be housing two Amla trees (called nelli in Tamil) and hence got the name as Irunellinathar, which later went on to become Karunellinathar.[3]

Karunellinathar temple is believed to have been built by Pandyas. There are a host of inscriptions in the temple indicating information related to the gifts offered to the temple. One of the inscription from 1032 CE indicates the temples as Paramaswamy who willingly chose the hillock as his abode. A lake by name of Vallabha Pereri existed by the side of the temple. The temple is believed to have been expanded by Gurukalathirayan, the minister of Sundara Pandya during the Pandyan regime in 1233 CE. Ulli Bomman Kalangatha Kanda nayakar, who attained martyrdom in a war at Thiruthangal, was sanctified by donating the places around Thiruthangal to his family. An image of the warrior is found in the temple.[1]

Pillared hall inside the temple

It is built on a hillock 100 ft (30 m) and houses a small gateway tower known as gopurams. The temple has many shrines, with those of Karunellinathar and Chokki Amman being the most prominent. The temple is located on the other side of Ninra Narayana Perumal temple, a famous Vishnu temple and can be reached from that temple on the hillock. The temple is a rock cut temple and the main shrine of the temple is of Karunellinathar. There are separate shrines for Vinayaka, Surya, Chandra and Dakshinamurthi. There is a huge life size stone image of Nataraja and Sivakami and housed in the dancing hall of the temple.[4]

The temple is more known for the shrine of Palaniandavar, which is found near the entrance of the temple. Arumugha Tambiran was an ardent devotee of Muruga. He used to travel to Palani carrying a kavadi and returned to Thiruthangal the same day. As years rolled by, Thambiran found it difficult to travel all the way to Palani. He used to ascend a few steps and then return. While cooking food one day, god Murugan showered gold coins in his route. He took up the gold coins and built the shrine of Palani Andavar. The place where he breathed his last is marked by a mutt and his articles are still maintained.[1]

Section of the hill inside the temple

The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Shaivaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed four times a day; Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 p.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., and Ardha Jamam at 8:30 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: abhisheka (sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Annamalaiyar and Unnamulai Amman. The worship is held amidst music with nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred text) read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like somavaram and sukravaram, fortnightly rituals like pradosham and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi.[2] Thai Poosam is a festival celebrated during January and food is distributed to poor people.[1]